The Best Project Management Software for Scrum December, 2024
For many years, my team and I have used many different agile project management software programs. We’ve tested and tried the popular ones; some worked, and some didn’t. Many of these programs are designed specifically to help scrum teams. Among hundreds of programs that promised effective project management, I came up with my top five.
All things considered, including prices, usability, scalability and scrum framework-specific features. I’ve tested dozens of scrum software, and in this post, I’ll show you the best amongst others, so read on.
My Top 5 Picks
1. Jira – Best For Sprint Planning
2. ClickUp – Best for Workflow Automation
3. Asana – Best for Project Customization
4. ActiveCollab – Best For Visibility and Collaboration
5. Trello – Best Free Project Management Tool
Many will say that scrum is a process or a methodology. Both are correct. However, I believe that scrum is a technology. A compilation of tools that create the most popular agile framework for software development. This is where the biggest issue for dev teams comes in.
Scum primarily revolves around breaking down processes piece by piece to reach one goal. Each of these is interdependent to one another. If one fails due to misalignment, the rest of it fails too. That’s the major reason a project management tool is one or maybe the most crucial tool a scrum team needs.
Without the right PM software, managing projects will be all over the place. Miscommunications will lead to failure, not meeting deadlines and more. So, which software is for you? Let’s dive in and dissect the most popular scrum project management tools so you can decide which one is best suited for your team.
Addressing Scrum Challenges
Scrum itself has a powerful project management framework. However, like many other agile frameworks, there are still limitations:
- Visibility: When you look at a scrum, you think of task boards, daily standups and other physical scrum values. But what happens if you don’t have a physical team or if some team members work remotely? You’ll need a PM software to help you. Because if not, your team will struggle to deliver and manage complex projects.
- Dependency: As mentioned above, scrum breaks down project steps piece by piece. Without a great project management tool, it will be challenging to deliver each of these components at different rates.
- Documentation: Another issue with scrum teams is documentation. While the idea of scrum is to lessen this, there are still many instances that you need to organize to provide reports to your stakeholders
- Flexibility: Scrum focuses on delivering projects incrementally, but what happens if there is a change in requirements or priorities? Without proper management, this can cause delays and confusion within the team. PM tools can help track changes and adjust project plans accordingly.
How To Choose The Right Scrum Project Management Software
PM tools are used by so many industries, not just the software development sector. It comes with various tools to help organizations effectively manage their tasks and projects.
However, there are also tools that have features designed specifically for scrum teams. For project managers, here’s what you need to look for when hunting for the right software:
- User Story Management: Scrum projects heavily rely on user paths to define product features and requirements. Look for a tool that allows easy creation, prioritization, and tracking of user stories.
- Sprint Planning: A good software should have features for sprint planning and backlog grooming. This includes the ability to estimate story points, assign tasks to team members, and create sprint goals.
- Kanban Boards: Kanban scrum boards are an essential element in Agile methodologies like scrum. This visual feature helps multiple teams track progress and collaborate more effectively.
- Burndown Charts: A burndown chart is non-negotiable for tracking project velocity and identifying potential issues early on. It will show you the status of tasks and how long it will take to complete them.
- Task Dependencies: Yes, you can communicate using your messaging apps, but automating dependencies is gold. It ensures that each step is completed before you move to the next one, promoting efficient project delivery.
The Best Scrum Project Management Solutions: Our Top 5 Picks
I’ve scoured the interwebs to give you a comprehensive review of the top scrum PM programs you can use. As someone who manages many complex projects, I tested and filtered dozens of tools into 5.
When it comes to scrum and Agile software development, Jira has become the go-to tool for many teams. With its flexible customization options and powerful project management features, Jira makes it easy to plan, track, and deliver high-quality software.
Why I chose Jira
I chose Jira as our top pick because this scrum solution was exclusively made for agile teams. Not that I’m saying that it was, but the features it offers cover most, if not all what a scrum team needs.
Pricing
- Free: 10 users included (Unlimited goals, projects, tasks, and forms)
- Standard ($7.16/user/month): Includes 250GB Storage, unlimited users, Multi-region data residency
- Premium ($12.48/user/month): Includes the use of Atlassian AI tool, cross-team collaboration, 99.9% uptime
- Enterprise (Custom): With unlimited automation, identity and access management, and product insights using Data Lake
Features
We wanted to highlight Jira’s sprint planning feature as it’s one of the best in the business. It provides comprehensive reporting, backlog visibility, and forecasting. It also gives you a larger contextual insight into how much time is spent on each step. It easily shows you roadblocks, so you can easily troubleshoot them.
