Agile project management is a project management process that involves prioritizing constant collaboration and continuous improvements. It works off the basis that teammates must collaborate and adapt quickly to meet the growing needs of a project as it evolves. The central theme of agile project management is flexibility. The agility methodology allows teams to re-evaluate the work they’re doing throughout every stage of the project lifecycle making iterations and improvements on a continuous basis. While all agile project management methodologies share a common theme, there are 7 main methodologies that vary slightly including Scrum, Kanban, Hybrid, Lean, Bimodal, XP, and Crystal. In this article, we will dive into the best agile tools for project management including scrum tools, Kanban tools, collaborative project management tools and so much more! Keep reading to learn about the best agile tools for project management in 2024!
Understanding Agile Project Management
Agile project management is a project management system that involves taking an iterative approach during technical projects. This project management practice focuses on making continuous improvements and incorporating customer feedback with every release. The core differentiator between agile project management and traditional project management is that agile project management is much more flexible. It relies on smaller, more frequent releases and puts more emphasis on teamwork while providing stakeholders with more control over the project. Rather than a pre-planned course of action, agile project management outlines adaptable tasks that are flexible and evolve with the needs of the project.
Agile project management stems from teamwork, continuous ideation, and flexibility. Instead of a sole project manager, agile project management relies on teamwork and requires team members to hold each other accountable. Teamwork and continuous adjustments throughout the project lifecycle allow for more flexibility, stakeholder involvement, and continuous product improvements. Additional benefits of agile project management include decreased risk, increased visibility, adaptability and alignment, and greater customer satisfaction and product quality.
Top Agile Tools for Project Management
1. Fellow
Fellow is an all-encompassing meeting productivity and task management software that helps users drive engagement and productivity by building better meeting habits before, during, and after every meeting. With Fellow, you can assign, visualize, and prioritize all your meeting to-dos in one place and sync them with tools like Jira, Asana, and Zapier. As your one-stop shop for meeting agendas, action items, and feedback, Fellow helps streamline project management so you can hold your teammates accountable and focus on long-term goals.
2. Nifty
Nifty is an agile project management tool that helps users plan better projects, balance resources, and engage in real-time reporting. With this agile project management tool, users can define goal-oriented sprints as milestones, making it easier to foster alignment and organize project objectives with accurate start and end dates. Additionally, project managers can use Nifty to prioritize real-time collaboration among team members by collaborating on docs and built-in team chat features, one-click Zoom and Google Meet options, and an interactive Gantt chart.
If you're looking for an agile project management tool that will help you organize, prioritize, and manage everyday work with a high level of automation using Kanban or list views, Nifty may be the collaborative project management tool for you! You can try Nifty for free for 14 days or opt for one of five paid plans for additional functionality.
3. Trello
Trello is a visual collaborative project management tool that empowers users to manage projects, workflows, and tasks. Similar to a whiteboard, Trello leverages a board format that makes it possible for users to attach notes, visual examples, files, and attachments from online sources, shared documents, or other forms of software like Jira or Salesforce. Unlike a whiteboard, Trello can be enjoyed by teams virtually so you can keep all of your tasks in one place, even if your team isn’t.
Trello is free for individuals or teams that are simply looking to organize projects; however, prices increase for additional functionality. Paid plans start out at $5/ user/ month and extend to $17.50/ user/ month.
4. Asana
When searching for agile tools for project management, Asana is proven to be a popular choice. Whether you're looking for a tool for agile project management, or simply a collaborative tool to keep you and your teammates on track, Asana allows users to handle multiple projects or workflows with ease. Users can leverage one of many interfaces to prioritize agile project management including Kanban style, task list, calendar view and more. Top features include easily viewing tasks in Kanban board, list, or timeline view, accessing, and building out timelines with Gantt charts, and the ability to automate common tasks.
If you're looking for an agile project management tool that will help you manage large-scale, complex projects, Asana may be for you! From lists, to calendars, to boards, you can leverage Asanas basic features for free. For additional functionality, you can choose from the Premium or Business Plan.
5. Jira
Jira is the number one software development tool used by agile development teams, and for good reason. The agile project management process is all about flexibility and Jira makes it possible by providing users with extensive reporting functionality that can be used to implement actionable insights throughout the project lifecycle.
Jira makes it possible for project managers to create custom workflows that can be used to build, test, and release software and you can use it for free with 10 users or less. If you have more than 10 people on your team or wish to unlock additional functionality, you can choose from one of three paid plans.
6. Smartsheet
Smartsheet is one of many agile tools for project management that allows users to streamline internal operations and systems and automate workflows, making it possible to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere. With Smartsheet, users can prioritize agile metrics and reporting with access to reports on key metrics, and real-time visibility.
Interested in keeping your team connected and informed during the entire project lifecycle? If so, Smartsheet may be for you. If you're a single user, you can access Smartsheet for free. If you're looking for additional functionality that allows you to manage your projects, programs, and processes with your teammates, you can choose from one of three paid plans, starting with the Pro plan at just $7/ month/ user.
