Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this article, you will be able to outline the main features and exam relevance of alternative agile methodologies beyond Scrum. You will distinguish Kanban, Extreme Programming (XP), Crystal, Feature-Driven Development (FDD), DSDM, and hybrid approaches, and identify when their use is suitable for PMP exam scenarios. You will also recognise the PMP’s expectations for comparing these methods, their core principles, and the impact on team structure, roles, and project delivery.
PMP Syllabus
For PMP, you are required to understand more than just Scrum and basic agile principles. You should be aware of key characteristics, differences, and best-fit contexts for several agile methods. This article helps you revise:
- Recognise core characteristics of Kanban, Extreme Programming (XP), Crystal Methods, Feature-Driven Development (FDD), DSDM, and the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe).
- Compare and contrast alternative agile methods with Scrum.
- Apply agile principles to scenarios with hybrid, less-prescriptive, or scaling requirements.
- Identify for each method: preferred team size, emphasis on documentation, feedback cycles, and adaptation.
- Know when and how to recommend, tailor, or combine agile approaches within a project for exam questions.
- Understand how exam scenarios may require identifying an appropriate agile method for a particular team, project, or organisational context.
Test Your Knowledge
Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, remember to look more closely at that area during your revision.
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Which agile method is based on visualising workflow, limiting work in progress, and allows incremental improvement from “where you are”?
- a) Scrum
- b) Kanban
- c) DSDM
- d) Crystal Orange
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In which agile method are practices like pair programming, collective code ownership, and test-first development required team practices?
- a) Extreme Programming (XP)
- b) Lean
- c) Kanban
- d) Agile Unified Process
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Which agile approach is specifically designed to tailor rigor and team structure based on project criticality and team size?
- a) Scrum
- b) Crystal
- c) FDD
- d) Scrumban
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What is the primary goal of a hybrid agile approach in a PMP scenario?
- a) To enforce strict adherence to Scrum for all workstreams
- b) To combine predictive and adaptive methods according to project/context needs
- c) To implement Kanban boards across every department
- d) To avoid using traditional documentation
Introduction
The PMP syllabus expects candidates to recognise a range of agile methods beyond the widely-used Scrum framework. This article explains the characteristics and practical application of Kanban, Extreme Programming (XP), Crystal, Feature-Driven Development (FDD), DSDM, and scaled or hybrid agile practices. It will also help you distinguish when these methods are suited and how they support PMP exam scenarios that ask for method comparison, tailoring, or selecting a fit-for-context approach.
Kanban
Kanban is a popular agile approach centred on visualising workflow, limiting work in progress (WIP), and incrementally improving existing team processes.
Key Term: Kanban An agile system or method that makes workflow visual through Kanban boards, controls WIP, and focuses on incremental refinement of existing processes.
Kanban principles include:
- Visualise workflow: Work items and their states are displayed on a Kanban board.
- Limit work in progress: Each column (state) has a strict WIP limit to prevent overload.
- Manage flow and improve collaboratively: Focus is on smooth, predictable progress and bottleneck removal.
- Start with existing processes: No prescriptive roles or ceremonies; start where you are.
Kanban is especially useful for ongoing support, operations, or environments with unpredictable requirements or continuous work items.
Worked Example 1.1
Scenario: A support team deals with bug fixes, infrastructure changes, and minor enhancements for an e-commerce site. Work requests come in continuously and prioritisation changes daily. The project manager wants to use an agile approach but cannot time-box work into sprints.
Answer: Kanban is appropriate. The team can use a Kanban board to visualise all work, limit WIP, and track completion, without timeboxing or prescriptive events.
Extreme Programming (XP)
Extreme Programming (XP) is an agile method that prescribes a set of technical engineering practices, feedback cycles, and strict team discipline aimed at maximising software quality, early delivery, and flexibility.
Key Term: Extreme Programming (XP) An agile methodology emphasising practices like pair programming, collective code ownership, continuous merging, and test-first programming to achieve frequent, high-quality software releases.
XP values and practices include:
- Simplicity
- Frequent releases
- Test-driven development (TDD)
- Pair programming (two developers work together on the same code)
- Customer involvement
- Sustainable pace
- Continuous merging
- Collective code ownership (anyone can improve any code at any time)
XP is best suited to small to medium-sized, co-located software teams requiring high adaptability and a strong quality focus.
