Discover Agility: How Agile Development Transforms Project Management

If your client keeps changing requirements again and again in the project so in this scenario how will you ensure that the project is completed on time and client will also satisfied? Here’s where agile methodology becomes beneficial.

Agile methodology is an approach that gives importance to flexibility and ability. It focuses on project concept and delivery but can also adapt to changes, meaning that the project can still run smoothly even if something unexpected happens.

And yes, you have also heard it right that nowadays agile methodology has become very popular in the IT field, many companies use it in their projects because due to this, the project gets completed on time and efficiently. 

According to research, 71% of businesses are using agile methodology. This indicates that the majority of companies have adopted agile due to its numerous benefits. Furthermore, 98% of firms have reported that agile methodology has significantly helped them. Nearly all companies using this methodology are satisfied, noting that it has improved their project outcomes. 

So, in this blog post, let us understand the agile methodology from basics so that you will be able to easily adopt software development agile in your project, let's start.

What is Agile?

Agile is a project management and software development approach that emphasizes flexible collaboration and customer-centricity. It follows an iterative and incremental approach. Iterative means repeating a process over and over again, while incremental means adding new features or modules to the project little by little. The Agile methodology breaks projects into smaller dynamic phases that are commonly called sprints.

The focus of agile methodology is to deliver the working product as quickly as possible. This approach emphasizes taking feedback at every stage and making improvements on its basis. Major companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon also use agile methodology because this approach helps them change the market and help customers adapt according to their needs.

In this approach, the project is divided into short-term development cycles, which makes it easier to quickly deliver and adapt changes. The goal of Agile methodology is to make continuous improvements throughout the project, ensuring that the end product meets customer expectations and is of high quality. This approach makes it easy for both beginners and experts to understand and apply Agile methodology in their projects.

Why Agile Comes: Issues with Traditional Methodologies

1. Waterfall Model VS Agile Model

• Problems with the Waterfall Model:
  • Rigidity: In this model, once requirements are set we can’t change them after development.
  • Heavy Documentation: This model requires a lot of documentation which is a very time-consuming process.
  • Late Testing: Testing happens after development, due to which errors and issues in the project are detected late which becomes difficult to fix later.
  • Limited Customer Interaction: The customer gets to see the product only after delivery of the product and in the development of the product customers can give feedback this scope is rarely available to the customer in this model.
• Agile Model’s Solution:
  • Flexibility: Requirements can change or be added during the development process due to the flexibility of this model. This adaptability allows for adjustments and enhancements based on evolving needs and insights.
  • Light Documentation: Only the necessary documents are created, which saves a lot of time.
  • Early and Continuous Testing: Along with development, testing is also conducted to fix any errors or issues that arise immediately.
  • Frequent Customer Interaction: After each interaction, customer feedbacks are collected and changes are implemented.

2. RAD (Rapid Application Development) Model VS Agile Model

• Problems with the RAD Model:
  • Quick and Low-quality Prototypes: Prototypes are made quickly but their quality is low.
  • Limited Reusability: It is very difficult to reuse code if a similar project has not been developed before.
• Agile Model’s Solution:
  • Incremental Development: High-quality features are developed and delivered incrementally in agile methodology.
  • Complete Demonstrations: Each completed and functional part of the work is shown to the customer, allowing them to request additional work or confirm their satisfaction.

3. Incremental Development Model VS Agile Model

• Problems with the Incremental Development Model VS Agile Model
  • No Fixed Timeframe: There is no fixed time for the completion of interactions, this can delay the projects.
• Agile Model’s Solution:
  • Fixed Iteration Time: In Agile, each iteration has a fixed end date, improving time management and planning, and ensuring the project is completed on time.

4. Spiral Model VS Agile Model

• Problems with the Spiral Model VS Agile Model
  • Heavy Documentation: Extensive documentation is required, which can slow down and complicate the project.
  • Less Customer Interaction: There needs to be more customer feedback which can affect the project direction. 
• Agile Model’s Solution:
  • Light Documentation: Only necessary documentation is created, which saves time and effort.
  • Frequent Customer Interaction: Feedback is received from the customer after each iteration, and changes are implemented quickly.

