Summary : Agile project management software has many of the same features as traditional project management software (time tracking tools, task management features, project reporting). Agile PM software, on the other hand, incorporates them into feature sets for agile work, such as Kanban boards or swimlanes, burndown maps, real-time coordination and messaging, story point management, and so on.

Agile Project Management Software Recommendations and Features

Agile Project Management Software

Agile project management software has many of the same features as traditional project management software (time tracking tools, task management features, project reporting). Agile PM software, on the other hand, incorporates them into feature sets for agile work, such as Kanban boards or swimlanes, burndown maps, real-time coordination and messaging, story point management, and so on.

Agile project management software is software that is developed to help and enhance agile working practices. Agile tools aid project preparation by allowing for detailed mission setting and task prioritization that is aligned with the project's overall objectives.

These features are designed to help agile teams prepare better sprints, handle change in real time, and collaborate more effectively.

Further reading: Beginners' Guide to Scrum Project Management

I've collected a list of the best agile project management tools for you to review and compare in order to help you function in an agile manner.

Key Features Of Agile Project Management Software

All or most of the following features will be present in the best agile project management software:

Roadmaps and backlogs: Agile project management is a continuous flow of adaptation and evolution, which ensures that essential planning things like roadmaps and backlogs must be rethought on a regular basis. Is there any support for product backlog management, roadmap revision, and monitoring in the tools?
Use Case Document: Is there something built-in to the tool to assist with Use Case summaries? Is there a place where you can keep use case explanations and facts, such as what you learned from SMEs and market research?
Gamification for Team Velocity: Does the tool in some way promote and reward speed? Agile means adapting rapidly to changing circumstances, so the tool should have a way to ensure that this happens consistently—even if it's only a fun way to get updates to the right people quickly.

10 Best Agile Project Management Tools for software development 2021

Allegra: task and project management

Allegra is written in Java and JavaScript and supports all major database systems. The user interface is tidy and modern. Gantt Chart, Resource View, and Graphical Workflow Editor are all interactive. The role and permission in Allegra is based on the RACI matrix principle. Access permissions can be set for individual fields. Earned Value, Milestone Trend, Eisenhower Principle and Getting Things Done are supported.

Asana: task management

Asana is for managing tasks and workflows as you can see on the left column of the screenshot above. To get your works organized, Asana enables you to plan and structure work via tasks, so the project is tracked and managed. The shortcomings of Asana might be that resource management functionality is not currently offered.

Jira: the most popular in software development but expensive

When talking about a project management tool, the first one comes into your mind must be Jira which is the most famous tool. It is for agile team, and offers tons of features as plug-ins. However, Jira has weak features regarding test management.

MS Project: extensive features and complicated

MS Project is a more general tool for project and portfolio management. It is not only for IT projects, but also for other projects, such as construction. It is the standard project management tool for any size teams without a budget limit.

OpenProject: open source solution with limitations

OpenProject is like a light version of Jira. It is not chunky in features, but just the right amount of features to support your project management. It offers a community version and has a simple interface. However, you should look for other tools if you need a complicated features, such as cost-to-completion tracking and resource management.

ProjeQtOr: somewhat outdated open source solution

ProjeQtOr is also open source. Its user interface is very complex and the default configuration is for a system house that performs software development projects for external customers. It does cover planning, incident management, requirement management and test management, so it is a traditional tool rather than for agile.

Redmine: open source solution for bug tracking

Redmine is definitely the best bug tracking tool with high ROI. It accommodates multiple projects and provides a wiki and forum for each one. The report feature can be optimized and the popular agile project management is not supported.

Trello: easy task management but too simple

Nice and clear interface and strong team interaction and communication supported. Trello is a perfect fit for easy-to-use situation and has a a handy drag and drop feature when working on boards. The only concern is that Trello offers SaaS version only and is too simple for managing projects.

Wrike: comprehensive project management

Wrike is a enterprise-grade work management tool for remote teams. Except features as in typical project management tool, it offers integration with Outlook to keep project communication and schedules organized. The conversion of a task to a project is missing, so the work flow within Wrike is not supported.

ZenTao: "hidden gem" open source ALM solution

ZenTao is for application lifecycle management. Clear interface, flexible API, and work conversion of a task/bug to requirement/task/case are the first thing noticed. Like typical project management tools, it offers Burndown and Gantt charts to monitor tasks and projects. Test management feature is what distinguishes it from other general tools. What's more, it supports Agile and Scrum.

The list here is a general idea what the author sees a project management tool for software projects. Every coin has two sides. When choosing a tool for your team, think about both the pros and cons. You can also leave a comment below to recommend a nice tool.

Final Words

As a project manager, you understand how important it is to complete tasks on time. These Agile tools will assist you and your team in being more efficient and agile. Unfortunately, after many early successes of agile project management methods, especially in the software industry (where pace was critical), the benefits of agile project management began to dwindle, and the agile approach became dogmatized and rigid.

As a result of the disclaimer, ZenTao agile project management is really AGILE 2.0, which means we think project management must be more agile. Give it a try!