Agile Tool Evaluator Guide

Agile Tool Evaluator Guide

Selecting an Agile Management Tool

As organizations continue to adopt and scale Agile development, the challenges of coordinating and managing
multiple teams, locations, and projects continues to increase. Complexity is amplified due to Agile’s embrace of real-
time changes to plans and priorities. This results in the need for a way to easily plan and track this change within a
single, consistent management framework and is critical to maximizing the success of all of your Agile Development
activities.

In order to maximize value from an agile deployment, six key criteria should be considered when selecting an enterprise
management tool:

1. Iterative, Feature-driven Development

Although it may seem to be an obvious mismatch, many teams attempt to use a series of traditional tools
that do not facilitate planning and tracking by release or iteration, do not enable easy changes to plans
and priorities, and do not use features (e.g., requirements, user stories, product backlog, features, …) as
the primary planning asset.

2. Integrated Lifecycle Management

Agile development follows a tightly integrated process that coordinates high-level feature planning,
detailed task and test planning, defect and test management, and overall project tracking. Tracking
project information in multiple tools can inhibit accurate, real-time visibility.

3. Cross-Functional Teams
True support for cross-functional teams means consolidating and facilitating the project planning and
tracking needs of customers, product management, project management, programmers, testers, etc. in a
single environment for improved collaboration and consistency.

4. Flexible Configuration
No two organizations operate in the exact same manner when it comes to organizational structure,
terminology, product planning, project scheduling and tracking, and reporting. Any scalable management
tool should accommodate this type of flexibility and allow organizations to define, organize, and plan
according to their unique organizational requirements.

5. Simplicity
While complex needs may arise, the necessity to provide team members with a simple, straightforward
planning, tracking, and reporting system is critical for broad-based success. Like Agile development,
the more simple the tool the better. Most importantly, tools should never replace the benefits achieved
from daily planning, face-to-face communication, product reviews and retrospectives. An Agile lifecycle
management tool is only as good as the process it facilitates and the people that use it.

6. Enterprise Scale
An agile tool for deployment within an enterprise must be able to handle a sophisticated project structure
and thousands of features and defects. In larger deployments, key concerns include both ease-of-use and
support for thousands of items flowing through an agile lifecycle with minimal overhead.

With these criteria in mind, the Evaluator Guide outlines a detailed set of features an enterprise Agile management
application should enable for scaling Agile planning, tracking, and reporting across your organization. Highlighted is
both functionality needed as you begin to implement an Agile management tool and longer range functionality that
you will benefit from as your Agile process matures.

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 Agile Tool Evaluator Guide

“Top 10” Checklist

V1: Agile Enterprise

1. Local installation or hosted, “on-demand” deployment options for teams of any size
2. Configurable methodology templates (Scrum, XP, AgileUP, DSDM, Custom)
3. License and subscription pricing alternatives
4. Full Agile lifecycle support (features, defects, tests, tasks, impediments,…)
5. 100% web-based deployment for distributed teams and locations
6. Customizable project hierarchy to match your unique organizational and/or reporting structure
7. Simple, drag-and-drop planning and prioritization
8. Comprehensive management reporting and executive-level dashboards
9. Open, web services API
10. Expert training and implementation assistance

In addition to this critical Top 10 list, the following pages of the Evaluator Guide offer detail that is important
to companies comparing the benefits and features of Agile tools. If you have any questions regarding the
capabilities outlined within this document or how VersionOne can assist in your Agile deployment, please contact
us at info@VersionOne.com.

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 Agile Tool Evaluator Guide

Capability Matrix
V1: Agile
Enterprise

Deployment Additional Notes

Local (On-Site) Install
Hosted (On-Demand) Install
Automated Setup/Instal l and Upgrades
Subscription Pricing Option
Perpetual License Pricing Option
Free Evaluation 30-day trial
100% Web-based UI Simplified deployment
Configurable Methodology Templates Scrum, XP, AgileUP, DSDM, or Custom/Hybrid
Application Setup & Configuration
Basic Project/Release Structure
Fully Customizable Project Hierarchy Dynamically defined planning and reporting structure
Dynamically Defined Programs Cross-project & multi-team management
Program Management & Reporting
Multi-team Planning & Reporting
Shared Iteration/Sprint Schedules Across Projects Rollup iteration planning, tracking, and reporting
Define Unique Iteration/Sprint Schedules for New projects and releases can have their own

