Greatest agile venture administration instruments

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Without the right software, it is almost impossible to lead an agile team effectively.

However, agile project management tools can make your life a lot easier. It's the best way to collaborate with your team, manage changing tasks, and keep track of different projects on a large scale.

In addition to the management advantages of agile project management software, your entire team also benefits. These tools make it easier for everyone to work efficiently, communicate and meet deadlines.

Realizing that you need to invest in agile project management software is only half the battle. Finding the right software for your company and team is a whole different story. That's why I created this guide.

After extensive research and testing, I narrowed down the five agile project management tools currently available on the market.

The top 5 options for agile project management tools

  1. forecast
  2. Monday
  3. Mavenlink
  4. Jira
  5. VivifyScrum

How to choose the best agile project management tools for you

There are certain factors that need to be assessed when shopping and evaluating various tools. If you follow the purchasing guides outlined below, you will know exactly what to look for and what is important in an agile project management solution.

Agile framework settings

The very first thing to consider is the agile framework that you want to use. For those of you who are already familiar with the concepts of agile management, you probably have a preferred methodology.

Would you like to use Scrum or Kanban? Lean? Crystal? Do you use agile framework variants like Scrumban?

Depending on the answer, you can find an agile tool that specializes in your preferred framework. It's worth noting that not all agile project management software supports all agile management frameworks. So make sure that the options you are considering provide the methodology that you need to implement.

Collaboration features

Working together in a team is an essential part of agile management. You want to make sure that the software you are considering comes with collaboration tools right away.

Most solutions should come with features like team tagging, commenting, file sharing, and other basic tools out of the box. Some software programs have advanced features depending on the project type, industry, and team needs.

Team size

Just because an agile project management tool has collaboration capabilities doesn't mean you should assume that the tool is robust enough for your specific team.

There are solutions on the market for small teams with a handful of users. These aren't ideal for companies with multiple teams, hundreds of users, and multiple projects in multiple departments.

It should be relatively easy to determine whether the tool in question is built to scale. If not, you can always raise these concerns with the sales team during a free trial or demo.

Project type

The complexity of your projects also plays an important role in choosing the best software for your team.

For example, software development teams and internal IT departments usually have higher requirements because these projects are more complex. In these cases, avoid beginner tools and look for industry-specific solutions tailored to your project needs.

On the flip side, managers and teams just starting out with agile project management should look for basic solutions for managing simple projects.

reporting

The best agile project management software gives you detailed reports and advanced analysis of your projects.

You can use these dashboards to learn more about your team's productivity, find out if the project will be completed on time, and if you are on budget. As a project manager, this information is critical to the overall operation of your company.

user friendliness

The ease of use of an agile management tool is often overlooked during the assessment process. But it is definitely something that needs to be considered.

What is your technical experience? How tech savvy is your team?

If you go for a rigid solution that is difficult to use, it can do more harm than good. So you need to strike a balance between a tool that is robust enough to handle the complexities of your project, yet easy for your team to navigate. This is another reason why you should always take advantage of free trials and demos as you narrow down different options.

The different types of agile project management tools

Not every agile project management tool is created equal. Before we get into the reviews and recommendations, let me briefly explain the different options.

The easiest way to segment these tools is based on the agile frameworks they offer. It's also worth noting that some solutions fall into more than one of these categories.

hustle

Scrum is one of the most popular agile frameworks because it can be used for a wide variety of projects. Over the years, Scrum has grown in popularity due to its simplicity, easy implementation process, and proven productivity increase.

With Scrum, the project manager works closely with the team to identify and prioritize the functions in the backlog. This backlog contains all of the tasks that need to be performed to deliver the final product.

Kanban

Kanban is the most popular way to manage visual workflows. Kanban boards make it easier for agile teams to manage various tasks in the project life cycle.

Similar to Scrum, Kanban was developed to support teams in working together efficiently.

The basic principles of Kanban include visual workflow automation, limited WIP (work in progress), and advanced workflows. This process promotes continuous collaboration and learning for agile teams.

Lean

It is common for software development teams to use the Lean-Agile methodology. This iterative framework is very flexible and does not contain any rigid rules or guidelines.

The main principles of Lean Management include team empowerment, improved learning, elimination of waste, completing tasks as quickly as possible, making decisions as late as possible and seeing the big picture.

Individuals and small teams have more decision-making authority than a hierarchical process. Lean management also helps ensure that the entire team is productive for the longest time.

crystal

The Crystal Agile methodology is another popular software development framework. It's easy and usually consists of a family of agile processes. These include Crystal Orange, Crystal Clear, Crystal Yellow, and others.

Each individual framework has its own rules and characteristics based on factors like project priority, team size, and more.

Crystal values ​​the interaction between the processes and the people involved in a project. Key principles of Crystal include simplicity, teamwork, collaboration, and the ability to improve processes. It encourages high user engagement and removes distractions and red tape.

Other types of agile project management

There are many other agile frameworks. When you look at the variations and combinations of some, that number is in the dozen.

Other popular types are LeSS (Large Scale Scrum), SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework), Feature Driven Development (FDD), Extreme Programming (XP), Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), Scrumban, Adaptive Software Development (ASD), Agile agile hybrid and FAST agile. The list goes on and on.

# 1 – Forecast Review – The Best Features for Collaboration

Forecast is a complete solution for project management and resource management. It was developed for project-driven companies that want to strengthen teams, automate processes and consolidate all projects in a single tool.

With Forecast, you can automate tasks for project planning, resource allocation, and more. The software is powered by AI technology to simplify monotonous tasks.