How Agile Works?

Imagine you need to conduct a research project with your team. You have limited time and must ensure the project is completed on time and everything is done correctly. Agile methodology will help you manage this project efficiently. 

Let’s see how agile works in this scenario:

1. Create a List (Backlog): First, you and your team identify what needs to be done in the project. It may be a literature review, data collection, data analysis, and writing the final report. All these tasks form a "backlog".
2. Estimating and Sizing: Then, you estimate each task's time. For instance, it might take one week for the literature review, two weeks for data collection, one week for data analysis, and one week for writing the final report. This helps in shaping the work needed to be done in each task.
3. Setting Priorities: Then you decide which ones from the backlog should be first. You will start with a literature review, then move on to data collection, data analysis, and finally, writing the report. This prioritizing helps to understand which task one should do first.
4. Execution (Sprints): Now, you work in “sprints”. The first sprint will focus on a literature review. The team works on the literature review for a week and then evaluates their work. The next sprint will be for data collection. Each Sprint focuses on completing one task.
5. Updating Plan: At the end of each sprint, you review your progress. If any changes are needed or new tasks are discovered, you update the backlog. For example, if after data collection you discover that more data is needed, you add this new task to the backlog.
6. Customer Collaboration: After each sprint, you get feedback from your professor or client. For example, after completing a literature review, you show it to your professor, get feedback, and make the necessary changes in the next sprint.
7. Continuous Improvement: After each sprint, you evaluate what went well and what can be improved. This improves your process with each iteration, resulting in a higher-quality end product.

How We Follow Agile in Our Project

If you have a project, first of all, you plan with your team and decide what tasks have to be done for the project like doing research related to the project, development work, and testing the project, and launching the project. Tasks are called backlog, which organizes project work in the best and better way.

Following the agile methodology, every task is estimated so that the most important tasks are given priority, such as the research and development task, which is to be done first, and then the testing and project launching tasks are completed. This lets us know which work is most important and by which deadline it has to be completed.

Now the project is divided into sprints every sprint is a short period in which small tasks are assigned to the team for a specific time and the team focuses on those specific tasks and completes them.  We review the team's progress after every sprint. So that we know how the work is going in the sprint or whether any improvement is needed.

After every sprint, close collaboration is done with stakeholders such as clients or management. Feedback is taken from those who tell us that any change or improvement is needed in the project. The final product of this collaboration meets their expectations.

By using agile methodology, you can quickly adopt change in your business, maintain communication and transparency between teams, and efficiently complete the project. This approach also improves innovation and quality in your business operations.

Examples of Successful Agile Projects

Toolplate: A Success Story of Agile Implementation

At Toolplate, we have successfully implemented Agile methodology to manage and deliver our projects efficiently. Our Agile journey consists of 2-week sprint cycles, where each sprint is meticulously planned and executed to ensure continuous improvement and timely delivery of high-priority features.

1). Sprint Planning and Prioritization

Every sprint cycle begins with a planning session on the first day. During this session, we decided which features to include in the sprint based on their priority. This prioritization is done by considering three main aspects:

• SEO requirements
• Business needs
• Feature enhancements

By combining these priorities, we create a well-balanced sprint plan that addresses the most critical aspects of our project.

2.) Grooming Day: The Foundation of Success

The first day of the sprint is known as the grooming day. On this day, the entire team—including designers, frontend developers, backend developers, and testers - comes together to discuss the tasks for the sprint. Each team member contributes their insights:

• Designers highlight potential design issues and suggest feature additions.
• Testers outline the test cases and identify possible challenges.

This collaborative discussion helps in preemptively identifying and mitigating potential problems, ensuring a smooth workflow throughout the sprint.

3.) Task Creation and Sprint Execution

After the grooming day, team members create related tasks and sub-tasks in Jira, our project management tool. This marks the official start of the sprint cycle, which runs for two weeks.

