When your team works on software development projects or similar types of client work, at some point, you’re faced with a choice: Which project management methodology will we use?
If you’ve decided to go with agile methods, it’s best to stay organized and establish full project visibility from the beginning.
Luckily, that’s easier than ever. Because agile project management has become widespread, there are now plenty of tools that can help perfect your team’s processes.
Here, we’ll review:
You might be familiar with the two most popular project management methodologies: agile and waterfall. While some types of projects are better suited for one or the other, there is evidence that agile methods are more effective, on average.
Studies have shown that the agile approach to project management results in a 64% success rate, whereas the waterfall method is successful just 49% of the time.
That’s partly because it facilitates continuous iteration and quick, incremental progress through project goals. Breaking projects into smaller builds that can be developed and tested concurrently by self-organizing and self-managing teams can reduce bottlenecks and help your business achieve more than it would with a linear approach.
Another benefit of agile project management is that you can test and deliver a product sooner, which is helpful for achieving business goals and demonstrating progress to stakeholders and clients.
Staying on top of agile workflows means handling a lot at once, so you’re likely to need a centralized source of truth to make them work. The right software platform can allow team members to collaborate, focus on bite-sized problems that can be solved quickly and track upcoming tasks and work in progress without holding up the entire project.
Agile project management tools simplify the stages of project management, from project planning to development to testing and creating a long-term product roadmap. The best agile project management software improves team efficiency, financial performance and customer satisfaction.
Most software products in this category will include a core set of features:
Professional services firms may use agile methodologies a bit different than software developers. The nature of a client-based business requires flawless internal coordination, so as not to overlook any critical steps and continue meeting client expectations along the way. That extra level of accountability makes it imperative that you find agile project management software that’s a good fit for your work style and industry.
Developing a truly agile workflow may also require a culture shift. Especially if you’re not in software development, your team could be in the dark about what being agile looks like. It’s a good idea to train them well in your chosen methodology before you commit to bringing on new software.
Then, to help your team truly implement the agile approach, we recommend adopting a platform that operates in the cloud and integrates projects with sales, quotes, tickets, retainers, timesheets, billing and scheduling.
However, if you're looking for a standalone project management tool, here are five that are proven to help manage agile teams.
The following five tools have different strengths and weaknesses, and they may not all work for your industry and type of project. Use the overviews below to get an initial sense of which could be worth a deeper look.
TIP: If you’re new to agile project management, read up on its guiding principles before you try to use any of these tools.
ActiveCollab is meant to be a workspace hub for your entire organization. It combines a variety of tools ranging from task management to time tracking and invoicing, with simple ways for teams to collaborate in each area of the platform.
Tasks can be assigned and tracked at all points in the workflow, and the entire team can view everyone’s roles on a system-wide calendar, so everyone can see their position in a project’s progress. ActiveCollab checks real-time task progress against the accuracy of time estimates as well.
A built-in writing tool allows collaborative work on written documents. ActiveCollab also integrates with your email tools.
Jira is used primarily by software developers and is best suited to that project model. Although it's been developed over time for a wider range of applications, the software was originally built as a bug-tracking tool. The software supports a variety of agile methods, including Scrum and Kanban.
Users create roadmaps for projects — helpful visuals for tracking. You can manage each project with a drag-and-drop interface that lets you plan sprints and assign tasks to team members.
Software development teams give Jira excellent reviews for its flexibility and range of features, which are closely tailored to their needs and support continuous improvement.
Pivotal Tracker is a story-based project-tracking tool that helps you manage tasks from inception to completion. Each task is conceptualized as a story and can be ranked according to its complexity. This feature makes it easy to monitor workflows and communicate with clients.
A clear view of team priorities and individual objectives helps everyone manage their roles in the project. Pivotal Tracker offers a project monitor for viewing the status of the build, a whiteboard for discussions and daily tracking of completed tasks.
At a glance, everyone can see a real-time view of shared work, team status, responsibilities and next steps.
Trello is one of the most well-known and widely used project management tools on the market. That means many people are somewhat familiar with its interface, and Trello integrations are built into many of the tools you may already use. For instance, there are Chrome plug-ins to connect Trello with everything from Pomodoro time management tools to Gmail.
Trello’s structure is based on the Kanban framework of agile project management. However, it's easy to use Trello with the Scrum framework as well.
Trello represents each project visually with a board made of drag-and-drop cards organized into lists. Trello cards allow you to write comments, attach documents or notes, apply due dates, create checklists and integrate with other apps. The software is managed by Atlassian, making it a sister program to Jira.
Axosoft is an agile project management solution that uses the Scrum framework. The interface allows teams to create plans, plot process steps and collaborate effectively to tag and solve issues as they arise.
Axosoft brings together all the details and information into each product’s backlog and gives an overview of which team member is handling each task and how they are progressing. The Release Planner lets users drag and drop tasks, bugs and user stories to assign them or mark them finished. Burndown charts show you how quickly the team is approaching the project's goals. A Kanban-style card view is also available.
A Help Desk feature turns emails into support tickets. Customers have their own portal, which lets them communicate their requests and feedback directly with the team. This direct communication can save team members a lot of time while helping customers feel involved in the process.
Axosoft also features a team wiki, which provides a lot of space to share detailed information and specifics related to a project.
Agile project management software will likely be well-received by team members in various roles, but it may be most greatly appreciated by project managers.
Platforms built for the agile approach benefit project managers by:
READ NEXT: 5 Best Project Management Podcasts for Industry Insights
While it may seem like adopting new technology is solely for the purpose of improving internal communication, generating data and meeting business goals, having the right tech stack can also have profound effects on your connections with clients.
Guided by tech that’s built for agile teams, you can provide clients with regular, accurate status updates and generate deliverables without running into roadblocks or holding up projects as you wait for clarity about a detail. Over time, clients will come to rely on your team for quick, high-quality work and better communication than they’ll get from businesses that don’t use project management tools.
Couple project management software with an effective CRM and your team will find it easy to keep tabs on account history and provide first-rate client service.
