Free Project Management Software

Agile 2009 is getting closer and closer. I’ll be there, but if you’re still on the fence about whether you’d like to go, this may change your mind: The entire program schedule is now live on the site.

Stretched over five days, this conference is an incredibly valuable opportunity to hear some big ideas from some of the biggest names in the industry. Taking a look at the program, there’s so much good stuff, it’s almost a little overwhelming. I’ve mentioned before that I’m excited to learn more about agile metrics, so my number one, can’t-miss session of the week is Dan Rawsthorne’s presentation on the topic on Wednesday.

If you’ve been reading Free Project Management Software lately, you know that we just wrapped up a blog series on criteria to consider when evaluating agile tools. Well, if your team in fact uses agile methods or Scrum in particular, then this post will also be of interest.

The website DZone regularly produces “Refcardz,” which are basically brief reference guides on need-to-know topics for developers. DZone’s newest one is dedicated to an introductory discussion of Scrum and authored by Danube Certified Scrum Trainer Michael James. Organized for quick, at-a-glance referencing and tackling the fundamentals of Scrum (roles, meetings, artifacts, etc.), James’ Refcard on Scrum provides an experienced, no-nonsense take on the framework. Yes, there’s a lot more involved in doing Scrum correctly than could possibly be contained in a document as succinct as this one, but, for a free resource, this is loaded with good stuff.

Did I mention it’s free? Download it below.

Scrum_Refcard.pdf

In the last week, Free Project Management Software has posted sets of questions pulled from an agile tooling RFP created by Danube Technologies. As you’ve by now seen, finding the right agile tool involves many concerns that are somewhat peripheral to the development team, such as data security, licensing options, and how well the software scales across large organizations. So finding the right tool is more complicated than simply finding one that is easy to use. Certainly, every organization has a unique set of needs and, therefore, certain criteria are more valuable for some organizations than others. Still, the RFP—which you can download as an Excel document below—is a great foundation for those considering purchasing an agile tooling solution.

Scrum_agile_RFP_guide_FINAL.xls

This week Free Project Management Software is dedicating its space to a discussion of what organizations should look for when evaluating agile tooling solutions. Today’s post examines the RFP’s sections on Enterprise Scalability, Data and Security, and Support.

Enterprise Scalability

• Is your tool an industry standard? How many users use your tool?
• Can users be managed via enterprise directory authentication such as Active Directory and LDAP?
• Are integrations with common bug-tracking applications available?
• Does the tool have the ability to support distributed teams?
• Has your tool been deployed for 500+ users on a single instance at a single customer site? 1,000+ users?
• Can you provide three large-customer references? Please list three multi-hundred user installations, approximate number of users, and primary contact.

Data and Security

• Do you support automated and manual backups?
• Are client-server communications encrypted with SSL?
• Do you support encrypted enterprise directory authentication such as LDAPS?
• Do you offer a technology escrow option in case adversity befalls your organization?
• How is programmatic access to the data provided in your tool?
• Does the tool have a web services API for data access and integration purposes? Please describe the scope of the API.
• If your tool is remotely hosted, please provide a detailed outage history.
• If your tool is remotely hosted, please provide uptime SLA.
• If your tool is remotely hosted, how often do you have scheduled maintenance downtimes?

Support

• Describe your technical support options.
• How many times per year do you release?
• Can customers choose when to upgrade?
• Does the tool offer an in-depth, online product manual?
• Is documentation built into the tool?
• Can technical support be accessed directly through the tool?
• What percentage of features released were originally requested by users?
• What is the process for requesting features?