Every morning, we hold a stand-up meeting where each team member discusses:

• What they accomplished the previous day
• What they plan to do today
• Any issues or questions they might have

These daily check-ins keep everyone aligned and help in promptly addressing any roadblocks.

4.) Release and Retrospective

At the end of the two-week sprint, we release the product. The following day, we conducted a retrospective meeting involving both the development and business teams. The development team presents the completed work and the business team provides feedback, suggesting potential changes or improvements for future sprints.

5.) Benefits of Agile at Toolplate

The Agile methodology has significantly contributed to Toolplate’s success by:

• Ensuring detailed planning: Each sprint is thoroughly planned, making it easier to achieve goals without delays.
• Enabling flexibility: Appropriate changes or improvements can be made at any point during the project.
• Promoting collaboration: Regular meetings and discussions develop a collaborative environment, which leads to better problem-solving and innovations.

Following Agile practices, Toolplate has shown remarkable efficiency and flexibility with its projects, setting a strong example for others intending to take up Agile methodology for successful project management.

Toolplate's success story with Agile demonstrates how meticulous planning, continuous collaboration, and adaptive processes can lead to efficient project management and timely delivery. By adopting Agile, companies can enhance their project workflows, swiftly adapt to changes, and achieve their goals effectively.

Benefits of Agile Development

Agile project management and development have several key benefits that make them popular among teams and leaders.

Here’s a clear and easy-to-understand summary of the best benefits, which will be helpful for both beginners and experts:

1. Flexibility: Agile is very adaptable, it helps the team to respond quickly to changes and respond to new requirements without disturbing the entire project. This flexibility is important in today's changing market as customer needs can change at any time.
2. Low Risk: Agile divides a project into smaller parts called "Sprints." After each sprint, a portion of the project is reviewed and tested. That means any problem could be identified and solved soon without becoming a bigger problem. The regular check-in and continuous development thus ensure that the project is on track and according to the needs of the client.
3. Continuous Delivery: Agile promotes continuous delivery. This means that a useful portion of the project is completed and delivered after each sprint. This regular and continuous progress ensures that the project develops smoothly, allowing stakeholders to see concrete results and make adjustments as needed. 
4. Higher Customer Satisfaction: Agile involves the customer during the agile development process Regular feedback loops allow customers to provide inside feedback and adjust to changes ensuring that the final product closely matches their expectations. This continued involvement leads to higher customer satisfaction.
5. Greater Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration: Agile demands the active participation and involvement of both the development team and the customer. Transparency helps keep everyone on board and in the know, which results in more satisfied customers and well-informed developers.
6. Estimated Costs and Scheduling: With sprints, Agile can split the project into smaller sections, thus providing a more reliable projection of cost and schedule. This will allow stakeholders to have properly strategized budgets and plans, and development teams can focus on delivery with speed and consistency.
7. Higher Quality Products: Regular testing and review are integral parts of Agile. This helps identify and correct problems quickly, resulting in higher-quality products. Focusing on user feedback ensures that the product is both functional and valuable to end users.
8. Faster Return on Investment (ROI): Because agile projects deliver parts of the product quickly and consistently, businesses see quicker returns. The ability to adjust and improve the product mid-development means valuable features are delivered faster.
9. Better Communication: Agile enhances communication within the team and with the product owner. This ongoing dialogue fosters a collaborative environment, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and working toward bigger goals.

Core Principles of Agile Software Development

1. Customer Satisfaction through Early and Continuous Delivery

• Agile teams aim to keep the customer happy and satisfied through early and continuous software delivery. This means delivering small parts of the product quickly and frequently, allowing the customer to see progress and provide feedback accordingly.

2. Accept Changing Requirements

• Accepting change in the agile method is important no matter what stage the development process is at. If the customer wants something different, agile teams accommodate it without any problem.

3. Frequent Delivery and Working Software

• Agile teams work in small portions and deliver working software frequently, which helps customers get the product faster and provide real-time feedback.