Concurrent Projects/Releases Track & manage synchronized projects and releases

Configurable System List Values Customize all values for status, priority, risk, etc.
Customizable Terminology
Customizable Grids Customize grids to display specific fields
System-wide Grid Settings Deploy default grid settings across company
Custom Fields Add new fields and capture custom data
Hide Fields Remove fields from display
Windows Integrated Authentication Integrate with Windows users and passwords
Feature and Defect Templates Pre-define feature and defect defaults, tasks, and tests
Reporting & Analytics
Executive-level Reporting
Project Dashboard Single-level or rollup - burndown, scope trend, velocity,
test trend, release progress
Project Summary Project progress and Gantt
Program Dashboard Cross-project - burndown, scope trend, velocity, test

Reporting & Analytics Continued Next Page

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 Agile Tool Evaluator Guide

V1: Agile
Enterprise

Reporting & Analytics (continued) Additional Notes

Program Summary Program progress and Gantt
Iteration/ Sprint Dashboard Burndown, scope srend, burn-up, test trend, and
Member Group Dashboard Burndown by project, member load across groups of users
Project / Release Reporting
Burndown Chart - Basic
Burndown Chart - Filtered Filter by dates, feature group, and features or defects
Velocity Chart - Basic
Velocity Chart - Filtered Filter by project, status, priority, risk, feature group and
features or defects
Velocity Trend Velocity, average velocity, and target velocity trending
Burn-up Chart (Scope Trend) Total vs. completed features during a project
Project/Release Roadmap Progress by feature or feature group across iterations
Parking Lot Progress of features by business area and feature group
Scope Change Added, removed, and changed features during a project
Estimation Accuracy % by iteration
Test Trend Test status over time
Test Run External test system pass/fail summary
Defect Status Trend Open defects by status
Defect Priority Trend Open defects by priority
Defect Resolution Trend Defect count by resolution
Scope Change Added, removed, and changed features during a project
Issue/Impediment Trend Open / Closed issue count
Request Trend Open / Closed request count
Iteration / Sprint Reporting
Burndown Chart - Basic
Burndown Chart - Filtered Filter by dates, feature group, and features or defects
Burnup Chart (Scope Trend) Total vs. completed features during an iteration
Estimate vs. Actual Trend Estimated vs. actual effort over time
Cumulative Flow Progress of features through an iteration
Defect Status Trend Open defects by status
Defect Priority Trend Open defects by priority
Defect Resolution Trend Defects count by resolution
Test Trend Test status over time
Scope Change Added, removed, and changed features during an iteration
Reporting & Analytics Continued Next Page

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 Agile Tool Evaluator Guide

V1: Agile
Enterprise

Reporting & Analytics (continued) Additional Notes

Member Reporting
Team Member Dashboard Personal burndown, estimates, and actuals trend
Member Actuals Actuals by project by day, week, month
Member Load Chart Current load for an iteration and across all projects
Member Load Trend Member estimate load and average by iteration
Estimates by Iteration / Sprint Estimated work delivered by iteration
Load by Iteration / Sprint Actuals by iteration
Estimation Accuracy % comparison of estimates and actuals
Ad Hoc
Customizable List Reporting Report on tasks, tests, features, iteration, etc. by or
across project(s)
Asset Management and Tracking
Feature Planning Product backlog, user stories, requirements…
Defect Tracking
Task Management
Test Case Tracking
Request Management Manage customer & marketing requests
Issue/Impediment Tracking Manage development issues & impediments
Feature Rollups Assign features to functional groups for planning &
rollup reporting
Single-click view of Asset Details Displays details, relationships, links, notes, history, etc
on a single page
Product / Work Item Planning
Plan, Estimate, and Prioritize Features User stories, product backlog, requirements, etc.
Plan, Estimate, and Prioritize Defects
Prioritize and Rank Features and Defects Consolidated planning and prioritization in a
Together single environment
Drag-and-drop Ranking
Track & Prioritize Customer Requests
Track & Prioritize Development Issues &
Impediments
Generate Features, Issues, and Defects Automated generation
from Requests
Generate Features and Defects from Issues
Break Features Down into Smaller Features
Copy Features, Defects, Requests, and Issues
Product / Work Item Planning Continued Next Page

