As many companies undertake Agile transformation journeys, finding a solution that supports their organization's needs is crucial. But with so many options on the market, how do you decide which tool to use? Let’s uncover the 9 best Agile project management software in 2023.
Agile project management software is a digital solution designed to help organizations employ Agile practices in software development. Agile tools support companies by improving visibility into work processes, facilitating collaboration, and encouraging fast feedback turnaround.
With operational agility becoming integral to today’s business world and the rise of digital transformation, Agile project management tools have become a key instrument for project managers.
What Makes an Agile Project Management Software Worthy?
One of the most critical aspects of a useful Agile PM tool is to be flexible so you can adapt it to your organizational needs. Not vice versa! It’s also important for your tool of choice to be scalable so you can apply it across multiple teams and management levels in your company. Furthermore, as Agile is all about continuous improvement, look for a solution that enables you to collect data and measure whether you are achieving your efficiency goals.
Other than that, true Agile project management software will allow your teams to:
Kanbanize is an Agile project and portfolio management software based on the Kanban method. It allows users to visualize projects, track their progress, and optimize workflow efficiency to deliver value faster to the market. In addition, the software comes with scaling capabilities that help you apply it across multiple teams or the entire organization to achieve full organizational transparency.One of Kanbanize’s superpowers is its ability to deliver a clear work structure – from visualizing projects or strategic initiatives to breaking them down into multiple levels of work items and tracking their progress from “Requested” to “Done”. Furthermore, the built-in OKR functionality allows you to map the exact flow of your strategic objectives.
In Kanbanize, users can use historical delivery data to plan their projects, get automatic status updates, and quickly adapt to changes.
Integrations with multiple digital tools such as Power BI, Microsoft Teams, Tableau, Google Data Studio, Google Drive, Github, Zapier, etc.
These only scratch the surface of the software capabilities. If you want to learn more, you can try it free for 14 days.
2. JIRA
JIRA is a widespread Agile project management tool that is most suitable for software development teams. It offers a set of features and supports custom Scrum and Kanban workflows. The software allows you to create visual roadmaps of your projects, track work progress, and automate certain project management activities.
With JIRA, software teams can track bugs, easily collaborate, create estimations on sprints, assign tasks to different users, etc. Although mostly Scrum-oriented, the software comes with multiple charts for measuring workflow performance, such as Burndown and Burnup charts.
Key features
Scrum & Kanban Boards
Roadmaps
Project Estimations
Agile reporting
Custom filters
Pre-built workflows
Process automation
Bugs and defect management
Integrations with many developers' tools
3. Smartsheet
Smartsheet is a collaborative software for Agile project management that is flexible enough to easily handle both single project and end-to-end work management.
Smartsheet comes with a groundbreaking way to collaborate on projects and processes. It effectively combines the usability of a spreadsheet with visual timeline management and collaborative file sharing.
The platform is designed to help you customize and automate your workflows and align multiple teams on projects. This allows businesses to boost team collaboration and unlock agility.
Key features
Gantt Charts
Resource Management
Reports
Alerts and Automated Actions
Calendar View
Portals
Activity logs
These and many more capabilities make Smartsheet а preferred choice for many Agile project managers.
4. Wrike
Wrike is an online Agile project management tool that you can use to manage various projects and teams. It comes with an interactive interface and valuable features such as Gantt Charts, project templates, extensive reporting features, Kanban boards, and more. It is a scalable Agile project management tool that allows you to create a connection between the silos in your organization and achieve cross-team collaboration.
Wrike comes with customizable workflows that can be configured to respond to different organizational needs. The software is particularly suitable for marketing and professional service teams.
Key features
Interactive timeline (Gantt chart)
Real-time newsfeed
Shared team calendars
Document collaboration
Task management
Automated workflows
Discussions in tasks
Time tracking
Customized reports
5. Asana
If you are looking for simplicity and an interactive user interface, Asana might be the solution for you. This Agile project management software includes many features that your team can use to manage tasks, visualize roadmaps, plan projects, and build nice-looking reports.
The platform’s suite of capabilities includes seamless work visualization and team collaboration, project timelines, and many integrations with useful digital tools. Asana is an Agile PM tool that is specifically popular among creative teams.
Key features
Activity feed
Visualization of workload
Automatic updates to email/inbox
Create custom calendars and views
Project sections and search views
Monitor initiative progress
Set company goals
My tasks list and focus mode
6. Teamwork
Teamwork is an easy-to-use Agile project management tool that provides a minimalist UI, and it’s beneficial for teams just starting with Agile. The software comes with Kanban boards to manage backlogs and populate comprehensive task lists.
Regardless of whether you use Scrum, Kanban, Scrumban, etc., Teamwork allows you to tailor your boards to your team's specific needs. It enables you to keep your tasks on track, estimate time, and spot bottlenecks within your process.
Key features
Workload and capacity management
Kanban board views
Time tracking
Custom templates
Task Calendars
Budget management capabilities and profitability reports
7. ProjectManager
Another software that supports Agile project management is ProjectManager.com. It represents a complete platform where teams can plan and manage their work. The software is famous among traditional project managers. Still, with its addition of Kanban boards, Scrum workflows, and product roadmap visualization features, it’s a suitable solution for those looking to tap into Agile ways of working.
ProjectManager.com is a unique tool that enables flexibility within Agile teams while also providing capabilities that support the waterfall methodology. As a result, many teams using hybrid approaches turn to ProjectManager.
Key features
Kanban boards
Product backlogs and sprint planning
Product roadmaps
Time tracking
Gantt Charts
Project reporting
Real-time dashboards
Team workload management
8. Digital.ai (VersionOne)
VersionOne CollabNet is a platform for Agile project management at an enterprise level. It’s a scalable solution that organizations use to bring Agile portfolio management across business locations or multiple teams.
This Agile project management software brings end-to-end visibility into projects and equips you with the tools to make data-driven decisions. VersionOne is mainly targeted at optimizing the software engineering lifecycle at big organizations to improve their delivery capabilities and reduce the release time of working solutions to the market.
Key features
Supports various frameworks and methods such as Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, etc.
Product roadmaps
Release and iteration tracking
Agile portfolio planning
Kanban boards
Agile analytics and metrics
9. Targetprocess (Now Apptio Targetprocess)
Apptio Targetprocess is another Agile project management software solution for scaling Agile and bringing enterprise agility. It enables companies to connect teams, projects, or products to business objectives and track their status.
The platform enables companies to use Agile scaling frameworks such as SAFe or LeSS and align work on various projects for greater transparency.
Key features
Dependency management
High-level process visualization
Portfolio management
Risk management
Custom processes (Scrum, Kanban, etc.)
Product roadmaps
Work prioritization
Custom reports
Some Honorable Mentions
The Agile project management software market is diverse, and many other solutions deserve a spot. Here are some of them:
Basecamp
Azure DevOps
Miro
Liquid planner
Workzone
Zoho projects
ClickUp
In Summary
Whatever Agile project management tool you choose, remember that all organizations are unique and have unique processes. If a given software solution works for other companies, it doesn't mean it will also work for you. We advise you to try as many different options as possible and find the one that fits your needs.