Agile and Scrum in particular require a lot of interaction between team members. You can lose a lot in translation in terms of communication, and in some cases where the team is working away from each other, find they need to recreate what someone already built in order to keep up with the project. These tools come in handy in such scenarios when you need such features (like collaborative features) that would be time prohibitive or too cost prohibitive to add into your current project. Here I’ve highlighted some free software products that offer features that Agile teams would be wanting when working together on projects.
Trends are changing in the world of project management. Agile project management has arrived to stay. For organizations following this methodology, software tools are needed to support the different stages of the life cycle of a product. I’ve listed down some free tools that I use for my day job projects. Hopefully, one or two might be useful to you too.
Icescrum
Created by a French company called Kagilum (KAnban-aGILe-scrUM) SAS in 2011, Icescrum is a free and open source solution for teams of any size. This tool is compatible with Linux, Windows, and Mac—and integrates with a variety of popular apps like Box, Excel, Dropbox, GitHub, Google Drive, Slack, and more.
Cost: free download. The cloud version starts at $35 USD per month.
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Taiga
Awarded Best Agile Tool 2015 by the Agile awards, and Top 11 PM Tools 2016 by Opensource.com, Taiga offers better functionality than many paid tools, including backlogs, sprints, Kanban boards, and QA, along with the ability to import from Trello, Jira, Asana, and Github.
Cost: Public projects are completely free; private projects start at $19 a month.
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Scrumpy
The unique selling point of Scrumpy software is that it allows long-term story views and is completely written in Java. It is specifically designed to help a product owner maintain a meaningful long-term backlog of user stories.
Cost: Completely free.
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Hansoft
Hansoft’s fast and intuitive interface, powerful find/report tools, and a host of other features can run different project management methods depending on your project. Hansoft is scalable and configurable since it was inspired by the Project Management Institute (PMI), Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), and Large Scale SCRUM (LeSS). Its core feature critical for planning and tracking is the backlog, which can be refined by any custom attribute to your deliverables.
Cost: Completely free for up to 2 users. It allows unlimited projects and programs.
YouTrack
We found that YouTrack has the best reporting feature of any tools on this list. Whether you’re looking for burndown charts, timeline reports, and more—all available on a live dashboard. Newest features include improved, project-based swimlanes, advanced visibility options, and time report improvements.
Cost: Free for ten users and 5GB of storage. Paid options are based on the number of users and start at $20 per month.
Jira
Jira is probably the most compelling free offer for agile software development. This popular platform is built with Agile principles in mind and meets all the needs of software development teams.
Project planning and collaboration are made easy, with Scrum and Kanban boards and clear visual roadmaps. Agile reporting is at the heart of the solution, with all the main charts (burnup, burndown, sprint report…) included. Adopting Agile processes has never been easier, with native backlog and sprint management tools.
Developers can access code branches in real-time and enjoy advanced bug-tracking and version control. Automation is also included in the free plan for one project. Jira is perfect for small agile teams, with the free version offering most features for up to 10 users, with 2 GB of cloud storage included.
Pros
- The most complete agile platform, with backlog management, sprint and kanban at its core
- Built with the needs of software developers at its core
- A comprehensive free plan to accommodate small teams at no cost
Cons
- The paid version is required for more than 10 team members
- Project roles and capacity planning are only available in paid tiers
- May not be as useful for organizations that need to cater to the needs of diverse departments, such as marketing and sales
JiraProject management tool for agile teamsLearn more about Jira
Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is more than a project management solution: it’s an all-in-one solution, with integrated CRM, CMS, eCommerce and collaboration tools. This allows your business to enjoy maximum efficiency across diverse teams.
It offers a very comprehensive free edition that gives you access to a SaaS platform from which you can manage all kinds of agile projects. An advanced task management system with dependencies and reminders, interactive Kanban boards and Gantt charts are all provided at no cost for unlimited users and tasks.
This solution goes even further with a full set of collaboration tools: conduct polls, make video announcements to your agile teams, send chats and even enjoy group video calls for free. You also have access to 5 GB of free online storage to share files and keep important documents accessible to everyone.
Pros
- A unique 360° approach to managing your business: all your teams can work together on this platform, with functionalities going way beyond project management
- A uniquely comprehensive free plan, with access to advanced task management, Kanban, Gantt charts and even collaboration tools like video calls and file sharing
- Can help you manage web projects like launching a website or adding eCommerce functionality
Cons
- No time tracking or templates in the free plan
- May be overkill if all you’re looking for is a simple project management tool
- Doesn’t have many features for software development
Conclusion
Agile project management is not just a methodology. It is a different approach to corporate strategies. This is mainly because it focuses on meeting customer requirements in an efficient and flexible manner. It allows teamwork, sharing of information and knowledge within a business organization, and adaptation. The agile project management tools are designed to facilitate the above frameworks and strategies.