Free Project Management Software » agile tools http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:00:25 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Criteria for Commercial Agile Tools?, Part Five http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/criteria-for-commercial-agile-tools-part-five/ http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/criteria-for-commercial-agile-tools-part-five/#comments Tue, 05 May 2009 15:11:20 +0000 admin http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/?p=82 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

]]> http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/criteria-for-commercial-agile-tools-part-five/feed/ 0 Criteria for Commercial Agile Tools?, Part Four http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/criteria-for-commercial-agile-tools-part-four/ http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/criteria-for-commercial-agile-tools-part-four/#comments Fri, 01 May 2009 20:33:34 +0000 admin http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/?p=79 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?
]]> http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/criteria-for-commercial-agile-tools-part-four/feed/ 0 Criteria for Commercial Agile Tools?, Part Three http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/criteria-for-commercial-agile-tools-part-three/ http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/criteria-for-commercial-agile-tools-part-three/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:10:01 +0000 admin http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/?p=77 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 Team Communication and Collaboration, Reporting, Installation and Administration, and Training.

Team Communication and Collaboration

  • Does your tool provide for Sprint Burndown charts?
  • Does your tool provide teams a way to load balance work amongst team members?
  • Do you provide a software equivalent to a physical task board?
  • Does the tool contain a personalized/customizable view of each individual’s tasks across multiple products?
  • Does the tool enable customizable notifications?

Reporting

  • Are reports based on User Stories and Velocity, or by summing task-level detail?
  • How are release dates forecasted?
  • Does the tool provide an exhaustive audit/change log?
  • Does the tool contain an easily accessible executive/stakeholder “traffic light”-style progress indicator?
  • How can reports be delivered to managers and stakeholders (external of the tool)?
  • Does the tool have the capacity to report specific changes within a sprint?
  • Does the tool include an overview of a team’s tasks, divided by individual?
  • Does the tool include non-agile metrics, such as individual burndown charts or gantt charts?

Installation/Administration

  • Describe the installation/deployment process.
  • Are there any hardware specification recommendations?
  • Does the tool offer support for multiple user types?
  • Can I define multiple administrators to spread the administrative load?
  • Can projects/products have local administrators?
  • Does the tool offer role-based permissions? How granular are the role permissions?
  • Does the tool offer role templates that apply to multiple products/projects?

Training

  • Do you recommend product training for new users?
  • Is training available for updates?
  • Can we look to your organization for training on agile and Scrum in general?
]]> http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/criteria-for-commercial-agile-tools-part-three/feed/ 0 Criteria for Commercial Agile Tools?, Part Two http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/criteria-for-commercial-agile-tools-part-two/ http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/criteria-for-commercial-agile-tools-part-two/#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:18:57 +0000 admin http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/?p=70 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 Agile Compatibility, Release Planning and Tracking, and Usability.

Agile Compatibility

  • Is your tool designed exclusively for the Scrum method or is it an all-in-one tool?
  • Is the tool capable of capturing requirements as User Stories/Backlog Items?
  • Can Product Backlog Items be easily prioritized (e.g., with drag-and-drop)?
  • Does the tool enforce a strict priority ordering for Product Backlog Items?
  • Is there a way to capture and expose impediments blocking the team/organization?
  • Are your metrics based on the User Story/Backlog Item level as opposed to the task level?
  • Can effort units for User Stories/Backlog Items be customized?
  • Is there a clearly separated Product Backlog and Sprint Backlog? Are both of these aspects visible from the same screen?
  • Can Product Backlog Items be moved into the Sprint Backlog using drag-and-drop?
  • Does the tool offer a way to print requirements and tasks to cards for use on physical task boards?
  • How does the tool function as an information radiator to users and non-users alike? Can you publish data out to URLs for consumption by anyone on the network?
  • How does your tool handle scaled agile scenarios with multiple teams working against a single release or backlog?
  • Does your firm demonstrate a clear understanding of Scrum principles? Do you have in-house expertise (not including partners) to provide service offerings around Scrum and agile such as Certified ScrumMaster training?