Integrations
Jira offers hundreds of integrations that support various teams. From designers, devs and IT teams, you’ll never fall short of what you need. You can connect it wih Github, Bibucket Cloud, Zephyr Jenkins and many more.
You can easily find which integration to get by going to its “Marketplace.” This section is a library of third-party tools you can integrate.
Summary
Jira has become one of the most effective scrum project management tools for devs and other agencies. Despite being one of the most complicated tools to learn, for the past several years, it made itself easy to understand and use out of the box.
I personally tested these features, and Jira didn’t disappoint. This software delivers on everything from the most complex requirements to the most basic ones, such as task assignments. If you’re a software development PM and need a program that will help you scale, consider Jira for your business.
Pros
- Powerful dashboard for application tracking
- Impressive defect and backlog management to log bugs and change requests
- Provides backlog tracking
- Offers generous free-forever account for small teams
Cons
- Paid plans schemes can be complex for startups
- Steep learning curve
ClickUp’s features offer many advantages for scrum masters. From tasks dependencies and sprint creation, you can organize your dev flow in minutes.
Why I chose ClickUp
ClickUp is a very versatile project management platform that is used by so many industries. Agile teams, in particular, benefit so much because of their sprint reporting and workflow automation
Pricing
- Free: Includes Unlimited chats, whiteboards, and Kanban boards
- Unlimited ($7.00/user/month): Includes unlimited integrations, spaces and dashboards
- Business ($12.00/user/month): Includes timesheets, mind maps and workload management
- Enterprise (Custom): Includes white labelling, enterprise API, SCIM provisioning
Features
ClickUp offers one of the best automation features out of all PM tools. When testing it years back, we were able to create automation that triggers many tasks and issue creations. However, after testing it recently, they’ve added an AI component to make things so much easier.
You can create task dependencies to streamline handoffs and generate product roadmaps and test plans with this feature.
Integrations
ClickUp also offers hundreds of integrations that are native to its app. This means that it’s built there to perform native tasks and not just connected. You can integrate Githubto create and pull requests. Figma for project planning. Timecamp, Harvest and timely for time tracking.
There are so many apps you can integrate, but you can also import some as well. If you’re moving from a certain PM tool to ClickUp, migration is a breeze. You can import your projects from Jira, Basecamp, Asana, and many more.
Summary
I’ve added ClickUp to this list due to its versatility and amazing workflow automations. When dealing with sprints, you need an effective PM platform that won’t just help you manage projects but also streamline your workflow through automation. ClickUp will do just that and more.
Pros
- Offers different workflow automation
- Incredible collaboration and communication tools
- Customizable views, reports and dashboards
- Provides a top-down or hierarchy view
Cons
- Can be costly for small teams
- Some may find it complex as it offers so many functionalities.
Similar to ClickUp, Asana is very versatile project management software for agile teams. Its versatility comes from its wide customization. You can personalize your views, dashboards, and task management to the smallest details. Making this software one of the most flexible tools on this list.
Why I chose Asana
Asana wasn’t specifically designed for Scrum teams. However, I chose it because of its massive customization features. You can customize Asana’s features to fit your Scrum workflow. Create custom fields to track specific Scrum details like story points. The terms are different compared to scrum-specific terms, but their functionalities are the same.
For example, you can say epics are the same as project portfolios. Stories are the same as features. The platform itself is very useful out-of-the-box, but when you get down to the nitty-gritty of customizing it, it’ll work even better for agile teams.
Pricing
- Personal (Free): Includes unlimited tasks, projects and messages, Gantt charts
- Starter ($10.99/user/month): Includes Asana AI, workflow builder, project dashboards
- Advanced ($24.99): Includes 100 portfolios, advanced reporting, 25,000 automations per month
Features
As far as customization and flexibility go, Asana didn’t disappoint me. I was able to add custom fields to any project, create stories and add them to my sprint and more. It allowed me to manage my project with ease by controlling sprints, milestones and backlogs.
You can also create custom burndown charts, cumulative flow charts and consolidated sprint boards. With this level of customization, I was able to tailor my project management process to fit my team’s specific needs.
Integrations
Asana has a vast range of integrations with popular scrum and project management tools such as JIRA, Trello, and Slack. This allowed me to seamlessly connect my Asana workspace with other tools my team was already using, making it easier for us to collaborate and stay organized.