4. Collaboration between Business Stakeholders and Developers

• In the Agile process, business stakeholders and developers need to work together. This improves communication and ensures the project runs smoothly.

5. Support, Trust, and Motivation

• In the agile environment, every team member gets support, trust, and motivation. Only when the team members are motivated they can give their best performance.

6. Face-to-Face Interactions

• Face-to-face communication is an important aspect of Agile, it reduces or almost does not occur misunderstanding so information is exchanged effectively.

7. Working Software is the Primary Measure of Progress

• For Agile teams, the primary measure of progress is working software, not documents or reports. If the software is functioning, the team is making progress.

8. Consistent Development Pace

• Agile processes are designed to maintain a consistent development pace, avoiding burnout and ensuring quality is maintained.

9. Attention to Technical Excellence and Good Design

• In Agile, there is a focus on technical excellence and good design. This enhances agility and allows for easy accommodation of changes.

10. Simplicity

• An Agile principle emphasizes the importance of simplicity. This means avoiding unnecessary complexity and focusing on simple solutions.

 11. Self-Organizing Teams

• Agile teams are self-organizing, meaning they make decisions autonomously and manage their work. This fosters the creation of better architecture and design.

 12. Regular Reflections and Adjustments

• Agile teams regularly evaluate their processes at defined intervals and suggest improvements. This makes teams more effective and efficient over time.

The Agile Development Life Cycle

Agile methodology is a way to manage projects and finish them quickly. In this method, the project is broken into small parts called sprints. Each sprint usually lasts about two weeks. This allows any changes to be made easily. By doing this, the project can stay on track without any problems. It helps ensure everything goes smoothly. Here are the agile development process steps:

1. Planning

• The planning phase involves detailed planning at the beginning of the project. This phase is used to define the requirements, scope, and initial roadmap of the project, which planning phase ensures the long-term success of your product once it's handed over to the client. 
• Discussions with stakeholders and work on finalizing the high-level design are underway. All this is prepared even before the sprint cycles start.
   

2. Design

• Next, the product will be designed and the sprint cycle starts from here. Designers and developers work together to decide how the product will appear and function. They figure out where to place all its features and make sure it's easy for users to understand and use. 
• This plan is usually shown as sketches, diagrams, or prototypes. These help everyone see what the product will be like before it's fully made.

3. Development

• Now, the development team begins following the product's design. Engineers write the code and create the product as planned. This phase of development typically lasts for one week. Each team member focuses on completing their tasks according to the design. 
• It's a crucial time when the product starts taking shape based on the earlier plans and ideas. The team works together to ensure everything progresses smoothly and according to schedule.

4. Testing

• After completing the product development, the team tests it. During testing, they check if the product works correctly. They look for any problems or mistakes, called bugs. If any issues are found, they are fixed. 
• This testing phase ensures that the product functions as expected and is ready for use by customers. It's an important step to make sure everything is working smoothly before the product is released.

5. Deployment

• After testing, the product is placed in a special testing area called the staging environment. Here, final checks are done to ensure everything is working correctly and the product is set up properly. This stage ensures that all aspects of the product function as expected before it goes live. 
• It's a crucial step to guarantee that there are no issues when customers start using the product. Once everything is confirmed to be in order, the product is ready for its official launch or deployment to the public.

6. Review

• Afterward, the team reviews their work. They talk about what went well, what problems arose and what can be made better. The product owner shares feedback, and together, the team plans any needed changes. 
• This review helps everyone learn from the process and improve future work. It's a way to ensure that each project keeps getting better and meets expectations.

7. Launch

• This is when the product has been finished. It is at this stage that the product is released in the live environment and into the hands of the end users. Monitoring and maintenance follow the launch phase as a way of tracking the product and resolving issues.

Teams following Agile methodology can easily deliver valuable products to end users in small, manageable steps. Dividing projects into sprints, agile practices flexibility, teamwork, and continuous product quality improvement. This means that teams can adapt to changes very fast, hence happier stakeholders and well-driving project results.