Release Planning and Tracking

  • Is the tool capable of creating custom releases and release dates? Can reports be filtered and customized by release?
  • Can releases be prioritized amongst other releases?
  • Does the tool contain a release forecasting capability based on empirical metrics like Mike Cohn’s “Alternative Burndown Chart”?
  • How does your tool handle the categorization of work? Do you use tags/themes or a nested hierarchy and why?
  • Does the tool track progress for high-level requirements (Epics)?
  • Does the tool permit release reporting across multiple teams?
  • Does the tool permit release reporting across multiple products?
  • Is it possible to filter your release backlog to isolate a specific feature or set of features for a more focused prioritization or feature decomposition?
  • Does the tool allow users to assign business valuations to User Stories/Backlog Items to better inform release planning?

Usability

  • Please describe how the interface utilizes drag-and-drop.
  • Please describe the tool’s time-saving interface features such as keyboard shortcuts.
  • How are “bulk” operations performed?
  • How do I copy and paste commonly recurring tasks?
  • How does the interface allow for customized screen layouts?
  • Does the tool include a “search” feature?
  • Does the tool offer in-line editing?
  • How does the tool support printing?
  • Can users attach files to User Stories/Backlog Items? Is it restricted to specific file types?
]]> http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/criteria-for-commercial-agile-tools-part-two/feed/ 0 Criteria for Commercial Agile Tools?, Part One http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/criteria-for-commercial-agile-tools-part-one/ http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/criteria-for-commercial-agile-tools-part-one/#comments Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:00:20 +0000 admin http://freeprojectmanagementsoftware.org/?p=64 Although this blog is concerned with free project management solutions, there are, of course, times when a suitable freeware solution simply does not exist. Since another focus for this blog is agile tooling, I wanted to share an RFP I recently encountered. Designed for organizations assessing commercial agile tools, the RFP was put together by Danube Technologies, which publishes the Scrum-oriented management tool ScrumWorks Pro. If you find yourself in the position of comparing potential tools for your organization, then it’ll be a tremendous asset for you. If you’re just looking for a free tool, this RFP is still helpful in that it’s a great resource for issues to consider, from how well the tool jives with your chosen management method to how secure your data will be.

For the next week, I’ll post a chunk of criteria for you to take a look at. But be sure to check back later this week, when I’ll post a downloadable Excel document of the entire RFP for you to use at your organization.

For the first installment, here are the sections on Platform and Deployment, Licensing and Cost, and Product Evaluation.

Platform and Deployment

  • For security purposes, is your tool provided as an on-premise install?
  • What operating systems do you support on the server-side?
  • What operating systems do you support on the client-side?
  • Please list any prerequisite software packages your tool relies on.
  • For an on-premise deployment, what server-side software prerequisites are needed to run your tool?
  • What database platforms do you support?

Licensing and Cost

  • Please describe the licensing models you offer (subscription, perpetual, concurrent/floating).
  • Are the license fees different for an on-premise vs. hosted deployment?
  • What are the licensing fees?
  • What volume licensing discounts are available?
  • If you offer a perpetual license model, describe your support/maintenance contracts.
  • Do you charge extra for certain components, modules or add-ons? Please detail any fees for add-ons.
  • Please break down the total cost of ownership (including support contracts, if applicable) at year one, three, and five.

Product Evaluation

  • Is a time-limited free trial of your product available? Are there limits on the number of users I can trial with?
  • Can I try your tool with my data or do I need to use sample data you provide?
  • For security reasons, is your trial available as an on-premise install?
  • In addition to your commercial tool, is there a freeware edition of your tool? Is the freeware edition limited in some way (e.g., number of users, projects, teams, etc.)?
  • Can data from a freeware or trial edition be preserved and transferred to a commercial upgrade of the tool if we decide to buy it?
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