7. Wrike
When browsing agile tools for project management, Kanban tools, and scrum tools, Wrike proves to be a popular choice. Wrike is a collaborative project management tool with agile metrics and reporting functionality that makes it possible for users to visualize projects and understand who is working on what. Wrike offers board view and spreadsheet view, provides task and subtask management, and is compatible with several iOS and Android apps.
If you're looking for a collaborative project management tool that will help keep your teammates accountable, Wrike may be the tool for you. There are five plans to choose from, starting with a free plan for teams that are just getting started and extending to an enhanced plan with advanced tools and analytics for more complex work.
8. Zoho Sprints
Zoho sprints is an agile project management tool that empowers users to adopt an iterative and collaborative approach by creating a hub where teammates can brainstorm, collaborate, and work together, regardless of geographical boundaries. Zoho Sprints is a free online tool that helps users build stories, schedule agile meetings, add estimation points, and use timesheets to track hours worked. Additionally, Zoho prints is widely accepted and supports a number of languages including Czech, Danish, Korean, Dutch, Polish, German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and more!
9. ProofHub
When browsing agile tools for project management, ProofHub is at the top of the list. With ProofHub, users can plan, track, and organize projects of any size. ProofHub provides project managers with one easy-to-use tool that makes it possible to start quick conversations, send timely updates, and manage tasks effortlessly using boards, table view, and workflows.
Unlike other collaborative project management tools with agile metrics and reporting, ProofHub offers a flat fee meaning you don’t pay per user, making it a popular choice among large organizations. There is also a 14-day free trial.
10. Assembla
Unlike other agile tools for project management, Assembla is branded as one of the most secure, empowering organizations to exceed HIPAA, SOC 2, PCI, and GDPR compliance standards. Designed for both small and enterprise software development teams, Assembla acts as a centralized hub for various project management methodologies including Scrum, Waterfall, Gantt, and Kanban boards.
As the only cloud-based source code management platform compatible with Perforce, Subversion and Git, Assembla is expensive when compared to other agile tools for project management. Assembla starts at $52.25/ user/ month and extends to customized quotes for performance enterprise solutions.
11. Aha!
Aha is an agile project management and roadmap tool that makes creating roadmaps, capturing ideas, and managing project deliveries quick and easy. From building out comprehensive roadmaps, to customizing your roadmaps to appeal to unique audiences, Aha offers a comprehensive list of features that will streamline the way you go from ideation to delivery.
If you're interested in agile tools for project management with customizable functionality, this collaborative project management software will help you customize your roadmap to meet the needs of every audience.
12. Pivotal Tracker
Pivotal Tracker is an agile project management tool that empowers software development teams to form realistic expectations about project benchmarks, goals, and deadlines. Tracker's modern workflow makes it possible for teams to work cohesively at a rapid pace with a shared view of team priorities, a clear process that fosters collaboration, and dynamic tools that analyze progress from start to finish.
Pivotal Tracker is priced to make collaboration easy with flexible pricing that decreases as your team grows. While paid plans start at $7/month and have a 60-day free trial with no credit card commitment, Pivotal project is free for public projects, individuals, non-profits, and academic institutions.
13. KanbanFlow
KanbanFlow is a cloud-based project management solution by CodeKick that enables real-time collaboration between users and teammates. This agile project management software uses boards to provide an overview of existing projects and helps to improve communication and overall effectiveness with several intuitive features.
If you’re looking to streamline projects and boost your team’s productivity with agile metrics and reporting, KanbanFlow offers a powerful free version or a premium version for only $5 a month.
14. Basecamp
Basecamp takes agile best practices into consideration, providing small teams with the tools necessary to manage projects with ease. In Basecamp, every project lives on a single page, making it possible to manage projects, clients, and deadlines from one viewpoint. With everything in reach, this agile project management tool ensures teammates are always aligned and on track.
If you’re interested in leveraging Basecamp to manage your projects, you can try it for free with no long-term commitments. If you choose to move forward long term, this platform costs just $11 per month per user, which includes all features.
15. Hive
Built by users, for users, Hive strives to empower hybrid teams to move faster together. Complete with flexible project layouts, native email, resourcing, group messaging, and file sharing capabilities, Hive connects all aspects of a project in one easy-to-access space.
If you’re an individual looking for a collaborative project management tool that will help you and your teammates organize all your projects in one space, Hive offers a free plan that comes with unlimited storage, unlimited projects and tasks, unlimited collaborative notes, Scrum tools, Kanban tools, and native emailing. If you’re looking to run multiple projects with multiple team members, Hive offers a team plan with more functionality for $12 a month.
The Power of Collaboration in Agile
Remaining flexible, productive, and on track in an agile environment can be nearly impossible without the right set of tools. To stay on track and meet project benchmarks while ensuring stakeholders and consumers are informed, aligned, and pleased, you must choose the right agile tools for project management. Choosing a tech stack that empowers your team through accountability, clarity, and communication will ensure you hit it out of the park every time.
Ready to take your project management game to the next level?
It's time to get to work and implement your favorite tools for agile project management! Before kicking off your next project, consider leveraging an all-encompassing collaborative project management tool like Fellow. Choosing the right tool will ensure you hold your teammates accountable through every stage of every project, moving the needle closer to reaching your shared goals.
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