Agile is rather structured but very flexible, so it is the best methodology for dealing with changing requirements in a quickly progressive atmosphere. It ensures that products are delivered on time and with the intended quality. Agile can emphasize its focus on collaboration and adaptability, ensuring that the team can meet evolving needs effectively.

Roles and Responsibilities of Agile Methodology

Product Owner

• Responsibilities: Represents the needs and priorities of the customer. Decides on the direction to take a project and what features are developed next.
• Tasks: Prioritizing work to be done (user stories) based on customer value. Works with stakeholders in requirements elicitation and gives feedback to the team.
• Goal: Ensure that the team delivers valuable, high-quality products to meet customer expectations.

Scrum Master

• Responsibilities: Assist Agile work in being the best possible, removing impediments, and guiding the team on how to work without imposing direction.
• Tasks: Organize and facilitate Scrum meetings, including daily stand-ups, so the team remains focused and collaborates. Help the team improve its productivity and efficiency.
• Goal: Assisting team members in completing sprint goals on time using collaboration and work process improvement.

Development Team

• Responsibilities: Builds and tests product features to meet quality standards. Collaborates closely with teammates and stakeholders throughout the development process.
• Tasks: Works on assigned user stories during sprint planning sessions. Combines their skills—like developers, testers, and designers - to create functional software.
• Goal: Produce usable parts of the product at the end of each sprint. Aims to deliver valuable increments that contribute to the overall product development.

Stakeholders

• Responsibilities: Offer input and feedback during the project. Ensure the product meets business objectives and satisfies customer requirements.
• Tasks: Attend sprint reviews to give feedback on product features. Assist the Product Owner in refining priorities and requirements as needed.
• Goal: Guide the project towards successful results by providing direction and valuable feedback throughout its development.

In Agile methodology, each role is vital for project success. The Product Owner sets the project's course, the Scrum Master ensures smooth operations, the Development Team builds the product, and Stakeholders offer feedback. Together, they work closely to respond to changes swiftly and deliver value to customers effectively.

This structured method encourages teamwork, adaptability, and ongoing enhancement, making Agile a strong framework for modern project management.

Understanding Agile Frameworks

Agile frameworks are methodologies designed to facilitate iterative development, enhance flexibility, and promote collaboration within teams working on complex projects. 

These frameworks originated from software development practices but have since expanded to various industries due to their effectiveness in adapting to change and delivering value quickly. Let’s explore some popular agile frameworks:

1. Scrum

• Concept: Scrum is like playing a relay where every member passes a baton (task) one after another until the finish line (project completion) is reached.
• How it works:
  • Sprints:  Projects are divided into short cycles called sprints, usually 2-4 weeks long.
  • Roles:
    • Scrum Master: Guides the team and ensures they follow Agile practices.
    • Product Owner: Represents stakeholders and prioritizes what the team works on.
    • Team: Organizes itself to accomplish the work within the sprints.
  • Meetings: Conducts daily stand-up for planning and reviewing progress, Sprint planning at the beginning, and review/retrospective at the end of each sprint.
• Benefits: Enable teams to be flexible, respond to changes quickly, and deliver incremental value

2. Kanban

• Concept: Picture the work flowing through a factory assembly line from raw material to finished product so that each step is visible on a board.
• How it works:
  • Visualization: work items are represented as cards on a Kanban board and are moved from left (To Do) to right (Done).
  • Limiting Work in Progress (WIP): limits ensure that a team always focuses on finishing tasks before starting new ones to avoid bottlenecks.
  • Continuous Improvement: Teams can continuously improve processes with real-time feedback and metrics from the Kanban board.
• Benefits: transparency, efficient workflow management, and ways to identify improvements.

3. Extreme Programming (XP)

• Concept: XP is like a recipe book for developers, emphasizing collaboration, feedback, and continuous improvement.
• How it works:
  • Core Practices: Pair programming, test-driven development, continuous integration, and minor frequent releases.
  • Values: Communication, Simplicity, Feedback, Courage, and Respect.
  • Customer Involvement: Close customer engagement to ensure software meets their needs.
• Benefits:  Focuses on high-quality software, embraces changing requirements, and promotes teamwork among developers.

