If you keep your product backlog groomed, your team can use Kanban and always be working on the top priority. Sprints add overhead to create a separate backlog that, in my experience, seems to roll over sprint to sprint.
The benefits usually amount to “it’s not waterfall” - a line which really hasn’t been relevant in decades.
I get the sense most managers stick to scrum and all the unnecessary overhead mainly because they are creatures of habit. Pushing a non-scrum system in an organization that fully embraces it is hard (especially when senior leaders enjoy the micromanaging aspects of it).
* Engineers rushing to wrap up for the sprint (stress and decreased quality is bad for morale)
* Engineers getting monitored and measured on a task level since all tasks need to be estimated (micromanagement, lack of trust)
* Agility is decreased since everything needs to be planned (lack of autonomy)
Sprints tend to become “phony deadlines”, a key component in “Teamicide” (from “Peopleware”).
I’ve been trying to come up with benefits but I’m coming up short. Wish someone could tell me!