Software companies are managing complex projects due to the increasing and compounded business requirements, finding themselves in need of an agile project management tool that is not only intuitive but helps them handle their projects in a timely and effective manner. Agile project management software helps users to plan and oversee a project throughout all of the development phases. This grants a significative advantage to managers because it also offers the possibility of laying out the stages of product development by establishing deadlines and creating tasks.
In the wake of this paradigm shift, many business managers and developers have begun searching both for knowledge of Agile and for practical Agile tools—whether to better manage the software development lifecycle (SDLC) or other non-IT projects.
In this blog, I’ve listed 10 popular project management tools which support agile methodology.
1. Jira Software from Atlassian
Jira Software is an agile project management tool that supports any agile methodology, be it scrum, kanban, or your own unique flavor. Project managers and owners have access to detailed reports and analytics about the status of the product, such as the cumulative flow diagram, which shows the status and volume of project issues over time. It fits into the larger agile methodology for software development teams to embrace Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery. JIRA is available both as software-as-a-service (SaaS) or a traditional, on-premise installation.
2. Axosoft
Axosoft is a Scrum-specific project management tool for product developers that provides access to an essential PM toolkit, as well as bug tracking, help desk operations, and developer collaboration wikis. Axosoft has serviced over 11,000 teams, including some at noteworthy companies like Cisco, Boeing, and NASA. Their software can be purchased in modules or as a complete product suite, which is available in both on-premise and cloud-hosted versions, depending on your needs.
Axosoft takes developers through the process in three phases, aligned with the methodology of Scrum: backlog management, process definition and visualization, and product “shipment.” Unlike some vendors that place a cap on projects per month, Axosoft lets you create and tackle unlimited projects, subprojects, stories, and epics with user-specific access.
3. Planbox
Unlike above first two project management tools, Planbox is only available in a cloud version, which the developers believe is the best way to provide constant access to updated versions, new features, etc. Planbox is geared toward a more general audience; it’s a good fit for agile marketing teams, IT, developers, and Agile novices and pros alike. The work hierarchy is broken down into four essential components: initiatives, projects, items, and tasks, with real-time updates, time tracking, storyboards, velocity charts, notifications, deadlines, and reporting to help you and your team manage it all.
It comes one interesting feature: built-in customer feedback loop. It helps more closely align your decision-making process with customer values. While the system doesn’t explicitly implement Agile tools like sprints or Kanban boards, it does embody the flexible, iterative framework of Agile project management.
4. Assembla
Assembla is the only provider to offer a complete suite of project and program management tools, seamlessly integrated with Git, SVN, and Perforce projects, all in the Cloud. They offer two solutions that meet the needs of teams from 5 to 5000 users.
The product itself is all about driving continuous delivery with a robust, but intuitive set of Agile tools: Kanban, testing workflows, task management, sprint planning and execution, backlog management, burndown charts, bug tracking, and many others. Assembla’s cloud platform and strong collaboration features allow teams to work together regardless of location, keeping everyone focused on the big picture.
5. PivotalTracker
Pivotal Tracker is the story-based product management tool that makes collaboration easy and keeps cross-functional agile teams in sync. Using Pivotal Tracker, team members can add stories to the backlog, choose stories from the backlog or icebox to add to each iteration, select their desired iteration settings, add point values to specific stories, and determine their project’s velocity through an intuitive, one screen user interface. With the ability to add users with different roles in each project, managers can restrict specific team member’s rights and capabilities within the project.
6. Zoho Sprints
Zoho Sprints is an online agile project management tool for Scrum teams. Projects are broken down into four stages: Backlog, Plan, Iteration, and Product Update. Each stage is intended to take weeks rather than months or years. The initially established plan is meant to change as the situation warrants. It provides the following features:
- Add user stories to backlog
- Estimate and prioritize work items
- Stay on track with personalized scrum boards and swimlanes
- Get actionable insights from velocity,
- Burn up and burn down charts, collaborate with your team on a social feed
- Schedule your review and retrospective meetings from one place.
7. Wrike
Wrike enables project managers to easily prioritize your backlog and set up Agile sprints, manage scrum meetings, and report on progress using reports. Although Wrike is up to date with their releases and enhancements, their mobile versions get a bit of a lag in the process. This might frustrate if you expect to see changes on your mobile devices at the same time as they happen on your desktop.
- Wrike is mainly used in mid-sized or large projects.
- Wrike gets integrated with all devices like Android and iPhone etc. through which the users stay updated on open projects as well as completed projects.
8. VersionOne
VersionOne is an all-in-one agile management tool built from the ground up to support agile software development methodologies such as Scrum, Kanban, Lean, XP and Hybrid. From small teams to distributed enterprises, VersionOne’s suite of right-sized product editions helps companies scale agile faster, easier and smarter.
VersionOne is best suitable for Freelancers, Large Enterprises, Mid Size Business, Non Profits, Public Administrations, and Small Business.
9. Binfire
Binfire is a web-based Project Management software with real-time collaboration tools designed for both traditional & virtual teams. It helps teams to plan, coordinate, track and bring products & services to the market fast. Apart from agile methodology, it supports waterfall and hybrid project management methods.
Binfire comes with Gantt, resource loading, burn-down chart, amazing dashboard, and a task manager which is better than all other task management applications in the market today! The collaboration features help virtual teams to work and be as productive as traditional teams.
10. VivifyScrum
VivvifyScrum is a web-based project management tool for small agile teams and large organizations alike. Vivify’s intuitive flow and quick navigation provides seamless agile project management experience. Also, it is cost-effective compared to other tools.
You can select from a Kanban or Scrum view as per your requirements. Also, you can customize by adding more columns as per need. It employs estimations for stories and provides a host of functions for each card: commenting, file attachments, priorities, sub-items (tasks), lists, events, tags and more.
I hope this list will help you choose the best agile project management tool based on your requirements. Don’t find the tool you are using? Let us know in the comment section.
Author Bio:
Evan Fortier works as Project Manager at BlueKite Apps, an app development company in San Diego. In free time, he read fiction books or watch sci-fi movies.