4. Lean

• Concept: Lean is all about minimizing waste and increasing value, just like streamlining a production line to eliminate unneeded steps.
• How it works:
  • Principles: Eliminate waste, amplify learning, decide as late as possible, deliver as fast as possible, empower the team, build integrity, and see the whole.
  • Value Stream Mapping: Identifying and improving workflow that delivers value to customers effectively.
  • Continuous Improvement: Pushes teams to review processes constantly and eliminate anything that is non-value-adding.
• Benefits: Gains efficiency, cost reduction, quality improvement, and enhanced customer satisfaction by focusing efforts only on what counts.

These are flexible, agile methodologies for effective project management in a team due to collaboration, adaptability, and continuous improvement. 

Whereas features themselves may vary within every framework, they, in their totality, offer unique tools and practices according to various project requirements but align with the united goal of value delivery dynamically and promptly.

Why Agile Development is Important for Companies?

Agile is customer-oriented, flexible, and strives for continuous improvement. That's where it dramatically differs from how projects are realized in sequentially staged development methodologies. Agile helps make teams responsive and adaptive to changes that pop up as soon as necessary to ensure the project serves the customer effectively.

1. Customer Satisfaction

• The underlying theme in agile development is customer satisfaction. The team demonstrates its work progress to the customer after the completion of every sprint. This way, the end product gradually evolves alongside customer needs and expectations. 
• The required changes can be entertained in the next sprint, and this will keep the customer satisfied and engaged with the process, which is very significant for business-to-business long-term relations.

2. Flexibility and Adaptability

• Market conditions keep on changing, and so do the customer needs. In typical ways of development, adaption to changes is quite difficult because everything is pre-planned. On the contrary, Agile focuses on the characteristics of flexibility and adaptability. 
• This ensures that teams can quickly vary the plans without affecting the project. It enables companies to respond quickly to market demand changes and keep ahead of the competition. Agile maintains business responsiveness and competitiveness in a turbulent business environment.

3. Improved Collaboration and Productivity

• Agile teams are self-organizing, and they usually discuss a plan and find a way around it to get the work done. They hold a meeting every day, which they call a "daily stand-up," and each speaks for themselves regarding the improvement and possible solution to the problem. 
• In doing so, they have more interaction and share cooperation with their members, others they can best be familiarized with whom does the work as a role and about how they go together. It results in the high productivity of the members since they stay focused more on their work with less distraction.

4. Continuous Improvement

• Agile methodology promotes continuous improvement. After each sprint, the team reviews their work and identifies what went well and what needs improvement. This process is called a "retrospective." 
• Through retrospectives, teams regularly enhance their processes and practices, which is important for long-term success. By developing a culture of continuous improvement, teams get better with each sprint, which also enhances the overall project quality.

5. Risk Management

• After every sprint, the team reviews their work to identify what they did well and what might be improved upon. This is called a "retrospective". Teams often gain process and practice improvements from retrospectives, which, in reality, represent an essential part of long-term success. 
• A culture of continuous improvement can ensure that teams enhance themselves over each sprint and thus improve the project's quality overall.

Agile development is important for companies because it promotes customer satisfaction, flexibility, better collaboration, productivity, continuous improvement, and better risk management. This approach helps companies deliver their projects efficiently and effectively, increasing their market value and competitive edge. 

By adopting Agile methodology, companies can improve their products and successfully meet rapidly changing market demands. Agile helps businesses stay responsive and deliver high-quality results.

Most Popular Agile Development Tools

1. Jira

• Jira is a popular project management tool specifically designed for agile software teams. Its main benefit is that these teams can plan development sprints, create user stories, assign tasks, and visualize the visual flow of work. This tool provides a visual map of work from backlog prioritization to "in progress" and "done". 
• Features of Jira:
  • Customizable Project Boards: Facility to view work status in a visual map by customizing project boards and Scrum views.
  • Story Points Estimation: Effort estimation for backlog management can be done in story points, and team capacity can be forecast from velocity tracking.
  • Team Collaboration: Along with stories, teams can enhance context by adding conversations, comments, and attachments.
  • Integrations: Provides integration with many tools such as code repositories, test management, and more.

