Is Scrum Lean?

Regarding the foundation of Lean, the Japanese company Toyota might be the first thing to come to your mind. Many of the key ideas of lean have been documented based on observations done in the Japanese manufacturing industry (however, lean processes can be found much earlier such as the Venetian Arsenal and its efficient and large-scale production of war ships beginning in the year 1104).

Traditionally lean was a topic handled by management, addressed the whole organization and focused on the value chain in the manufacturing industry.
Nowadays, lean is applied to various context. The term and its original underlying principles are used very flexible, which makes a common understanding and communication between lean-minded sub-groups sometimes difficult.

Why does it make sense to inspect the Scrum framework from a Lean management perspective?

Why does it make sense to inspect the Scrum framework from a Lean management perspective? 
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 Lean methodologies that focus on processes are well elaborated and mature. The Scrum framework defines a process to develop a product - there are specific Scrum events / activities the framework defines and traces in what time order they happen. Therefore it is evident to look at a process from a lean perspective.
 
 According to [Jeff and Ken on Scrum.org](https://www.scrum.org/resources/what-is-scrum), <q>Scrum is a framework within which people can address complex adaptive problems, while productively and creatively delivering products of the highest possible value.</q> Obviously, also when dealing with complex adaptive problems and delivering products, eliminating waste (wasteful activities that do not generate value) is a good thing to do!

The Scrum framework

The Scrum Framework 
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 The Scrum framework is intended for a team to work on complex problems in an iterative way. The framework is based on empiricism. Like in scientific research, an iterative cycle begins with assumptions and hypotheses based on the current knowledge base. The scrum team specifies what they are going to research (work on) in the current working cycle (aka sprint). They decide based on their current knowledge trying to generate the maximum value with their work (from a Software development point of view, of value is Software that enables the end-users, addresses their needs and is in line with the business goals). At the end of the sprint, the result (aka increment) is inspected. To do this the scrum team presents the increment of the sprint and discuss their result in a review with the participating stakeholders. They address questions such as: Were our initial assumptions and hypothesis correct, or do they need to be adapted? Did we really understand, what kind of increment is of value? How can the value of our increment be optimized? Based on our learnings regarding the end product and changed conditions of the environment, do we need to change anything? All those learnings are discussed. For the next iterative working cycle adaptations can be done. Like this the team is enabled to be “agile” and "quickly" act on changed conditions and optimize their working product to suit the value the most - always based on the current situation. And this is exactly what makes the Scrum framework agile.

The process is divided into “events”. The main event is the sprint, which encompasses the further events that follow each other in a defined order. For each event the goal, as well as the maximum timebox the event is allowed to fill up is defined by the Scrum framework (again, what is not defined by the framework are the specific methods to use in order to reach the goal). Followingly an overview of the events.
                        
                        
                        Scrum events | Short description | Maximum timebox
                    ---: | --- | :---
                    Sprint planning | The team discusses and commits to what work they are going to address in the current sprint. | 8h for a one-month sprint
                    The sprint | A set timespan in which a potentially releasable product increment is build. | 1 calendar month
                    Daily scrum | This event happens every day during the sprint. The Scrum team plans the work of the next 24h and inspects the progress towards the sprint goal. | 15 minutes
                    Sprint review | In the sprint review the Scrum team inspects the built increment and investigates together with key stakeholder ways to optimize the value of the product. | 4h for a one-month sprint
                    Sprint retrospective | The team reflects their way of working and if indicated introduces optimizations. | 3h for a one-month sprint

# Conclusion
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                                                                    In conclusion, there are pendants to the lean principles in the Scrum framework. The focus on value, value from the customer perspective (given the Product owner does a good job) and continuous adaptation is well addressed by the Scrum framework.

Lean principles that are not addressed by Scrum, are focus on identifying waste (within the process) and tracking of the flow. It might be well worth to have a look at those lean principles when working with Scrum. For example, many Scrum teams use Kanban boards during the sprint to track the flow of their work.

The lean principle of striving towards perfection and improvement management strongly relies on the Scrum teams skills and maturity, as well as on a suitable culture. It is no coincidence that there is a lot of research on topics such as change and cognitive biases (e.g. cognitive dissonance). Therefore when introducing Scrum it might be a good idea to integrate some methods from lean management (and other fields) to enable the team in inspection-techniques, so that the reviews and retros are less biased & subjective and a healthy culture where mistakes can be openly addressed is built.

The Scrum framework is specifically useful for teams whose work is complex and their environment is uncertain. Combined with further techniques from lean management the implementation of Scrum might be further optimized, so that the Scrum team has a broader toolbox and a holistic view on their way of working.