Worked Example 1.2
Scenario: A team of 6 developers is building a mobile application with vague feature requirements and expects significant changes during development. The team wants to prevent defects and adopt sophisticated software engineering practices.
Answer: XP is suitable. The team should use pair programming, test-first development (TDD), and collective ownership to deliver working software that can quickly adjust as requirements emerge.
Crystal Methods
Crystal is a family of agile methodologies designed to suit project size and criticality. Different "colours" of Crystal (e.g., Crystal Clear, Crystal Orange) provide increasing levels of discipline for larger teams or higher-risk projects.
Key Term: Crystal Methods A group of adaptive agile methodologies that tailor documentation, communication, and structure according to project team size and system criticality.
Crystal emphasises:
- Frequent delivery
- Reflective improvement
- Osmotic (face-to-face) communication
- Personal safety, team focus, simplicity
Crystal Clear is recommended for teams under 8 members working on low-risk projects; larger teams or higher criticality use Crystal Orange, Red or other variants.
Worked Example 1.3
Scenario: A team of 5 developers, 1 product owner, and a business expert are building a campaign management tool in a fast-changing marketing environment.
Answer: Crystal Clear is designed for this size and risk level. Frequent delivery, communication, workshops, and safety feature in the method.
Other Agile Frameworks: FDD, DSDM, Scrumban, SAFe
Besides Kanban, XP, and Crystal, several less common but exam-relevant agile methods may arise:
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Feature-Driven Development (FDD): Focuses on building a model, compiling a list of client-valued features, and iterating through design and build for each feature. It is suitable for larger, complex systems where requirements can be expressed as features.
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DSDM (Dynamic Systems Development Method): An early agile method mainly found in the UK. DSDM places time and cost over fixed functionality (scope is most flexible) and has 8 core principles, including collaboration, frequent delivery, and maintaining quality.
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Scrumban: A hybrid method that combines Scrum’s sprint-based structure with Kanban’s WIP limits and visualisation, often used for maintenance or support work alongside feature development.
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Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe): Used for large-scale organisations, SAFe coordinates multiple teams (up to several hundred people) building on agile and lean principles. It uses Agile Release Trains, fixed program increments, and additional roles to manage complexity.
Key Term: Hybrid Agile Approach Combining predictive and adaptive (agile) methods within one project, selecting elements of each based on project context, team experience, or workstream requirements.
Hybrid Approaches and Tailoring
PMP exam questions may ask when or how you would combine predictive and agile methods for a better fit. Hybrid approaches allow selecting the most effective practices for parts of a project according to the certainty of requirements, organisational experience, or team size.
Common hybrid strategies:
- Use predictive planning for well-defined workstreams; agile for uncertain or changing scopes.
- Employ Scrum for new feature delivery, Kanban for support/maintenance.
- Apply agile techniques in a phase or for a sub-team without fully abandoning governance or reporting standards required by the organisation.
Exam Warning
Some PMP questions list Scrum, Kanban, XP, Crystal, Lean, or DSDM as possible options in a scenario. Do not select Scrum automatically—carefully review the team size, frequency of change, need for visual flow, or specific technical practices. Choose the method matching the details given.
Revision Tip
Kanban is most useful for unpredictable, ongoing work and supports continuous adaptation; XP is best for small, highly technical teams needing maximum quality and early feedback. Crystal tailors rigor and structure to team size and risk.
Summary
- Kanban enables visual management and incremental improvement, ideal for continuous work.
- XP prescribes specific engineering practices and strong quality focus, best for small software teams, including continuous merging.
- Crystal methods tailor rigor and structure to team size and project criticality.
- Hybrid and scaling frameworks (e.g., Scrumban, SAFe) allow teams and organisations to combine or scale agile practices.
- PMP scenarios may require recommending, comparing, or selecting agile methods to best fit context.
Key Point Checklist
This article has covered the following key knowledge points:
- Kanban uses visual workflow, limits WIP, and fits support or flow-based environments.
- Extreme Programming (XP) prescribes pair programming, test-first, continuous merging, and supports rapid change.
- Crystal tailors discipline, documentation, and communication based on project size and risk.
- Other agile methods (FDD, DSDM) and hybrids (Scrumban, SAFe) appear in scaling or specialist contexts.
- PMP exam scenarios may require contrasting these approaches or selecting a tailored/hybrid solution.
Key Terms and Concepts
- Kanban
- Extreme Programming (XP)
- Crystal Methods
- Hybrid Agile Approach