2. ClickUp

• ClickUp is an all-in-one project management platform that offers tasks, documents, chat, goals, and more features. This tool helps teams manage their work efficiently and collaborate. 
• Features of ClickUp:
  • Customizable Views: Flexibility to view tasks in grids, boards, timelines, and calendars.
  • Goal Breakdown: The facility to divide large goals into smaller tasks, which is useful for agile development.
  • Integrated Chat: Built-in chat features for real-time collaboration.
  • Mobile App: Facility to manage tasks and projects on the go from native mobile app.
  • Customization and Automation: By customizing fields and automating tasks, you can streamline processes and save time.

3. Asana

• Asana is a universal application that solves the management of team tasks, projects, and goals. It can also be used as a support tool for Agile methodologies. The given application has an amicable interface and various views on projects: list, board, and calendar. With such views, the team has flexibility in managing their work.
• Features of Asana:
  • Task Assignments: The facility to assign tasks to specific team members.
  • Timelines: Tools are available to visualize the timelines of projects.
  • Progress Tracking: Features to monitor work progress and track updates.
  • Dependencies: Ability to define dependencies between tasks.
  • Milestones: Support in setting and achieving important milestones of projects.

4. Monday

• Monday is a flexible work operating system that helps teams manage projects and tasks. Its main purpose is to provide teams with a visual and collaborative platform where they can organize and track their work. This tool is customizable, allowing users to adjust their workspace according to their needs.
• Features of Monday:
  • Visual Boards: There is an option to create boards where tasks can be organized into different stages.
  • Customization: There is flexibility to customize the Workspace with columns, tags, and colours.
  • Integration: Monday can integrate with other popular tools like Slack, Trello, and Zoom.
  • Collaboration Tools: Features like file attachments, comments, and real-time updates enhance communication between teams.

5. Trello

• Trello is a flexible, visual project management tool that organizes your work into boards and lists. In this, tasks can be moved from left to right by dragging and dropping them on Kanban-style boards. Each card can be assigned members, checklists, labels, due dates, attachments, and comments. Trello helps teams visually organize tasks and track progress.
• Features of Zoho Sprints:
  • Kanban Boards: Provides boards to organize tasks where tasks can be moved into stages visually.
  • Cards: You can assign members to each card, and add checklists, labels, due dates, attachments and comments.
  • Visual Dashboards: All tasks can be seen at a glance from the Dashboard.
  • Calendars or Timeline Views: Calendars, charts and timeline views are available to visualize progress in different ways.

6. Zoho Sprints

• Zoho Sprints is an agile project management tool that helps teams effectively plan and track projects and tasks. In this way, it is very easy to manage sprints and backlogs of requirements using the Agile methodology.
• Features of Zoho Sprints:
  • Drag-and-Drop Planning: To easily prioritize and organize tasks and sprints.
  • Epics and User Stories: Break large tasks into smaller user stories.
  • Dashboards and Reports: For real-time insights into project status and team performance.
  • Timesheets: To track billable and non-billable hours.
  • Sprint Reminders: Set reminders and visions of sprints.

Conclusion

Agile methodology has taken away the project management rules from tradition to the model of being flexible to work together and produce development results incrementally. Agile, compared to previous approaches, would make a team respond quicker to changes and deliver value incrementally through iterative cycles. 

This leads to transparency, collaboration with the customer, and ongoing improvement for the teams to react effectively to emerging needs. Fundamental agile principles value individuals and interactions, working software, customer collaboration, and reaction to change. These focus areas allow teams to increase their ability to develop better products more productively than by using traditional approaches.

We hope this overview has helped guide you towards the best agile development tool for your team. Stay tuned for our next blog, where we will provide informative content for your business. Until then, take care and happy project managing! See you in the next blog!