Best Scrum Tools

For the past many years, Scrum has been playing a significant role in managing Agile projects. It is not only the software industry that has benefitted from it, but even non-software industries are benefiting equally from it. That is why it has become one of the most popular Agile frameworks. Scrum focuses on collaboration, communication, and responsibility. The main advantage of Scrum is that it mitigates the risk of project failure by keeping stakeholders informed of the project status and ensuring the completion of the project within the given timeline. Since Scrum has become extremely popular and is being used widely across industries, several tools have come up in the market, and each one claims to be the best Scrum tool. But as the saying goes, "Scrum is a way of life," so you can't just pick any tool and use it for Scrum. 

As far as Agile Project Management is concerned, a Scrum tool must enhance Project Management skills and make sure that the project is finished as per the timeframe provided. So, what should be the criteria for choosing the top Agile Scrum tools? Simply put, they are the tools that completely fulfill your project's requirements, help efficiently meet the Sprint goals, and are cost-effective. Any such Scrum tool would be the perfect fit for your Agile project. You may get intimidated by the long list of Scrum tools available n the internet. The sheer number of choices available would confuse you. Deciding on the right Scrum tool would become a project in itself. So, in order to make the task of choosing the right Scrum tool for your project easy for you, we have listed below some top Scrum tools that will give you the right idea about each tool and how it would benefit you. So, read on.

Best Scrum tools

1. Monday.com

It is supposed to be one of the best Scrum tools available in the market. Earlier, known as Da Pulse, Monday.com made rapid strides in the project management industry. It has a neat interface and color-coded features. Monday has a remarkable capacity to deliver projects and tasks for Scrum teams as a Scrum tool. It is a collaborative work operating system that is widely used by many large enterprises. Its features like drag-and-drop team scheduling, RAG progress updates, and simple guest access make it all the more user-friendly. It allows the creation and visualization of the roadmap from the dashboard itself. The best feature of Monday is its intuitive interface which, besides being visually appealing, is also very well-organized. Backlogs, Sprint Planning, and dependencies shortcuts are available within the sub-menus. Notifications don't intrude on your work and you can focus on your work without any interference. Integrating Monday with mobile, Project Management tools, and other third-party apps is easy. The list of integrations is pretty long. Monday provides a visual layout similar to Kanban and it lets you deal with complex projects. 

2. Jira

Most of you must have heard about Jira because it is one of the most extensively used Scrum tools. It comes with features that make the task of implementing Scrum seamless for the users. There are many functionalities on offer in Jira, including customizable backlogs, Scrum boards, reporting options, etc. Its workflow can also be customized which gives flexibility to the project. Jira has a single view for all User Stories. Despite its well-balanced functionality, Jira may be overwhelming for some users just starting on Scrum. It may take time for new people to understand Jira, therefore it is not advisable to choose Jira as a Scrum tool in case you are new to Scrum. Apart from customizable backlogs and Scrum boards, Jira has features like User Story tracking, time tracking, Bug tracker, Sprint Management, custom filters, and real-time reporting. It also has roadmap creation tools. Users can build tasks, sub-tasks, spikes, and epics on Jira. In smaller organizations, Jira might prove to be a little overwhelming for the team. It may lead to confusion in the team as the team may have to spend more time understanding Jira than finishing their tasks. However, Jira might be the best bet in large organizations with established Scrum teams.

3. ClickUp

ClickUp is a Scrum Project Management tool that is very highly rated and used by productive Agile teams for managing their Sprints. ClickUp calls itself simple and intuitive. This Scrum tool is customizable so you can create your own customized views. Time and task management with ClickUp is highly exhaustive and it facilitates easy collaboration among different business units. For remote teams, its easy screenshots and recording features for long-distance meetings come as a boon. You can set your work priorities without any hassles. The ClickUp interface is sleek and can easily handle basic tasks, team chats, documents, and goals. Its organized collaboration and reporting help ease the movement of the project toward the finishing line. Create workspaces, teams, and lists with ClickUp and customize your task dependencies. Whether you are using ClickUp as a Scrum master, a Product Owner, or a Scrum team member, it has some practical features with which you can track bugs, manage Sprints, and launch products. It helps everyone concerned about what needs to be done when by setting Sprint dates and priorities and assigning Sprint points thus encouraging collaboration. ClickUp offers a really long list of integrations, and you can download it to all devices to monitor your project constantly.

4. VivifyScrum

A simpler tool that is easy to use, particularly for new people, VivifyScrum comes with customized features that meet the requirements of Scrum and Kanban methodologies. Its interface is neat and free of any jumble. Its looks are also attractive. Its drag-and-drop feature allows you to move your items from backlog to Sprint backlog and mark them as "in progress" or "done" very fast. Sprint planning becomes so much easier with this tool as it comes with a Scrum board to manage Sprints. It also comes with a Kanban board to optimize workflow management and reduce the effort required. It's very easy to add and rearrange tasks on board in VivifyScrum. Further, a virtual organization can be built on VivifyScrum and all the team members can be added to it. Then, within this organization, boards and projects can be easily added and their progress can be tracked efficiently. Your team members can easily access User Stories and epics in the Sprint backlog. VivifyScrum also comes with many easy integrations with apps like Bitbucket, Slack, Github, Jenkins, Gitlab, Zapier, etc. Besides, you can use API to integrate it with your CRM or ERP system. An additional benefit of VivifyScrum is that it provides free online Scrum training in case you want to gain knowledge for yourself or your team members. 

