Scrum Vs Traditional PM

Traditional project management emphasizes on conducting detailed up-front planning for the project with emphasis on fixing the scope, cost and schedule - and managing those parameters. Whereas, Scrum encourages data-based, iterative decision making in which the primary focus is on delivering products that satisfy customer requirements.

To deliver the greatest amount of value in the shortest amount of time, Scrum promotes prioritization and Time-boxing over fixing the scope, cost and schedule of a project. An important feature of Scrum is self-organization, which allows the individuals who are actually doing the work to estimate and take ownership of tasks.

Following table summarizes many of the differences between Scrum and traditional project management:

Parameters

Emphasis is on

Documentation

Process style

Up-front planning

Prioritization of Requirements

Quality assurance

Organization

Management style

Change

Leadership

Performance measurement

Return on Investment

Customer involvement

Scrum

People

Minimal - only as required

Iterative

Low

Based on business value and regularly updated

Customer centric

Self-organized

Decentralized

Updates to Productized Product Backlog

Collaborative, Servant Leadership

Business value

Early/throughout project life

High throughout the project

Traditional Project Management

Processes

Comprehensive

Linear

High

Fixed in the Project Plan

Process centric

Managed

Centralized

Formal Change Management System

Command and control

Plan conformity

End of project life

Varies depending on the project lifecycle