Here are some of the top reasons and why Forecast is so high on my list:

  • Keep track of operational visibility in real time
  • Analyze decisions and the financial state of projects
  • Administrators can set different authorization levels for each user (clients, employees, etc.).
  • Simple and organized backlog of project tasks
  • Easily plan sprints and track progress
  • You will be automatically notified of important updates in your workflow
  • Continuous and fast delivery of products and tasks

Overall, Forecast offers everything that agile teams need to improve communication. Creating and assigning task cards, file sharing, dependencies, subtasks, comments, and priority lists are just a few examples.

It's a popular choice for agencies, consultants, and software teams. Forecast also offers solutions for project accounting and business intelligence. The software integrates seamlessly with other popular tools your team uses.

Forecast's AI learns from your previous projects and suggests the number of hours to allocate to similar tasks.

Plans start at $ 29 per seat per month (with a minimum of 10 seats). Try it for free for 14 days. No credit card required.

# 2 – Monday Review – Best for Agile Beginners

Monday.com has quickly become one of the most popular agile project management tools on the market today. Trusted by over 100,000 organizations worldwide, including some big names like Coca-Cola, Adobe, Hulu and the Discovery Channel.

This is a good choice if you are new to agile management and need a solution for basic projects.

It's one of the easiest ways to plan, track, and deploy team projects from a single workspace. Here are some of the other reasons I like Monday so much:

  • Deploy in minutes with hundreds of customizable templates
  • Integrated with tools like Slack, HubSpot, G Suite, LinkedIn, Teams, and more
  • Automate repetitive tasks to save time and prevent human error
  • Visual data with Kanban boards, timelines, cards, calendars and more
  • 24/7 customer support with an average response time of 10 minutes
  • Track the progress of your projects and make data-driven decisions
  • Set project goals and strengthen the stakeholders

Monday.com makes it easy for teams to work together. You benefit from features like file sharing, task assignments, task priorities, visual panels, and other ways to see at a glance what everyone is doing.

It's a popular choice for remote working, marketing, creative teams, human resources, sales, and more. While Montag has tools for software development, IT, and construction projects, it's definitely better for simple projects.

Plans start at just $ 8 per seat per month (with a minimum of three seats). You can try Monday.com for 14 days for free with an unlimited number of users. No credit card required.

# 3 – Mavenlink Review – Best for scale agile management

Mavenlink is another complete solution for project management and resource management. It's a modern way for teams to work together from anywhere, which is perfect for remote working.

Mavenlink not only improves the productivity of your operational team, but also provides deep insights into the financial performance of your projects and your business.

Some of the key features, benefits, and notable highlights of Mavenlink are:

  • Comprehensive insights for data-driven business decisions in real time
  • Flexible way to manage resources and project tasks
  • Real-time automation tools
  • See all projects at a glance with a full project portfolio view
  • Easily assess the health and status of specific projects or a project portfolio
  • Reusable templates to replicate success
  • Deliver projects consistently and on time
  • Improve project performance
  • Expand the workspace with popular integrations (Salesforce, Xero, Slack, HubSpot, etc.).

Mavenlink is great for larger teams that need to manage projects across multiple departments. This works fine if you're only using it for a handful of projects. But it works just as well when you have a project portfolio of 500+.

For small teams and businesses, Mavenlink has a plan for everyone. Prices are not available online. Contact the sales team for more information.

Try Mavenlink free for ten days.

# 4 – Jira Review – Best agile project management tool for development teams

Atlassian's Jira is somewhat unique compared to some of the other tools on our list. This agile project management software was specially developed for software development projects.

Jira enables software teams of all sizes to plan, track, and publish extraordinary products.

Let's take a closer look at the most important highlights of Jira for agile management:

  • Plan sprints, create user stories and distribute tasks for software teams
  • Prioritize all teamwork in context with complete visibility for everyone
  • Visual data reporting in real time
  • Choose a pre-built workflow or create your own custom solutions
  • Instantly integrate with hundreds of developer tools
  • Connect the work of the software team to your product roadmap
  • Scrum boards, Kanban boards, roadmaps and agile reporting

Jira is arguably the most secure project management tool on the market today in terms of data encryption and compliance. It also integrates with more than 3,000 apps on the Atlassian market.

Software teams, look no further – Jira is the best agile project management tool for you.

The tool is free for up to ten users. Paid plans start at just $ 7 per user per month. Try it for free for seven days.

# 5 – VivifyScrum Review – Best Agile All-in-One Management Tool

VivifyScrum is a versatile agile management solution. Small teams and large organizations trust it.

Regardless of your team size and project complexity, this tool can help manage everything from a single platform.

Here are some of the top reasons you should consider VivifyScrum:

  • Unlimited Scrum Boards, Unlimited Kanban Boards, and Unlimited Items
  • Custom boards with built-in team collaboration tools
  • Integrated functions for customer invoicing and payment tracking
  • Functions for time recording and team management
  • Build custom workflows with agile boards
  • Report and analyze with burndown charts, scrum metrics and more

The software offers mobile apps, API access, file storage, unlimited integrations, unlimited active sprints and much more.

VivifyScrum starts at $ 10 per month for small teams. Contact the sales team for more information on enterprise pricing. Regardless of your team size and project management needs, you can try VivifyScrum free of charge for 14 days.

Summary

The only way to effectively manage an agile team is with the right project management tool. Which agile project management software is the best?

It depends on what you are looking for. Factors such as project type, team size, and other considerations need to be assessed so that you can make an informed decision.

Follow my methods and recommendations outlined in this guide to find the best agile project management tools for your specific situation.

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