5. Zoho Sprints

Zoho Sprints is another simple and good Agile Project Management tool by which Scrum teams can organize their User Stories, manage backlogs, and monitor the progress on Scrum boards. Among so many Scrum tools, Zoho Sprints is one of the most flexible tools, enabling you to release products in iterative Sprints. You can have your backlogs and epics in Zoho Sprints and structure your tasks. It allows you to customize work statuses and personalize Scrum boards. With the drag-and-drop planning builder of Zoho Sprints, you can quickly shift your items from the product backlog to the Sprint backlog. It also has a dedicated planning center with options for filtering, sorting, and searching items for both default and custom parameters so that the teams can refine their project backlog. The Scrum board can be customized to view each individual's progress to ensure visibility and transparency. Zoho Sprints allows the teams to sort their work items into swimlanes on the basis of priority, story, or estimation points. It also enables the team to track the progress of Sprints in a separate Sprint dashboard. Zoho Sprints allows you to view your project in different views like list, calendar, and Kanban. You can get real-time reports and track the overall progress. Zoho Sprints facilitates collaboration through features like inbuilt chat, virtual meetings, and an interactive project feed.

6. Targetprocess

Out of the Scrum tools we have discussed so far, Targetprocess is a little different in itself because you can use it for Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). It is, therefore suitable for both small and medium enterprises and large organizations. Targetprocessis is an app for Scrum team management that comes with customized solutions for Product Owners, Release Train Engineers (RTEs), Agile coaches, and portfolio managers. These solutions simplify the Sprint retrospective with built-in tools that help monitor team happiness and organize feedback. Those using Targetprocess for the first time may be surprised by its simple interface because it is not as colorful as other Scrum tools described here. Its friendly user experience sets it apart from others. Targetprocess provides a high level of customization with multiple free templates available for use. These are the reasons that have made it hold its position in the market for more than 15 years now. It is very easy to set up and has powerful software. There are so many solutions on offer for Agile teams in the process ranging from lean Agile to value stream management to Scrum. With Targetprocess, you can manage Sprints and backlogs, and refine your backlogs. It also provides Sprint planning tools and a Sprint progress tracker. Targetprocess makes splitting the User Stories easier. It aligns portfolio, product, and delivery. You can take out robust graphical and custom reports from Targetprocess pointing toward the existing trends.

7. QuickScrum

QuickScrum is next on our list of the most popular Scrum tools. It is one of the most user-friendly Scrum tools and is an effective tool for managing Scrum projects with which you can speed up and simplify your operations. Besides being easy to use, it is quick in setting up also. It is a powerful tool with which you can plan your Sprints and manage them, monitor the progress of the project, and get reports. A web-based tool, QuickScrum comes with a simple drag-and-drop interface that makes managing the backlogs easier. With QuickScrum, your resource allocation may become better and your delivery speed can increase. Its Insights feature helps you track your team's progress and velocity. Backlog management allows you to manage work items and do fast inline edits to the tasks. It also allows you to rearrange a task across multiple Sprints and set priorities.

With its individual effort tracker, you can track the work performed by each team member. QuickScrum allows you to burn up and burn down your charts and provides SSL encryption. You can also get project statuses from it like completed, in progress, or on hold. You can put comments within work items and track activities. It offers various views of your project, such as List, Calendar, Matrix, and Task. However, the one and only drawback of the QuickScrum tool is its lack of integration solutions. It doesn't offer integration options with many apps. Otherwise, QuickScrum is a robust, powerful Scrum tool that offers quick and easy onboarding.

8. Scrumwise

A simple and intuitive Scrum tool, Scrumwise comes with dedicated Scrum features. It is a user-friendly, streamlined tool that helps you achieve your Sprint goals. It has a simple interface which further makes it a favorite of many enterprises that are implementing Scrum. You can create backlog items with Scrumwise and split them into categories with lists, tags, or filters to access them as and when needed. It allows you to use epics to keep your product roadmap on track. It also lets you split your work into subtasks and checklists for better task management. It also allows you to manage your Sprint with a balanced allocation of tasks to see if any team is overburdened with tasks. It comes with a Kanban board that helps you in visualizing the workflow. Scrumwise offers various pre-built templates for projects. Besides its drag-and-drop interface, it comes with charts and time-tracking features. Scrumwise also has other features like team and roles, backlog management, Sprint management, task board, release management, and burndown charts. It also offers SSL encryption and provides access to third-party apps. Scrumwise also helps you view project statuses like done. to do, in progress, and to test. Its team chat functionality allows you to communicate with your team seamlessly. In short, Scrumwise is the easiest way to increase the productivity of your team as it helps you focus on the Scrum project rather than getting mired in any other more complex tool. 

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the Scrum tools available in the market but we have listed what we thought were among the best Scrum tools. A good Scrum tool must encourage some basic Agile ideas like Sprint management, backlog management, collaboration, and transparency. And you will notice that the tools we have listed above meet these requirements. You might see some overlap between the tools but that is only natural as many tools have multiple common features. However, in actual practice, how these features would look or function will differ for each tool. But all things considered, the Scrum tools we have described here are among the best Scrum tools.

Conclusion:

Selecting the right Scrum tool is crucial for the success of any Scrum project. Each tool mentioned above offers unique features and functionalities tailored to suit various project needs. Whether it's the intuitive interface of Monday.com, the customizable workflow of Jira, or the simplicity of Scrumwise, there's a tool for every team and project. Simpliaxis understands the importance of effective project management and offers courses to enhance your skills in utilizing these top Scrum tools, including the "Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)" or "Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)" training program. With the right training and tools at your disposal, you can streamline your Agile processes and ensure the successful delivery of your projects