Summary
Asana offers a highly customizable project management platform for teams using scrum methodology. With features like custom fields, sprints and backlogs management, and various integrations, it is a powerful tool that makes it easy to tailor your project management process to fit your team’s needs.
Pros
- Customizable fields and dashboards
- Ability to create custom rules and templates
- An Omni-source platform for better visibility and program management
Cons
- Limited advanced reporting compared to other apps
- Complex external request routing process and team-tagging
ActiveCollab is a versatile PM tool designed to help you effectively plan, organize, communicate, and collaborate for your scrum project. As a scrum master, you have the ability to break down your work into actionable tasks and assign them to the most suitable team members.
Why I chose ActiveCollab
A scrum master’s role is not just limited to task assignment and tracking. It also involves managing team members’ workload and having a clear overview of sprint progress. With ActiveCollab there’s a multitude of ways to know where your team is at using many views and workspace templates.
Pricing
- Plus ($3.17/user/month): Includes up to 3 members, 10 GB storage unlimited projects, tasks, and discussions
- Pro ($8.00/user/month): includes time tracking, app integrations, expense tracking
- Pro+Get Paid ($11.75/user/month): Includes workload management, user availability, time estimates
Features
What I liked about ActiveCollab is that it gives me a bird’ s-eye view of what’s happening in all corners of the project I’m managing. It solves the problem of scattered and disorganized information.
I was able to create a centralized platform, which allowed me and my team members to have a clear overview of tasks, deadlines, and sprint progress.
Integrations
Unfortunately, ActiveCollab doesn’t shine on integrations. Scrum-specific tools such as GitLab or Jira are not supported. And if you’re planning to integrate some of your tools, you need to have a Pro plan to unlock this feature.
Summary
This very simple and clean software allowed be to identify bottlenecks early on the project. This is very important given that delays can be costly. Its project visibility feature helped me to keep track of progress and make informed decisions quickly.
Stakeholders also appreciated the real-time updates and ability to communicate within the platform. However, limited integrations may be a drawback for some teams.
Pros
- Robust configuration of roles and permissions
- Designed to be easy to navigate, making it simple for users to get started
- Provides a workload management feature for better manpower handling
- Better visibility for sprint tracking
Cons
- No free plan
- Limited scrum features
Trello is primarily a Kanban tool, but many teams adapt it to Scrum. I for one leverage its features to track user stories and work progress efficiently. Its free version offers substantial functionality, making it an attractive option for those on a budget. While paid tiers provide advanced features for more complex needs.
Why I chose Trello
I chose Trello because it is an accessible and user-friendly tool for organizing work using its boards. It allows teams to manage their tasks with ease, providing visibility and collaboration through its intuitive interface.
Trello’s free version is sufficient for small projects. It supports essential Scrum activities, such as defining and tracking user stories, and it can export data to other applications for further analysis.
Pricing
- Free: Includes unlimited cards, up to 10 boards per workspace and unlimited power-ups per board
- Standard ($5.00/user/month): Includes unlimited boards, advanced checklists and custom fields
- Premium ($10.00/user/month): Includes multiple view, unlimited workspace command runs and AI support
- Enterprise ($17.50/user/month): Includes unlimited workspaces, organization-wide permissions and visible boards
Features
Trello’s features include customizable boards, lists, and cards that help teams organize tasks visually. It supports labels, checklists, due dates, and attachments, making it easy to manage projects. Power-ups extend Trello’s functionality, adding tools like calendars, time tracking, and integrations with other apps.
Integrations
Trello integrates with various tools to enhance its functionality. Since it’s under Atlassian’s umbrella, it seamlessly integrates with other Atlassian products such as Jira and Confluence.
Summary
Trello is an excellent choice for teams looking for a simple yet effective tool to manage their projects visually. Its flexibility, ease of use, and extensive integrations make it a powerful asset for small teams.
With both free and paid options, it can cater to different project needs and scales, offering essential features to track and manage tasks efficiently.
Pros
- Offers a robust free version
- Visually track your progress
- Very interactive interface
Cons
- Limited scrum features
- Search function can use some work
Summary
The versatility of each of these programs will make it a little bit difficult to choose for you. But always remember to base your decision from your organization’s needs. All of these apps offers robust features such as Kanban boards, burndown chars, sprint planning, scrum dashboards and more. I hope I was able to help you choose what’s best for you and your team.