Enterprise Agile Tools Buyers Guide is a comprehensive resource for enterprise decision-makers. Enterprise agile tools help teams work together to develop and create software solutions. By using agile tools, companies can adjust their software development processes as seamlessly and smoothly as possible. As a result, project managers can make informed decisions to achieve the desired results with accuracy and efficiency.
Agile tools help various departments within a company work together on a single virtual platform. They are also valuable in gaining customer feedback so that developers know how well their software products perform. From planning to production to performance, agile tools provide everything a company needs to ensure quality at every level of software development.
Why Use Agile Tools?
Software product administrators or stakeholders must wear two hats: IT and business. Doing so puts them in touch with multiple departments and projects and commits them to various meetings: sprint planning, sprint review, or scrums. Agile tools help product owners organize, monitor, and assess projects while collaborating with the team on various levels throughout the organization.
Agile product development allows multiple people (specifically the business and IT departments) to collaborate and share information on equal levels, creating less hierarchy and more partnership. Agile tools provide a centralized project management platform for all parties to share files, collaborate on ideas, provide feedback, and communicate instantly, all within the same digital arena.
One of the challenges senior business leaders face is empathizing with software developers who are the creators of the products that the business leaders are selling. Agile tools put executives in the driver’s seat. By collaborating through project management software, they can ask questions, address issues, and know the end user’s target audience.
Agile tools broaden the project mandate in purpose, scope, timeline, and project objectives. In addition, all teams in the organization now work from a centralized virtual platform, making meeting core objectives more visible and urgent. This is especially valuable for scrum teams, who often wait for other departments to move forward with projects.
Finally, software development projects can be complicated. As projects evolve, numerous issues can quickly create chaos if left unmanaged. Businesses struggle to create a flexible system that can meet the needs of everyone involved in the work. Agile tools help foster adaptability without losing the primary focus of the project. Companies can shift gears as needed while continuing the work on schedule.
How Do Agile Tools Work?
The overarching purpose of agile tools is to turn the agile mindset into a formalized process to meet goals and objectives. Adopting an agile culture paints broad philosophical strokes. Agile tools translate those into actionable workflows. In addition, project management software helps define the process so that everyone is on the same page.
Core Functionality
How agile tools function depends mainly on an organization’s agile methodology. There are two main types of agile mindsets:
- Scrum: A formalized process with short-term projects, milestones, dedicated roles (scrum master, product owner), and constant communication (planning, status updates, sprint reviews). Most models contain multidisciplinary teams that work together to complete a project.
- Kanban: A loosely structured process with work-in-progress projects. There are no established milestones as the product undergoes continuous improvement. Daily communication is not necessary. A manager typically oversees multidisciplinary team members throughout the project.
These two frameworks create vastly different dynamics. As a result, choosing agile tools that match the methodology is paramount to the agile culture’s success. When comparing products, teams should consider the following criteria:
- Cloud-based platform for remote collaboration
- Reporting and analysis
- Seamless collaboration between all teams
- Flexible for scrum or Kanban framework
- Responsive tech support
- Project management and tracking tools
- Task management and monitoring
- Clean, user-friendly interface
- Messaging, video, and chat tools
- Scalable
- Web, desktop, and mobile formats
Core Agile Tool Features
Teams rely on agile tools to perform various functions such as communication, feedback, file sharing, real-time collaboration, project management, reporting, and analysis. Therefore, a product’s features must match the company’s needs. Below are some of Scrum and Kanban frameworks’ most popular agile tool features.
- Backlog management
- Epic-based forecasting
- Release forecasting
- Milestone planning
- Third-party integration
- Product road mapping
- Code review
- Project Portfolio
- Task board or card wall
- Card overlapping
- Time tracking
- Data storage
- Project reporting and analytics
- Project calendar
- Burndown/up chart
- Velocity chart
- Kanban board
- Sprint report
- Cumulative flow diagram
- User stories
- Customer/client portal
- Video chat
- Instant messaging
- Mentions
- Notes
- Notifications
- Issue or bug tracking
- Estimation tools
- Template or view options
How to Compare Agile Tool Products
One of the trademarks of agile tools is that they allow teams to take a more flexible and iterative approach to technology development. Agile methodology embraces ongoing changes in technology so that the required changes are manageable. The right tools help companies adapt to changes, track progress, identify and address issues quickly, and stay on track to complete projects by the deadline. Below are some ways to compare products.
Facilitate Collaboration
Companies should look for a product that facilitates collaboration between teams. The tool should enable teams to give input, share data, communicate, and provide feedback – all in real-time. Administrators should be able to set permissions, group chats, and projects targeted at specific teams. The software should also contain customer portals to get in on the conversation when necessary.
Tracking, Reporting, and Project History
Business administrators and developers cannot know where the project is in the pipeline without tracking and reporting. The best agile tools make it possible for users to view the history of the product and the current progress. In addition, the software should provide plenty of reporting and analytics tools that provide information on various segments of the project lifecycle.
Cloud-Based Service
Today, more software vendors are transitioning out of traditional software into cloud-based (SaaS) services. The one move alone provides endless benefits to companies needing a flexible platform. Cloud-based services provide a centralized workstation where the team addition operates out of any location. In addition, the platform has full function and storage capabilities available on any remote device.
Scalability
Adaptation is a core value of agile methodology. Companies need to be able to evolve with advances in technology and emerging trends. Since agile tools have become the reference point for ongoing change, they must be scalable to accommodate infrastructure expansion. Companies must anticipate business growth and buy the appropriate product accordingly.
Analytics
Analytics is essential to software development, allowing teams to adjust through various project stages. Analytics can help users improve efficiency, workflow, communication, product development, and teamwork. Analytical tools offer measurable and actionable data so that teams can improve more accurately.
