Agile Flavours

Methodology	Core Focus	Planning Style	Change Handling	Team Structure	Key Practices / Artefacts	Best Use Case
Scrum	Empirical process control, iterative delivery	Sprint-based (timeboxed)	Embraced throughout sprints	Cross-functional, self-organising	Sprints, Daily Scrum, Reviews, Retros, Product Backlog	Complex products with rapidly changing needs
Kanban	Flow efficiency and continuous improvement	Continuous, no timeboxes	Very high flexibility	Any size; roles not prescribed	Work-in-Progress limits, visual boards, cycle time tracking	Ops, support, continuous delivery environments
Lean	Eliminating waste, maximising value	Just-in-time	High—change welcomed to remove waste	Small, empowered teams	Value stream mapping, Kaizen, pull systems	Efficiency-focused teams, process optimisation
XP (Extreme Programming)	High-quality code through engineering discipline	Iterative, short cycles	Expected and encouraged	Developers + on-site customer	Pair programming, TDD, continuous integration	High-change, high-technical-risk software
DSDM / Atern	Fixed time & cost with flexible scope	Timeboxed phases	Controlled change using MoSCoW	Business, solution, and PM roles defined	MoSCoW prioritisation, timeboxing, incremental delivery	Projects needing governance + agility (e.g., public sector)
SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework)	Scaling agile across large enterprises	Program increments (8–12 weeks)	Managed change at portfolio/program levels	Multiple teams in Agile Release Trains	PI Planning, Lean Portfolio Mgmt, ART ceremonies	Large organisations with many teams and dependencies
LeSS (Large Scale Scrum)	Scaling Scrum minimally	Sprints across multiple teams	Fully embraced across the product group	Multiple Scrum teams, one Product Owner	Shared backlog, joint sprint review/retro	Organisations wanting to scale while staying lightweight
Spotify Model	Culture, autonomy, alignment	Flexible; depends on squads	High adaptability	Squads, Tribes, Chapters, Guilds	Autonomy model, alignment rituals	Dynamic, innovation-driven orgs seeking flexibility
Crystal	Tailoring process to team size and criticality	Lightweight and adaptive	Very flexible	Depends on project criticality	Frequent delivery, osmotic communication	Small teams with varying risk profiles

When to use what?

Situation / Need	Recommended Agile Flavour(s)	Why It Fits
High uncertainty, rapidly changing requirements	Scrum, XP	Short iterations, continuous feedback, strong inspect-and-adapt cycles.
Continuous flow of work (support, BAU, ops)	Kanban	Pull-based flow, no sprint overhead, excellent for variable incoming work.
Need to optimise speed, reduce waste, improve flow	Lean, Kanban	Focus on flow efficiency, eliminating bottlenecks and non-value activities.
Strict deadlines or fixed time/cost (e.g. public sector)	DSDM/Atern	Fixed time/cost with scope flexibility using MoSCoW prioritisation.
Highly technical product with quality risks	XP	Engineering excellence (TDD, pair programming, continuous integration).
Large organisation scaling agile across many teams	SAFe	Provides structure, governance, synchronisation across multiple teams.
Want to scale Scrum with minimal extra structure	LeSS	Simplest approach to scaling while keeping core Scrum principles.
Culture-first organisation wanting autonomy & innovation	Spotify Model	Tribal/squad model supports autonomy with alignment, lightweight governance.
Small teams where process should vary by criticality	Crystal	Tailors the amount of process to team size and system risk.