Have you ever thought about “Why are Agile Project Management Tools So Important?”.
- We all know that one of the very important values in the Agile Manifesto is “Individuals and interactions over processes and tools”.
- Some people might interpret that to mean that tools aren’t necessary or appropriate in an Agile environment.
- I don’t think that is the case but it’s important that they be used in the right context
For more on Agile Manifesto values, check out this link:
What’s the Right Context for Agile Project Management Tools?
- In a traditional plan-driven environment (aka “Waterfall”), the process and the tool manages the efforts of everyone on the team
- In an Agile environment, a lot more flexibility and adaptivity is needed so any tool that is used should play a supporting role rather than a controlling role
It’s important to understand that context in order to use tools appropriately in an Agile environment. The key idea is that:
“You should manage the tool rather than
the tool managing you”
Why Are Agile Project Management Tools So Important?
As long as they’re implemented in the right context, I believe that tools are very important in an Agile environment for several reasons:
- Agile projects are very dynamic and fast-moving and coordination of the efforts can be a challenge especially with distributed teams
- Scaling Agile projects to large, complex enterprise levels and keeping the projects well-aligned with the business objectives they are intended to support can also be very challenging
How Are Agile Project Management Tools Different?
It’s also important to understand how Agile project management tools are very different from traditional plan-driven project management tools like Microsoft Project.
| Traditional Plan-driven PM Tool Emphasis | Agile PM Tool Emphasis |
|---|---|
| Structure of the project (WBS, Gantt, Pert, etc.) | Maximizing flow of work and efficiency (Structure is considerably simplified, much more fluid, and not as important) |
| Tracking conformance to a plan baseline | Much more dynamic environment; plan is continuously being updated and refined |
| Tracking completion of tasks | Tracking delivery of value against a high-level road map |
| PM is the primary user of the tool | The entire team uses the tool and the tool supports team communication and collaboration |
| Information in the tool is updated periodically by the PM for reporting purposes | Information in the tool is updated in much more continuously by everyone on the team for coordination and tracking progress |
| PM prepares and distributes progress reports | Anyone can view progress any time (Information Radiator) |
Overall Summary
Tools can be very important in an Agile project. However, the role of tools is very different and they need to be used in the right context.
Additional Resources
Resources for Agile Project Management Online Training.