Agile Project Management: Kanban, Scrum, and Scrum Master

This assignment explores Agile project management, specifically focusing on Kanban, Scrum, and the role of a Scrum Master. The first answer explains Kanban as a scheduling system, detailing steps like visualizing workflow, limiting work in progress, and continuous improvement. The second answer identifies suitable projects for Scrum, such as commercial software and website development, emphasizing flexibility and adaptability. The final answer defines the role of a Scrum Master, highlighting their responsibilities in team facilitation, coaching, and fostering a productive work environment, drawing parallels with the project manager role. References from academic sources are included to support the analysis.

Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT AGILE
Project Management Agile
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

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Table of Contents
Answer 1..............................................................................................................................2
Answer 2..............................................................................................................................2
Answer 3..............................................................................................................................3
References............................................................................................................................4

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Answer 1
Kanban is considered to be a system for scheduling. It can be used in the organization to
improve its efficiency (Ahmad, Markkula and Oivo 2013). Certain number of steps needs to be
followed like visualization of workflow, limiting the work in progress and measuring and
improving the flow. In order to use Kanban, the first step will be to break down the entire flow of
work from the starting point to the ending point of the project (Jyothi and Rao 2012). The second
step will be to eliminate maximum amount of waste by putting a limit on the WIP. The third step
will be to promote the pull process in the organization in order to avoid conflict among the
teams. This will allow the teams to take up task at a time only when it is ready. The last step will
be to monitor the performance and improve it in an adaptive method. This will also allow the
organization to predict about the future performance or result.
Answer 2
The most suitable projects for Scrum are commercial software projects, website
developments, handheld software and video game development projects. These types of projects
needs frequent changes as per the requirements of the clients. These projects aim to maximize
the level of customer satisfaction. The Scrum method is flexible and adaptable and it can be used
for such projects that do not have any fixed requirement (Mahnic 2012). In case of designing and
developing web applications, the users do not understand their requirements clearly. They
gradually understand the requirements. Scrum methods can be used for creating prototypes so
that the user gets a clear idea about their requirements. Projects that have fixed requirements are
not suitable for Scrum. Flexible projects are extremely suitable for Scrum. Commercial software
projects also need several changes during its development and a flexible method will be

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extremely suitable for developing an efficient project that will satisfy the customers to a great
extent.
Answer 3
The role of a Scrum Master is most like a project manager. A Scrum Master is an expert
and gives commitment to achieve the goal. A scrum master is responsible for making the team
completely productive as well as functional. A scrum master helps in facilitating meetings and
looks at any business or project process from a high and different level. A scrum master is
responsible for coaching the team members and ensuring a safe work environment. They are also
responsible for encouraging communication for good as well as bad status. They are responsible
for promoting a work environment where the employees will be self organized and disciplined.
They encourage the team members to trust and respect each other for better productivity
(Martinelli and Milosevic 2016). The role played by a scrum master is almost similar to that of a
project manager as both try to motivate the team for getting a better outcome.

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References
Ahmad, M.O., Markkula, J. and Oivo, M., 2013, September. Kanban in software development: A
systematic literature review. In Software Engineering and Advanced Applications (SEAA), 2013
39th EUROMICRO Conference on (pp. 9-16). IEEE.
Jyothi, V.E. and Rao, K.N., 2012. Effective Implementation of Agile Practices-Incoordination
with Lean Kanban. International Journal on Computer Science and Engineering, 4(1), p.87.
Mahnic, V., 2012. A capstone course on agile software development using Scrum. IEEE
Transactions on Education, 55(1), pp.99-106.
Martinelli, R.J. and Milosevic, D.Z., 2016. Project management toolbox: tools and techniques
for the practicing project manager. John Wiley & Sons