A Simple Guide To Select Agile Tools

June 25, 2013 - PRLog -- As more and more organizations are opting for agile environment for development they require various tools for agile testing- testing automation, defect tracking, test management etc. While an organization might know the type of tool, but the real challenge lies in picking the best fitting agile tools in tool categories. Moreover, the team also faces challenges of coordinating and managing multiple groups, locations and projects. In agile environment project complexity is further intensified because of the changing plans and priorities in real time. Proper agile management tools helps team to manage such complexity followed by maximizing the value and success of agile developmental activities.

It might seem obvious, many teams start with agile with series of traditional tool that lack features like agile planning and tracking either by release or iteration, prevent enabling easy changes to plans and priorities and don’t utilize feature like user stories, product backlog or requirements as primary planning asset.

Team must remember that agile development environment utilizes a tightly integrated process that coordinates high level feature planning, detailed task and test planning, defect and test management and complete project tracking. Thus, when project information is stored in multiple tools it prevents accurate, real-time visibility.

Agile tools must be selected in a way to ensure it is providing true support for cross-functional agile teams. This includes consolidating and facilitating the project planning, tracking requirement of the customers, product management, project management, programmers, testers as well as other stakeholders in a single environment for enhanced collaboration and consistency.

Selected Agile Tools must have the required capability to accommodate the flexibility of the organization along with allowing it to define, organize and plan based on the unique organizational needs because no two organizations operate in exact same manner.

In agile environment complex requirement might arise, but the necessity to provide team members with simple, straightforward planning, tracking and reporting system is very important for extensive deployment. Just like the agile developer the simpler a selected Agile Tools the better. It is also important to ensure that tools are never replacing the advantages achieved from daily planning, personal communication, product reviews and retrospectives.

Last but not the least during the selection procedure an organization must keep in mind the affordability. This doesn’t mean that free or cheap, but having a thorough understanding of the budget resources as well as the constraints. Also an organization must keep in mind increasing cost of buying agile tools licenses for future project if required.

To know more please visit at http://www.rommanasoftware.com/agile-tools.php