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 Agile Tool Evaluator Guide

V1: Agile
Enterprise

Product / Work Item Planning (continued) Additional Notes

Delete Features, Defects, Requests, and Issues
Close Features, Defects, Requests, and Issues Close items upon completion and automatically
remove from displays

Reopen Features, Defects, Requests, and Issues Reopen if additional work required
Flexible Filtering Display information by status, owner, priority, feature
group, etc.
Column Sorting Click on column to sort by any value
Define Hierarchical Feature Group Rollups For planning and rollup reporting
Assign Features to Feature Group Drag-and-drop assignment
Bulk Edit/Apply Changes Update multiple records in a table and apply all
changes at once
Undo/Reset Unapplied Changes
Multi-select Move, Close, Reopen & Delete of Easily move or edit multiple items at a time
Items
Customizable Planning Grids Configure grids to display specific fields
Multi-Level Estimation Estimate features and defects in one unit and tasks
in another
Release Planning
Simple, Drag-and-Drop Release Planning
Environment
Estimate & Assign Features and Defects to Easily drag-and-drop features and defects on to
Projects/Releases releases / projects
Rank Features & Defects within Projects Drag-and-drop ranking
Multi-select Assignment of Features and Move multiple items between projects all at once
Defects to Projects
Display Project & Release Summary Information View total and remaining estimates
Assign and Track Requests by Project or Release
Assign and Track Issues by Project or Release
Assign Items to Teams within Projects Track features, defects, issues and requests within
project, release, or team
Easily Add New Releases and Projects
Define Cross-Project Feature Dependencies
Customize Release Planning Pages Configure grids to display specific fields
Sprint/Iteration Planning
Simple, Drag-and-Drop Iteration
Planning Environment
Sprint/Iteration Planning Continued Next Page

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 Agile Tool Evaluator Guide

V1: Agile
Enterprise

Sprint/Iteration Planning (continued) Additional Notes

Assign Features and Defects to Iterations Easily drag-and-drop features and defects on to
iterations
Rank Features and Defects within Iterations Drag-and-drop ranking
Display Velocity by Iteration View velocity for closed, active, and future iterations
Multi-select Assignment of Features and Move multiple features and defects all at once
Defects to Iterations
Feature Planner Easily manage features and defects, tasks, and tests all
on a single page
Add Tasks to Features and Defects
Add Tests to Features and Defects
Copy Tasks
Copy Tests
Assign and Track Multiple Owners on Features, Assign pair / multi-owners
Tasks, and Tests
Plan by Feature or Member During planning: display issues for review
Review Issues and Impediments Configure grids to display specific fields
Customize Iteration Planning Page Configure grids to display specific fields
Flexible Filtering Display information by status, feature group, owner, etc
Flexible Iteration Dates Edit iterations to overlap or skips dates
Highlight Broken Dependencies
Project Tracking
Iteration / Sprint Tracking
Track Effort on Tasks
Track Effort on Tests
Track Remaining Work on Tasks and Tests
Configure Tracking to only Track Remaining Effort Set up to not track actual effort
Track Effort on Features and Defects Set up system to track at multiple levels
Close Tasks, Tests, Features and Defects
Reopen Tasks, Tests, Features and Defects
Multi-select Close and Reopen of Items
Split a Feature
Track Pair / Multi-owner Actuals
Queue Unassigned Items Unassigned work queue for signing up for tasks and
tests
Copy Tasks and Tests
View Tracking History
Multi-select Delete of Tasks and Tests
Project Tracking Continued Next Page

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 Agile Tool Evaluator Guide

V1: Agile
Enterprise

Project Tracking (continued) Additional Notes

My Home
Personal My Home Tracking Environment Consolidated list of items for tracking across projects
My Home Summary Summary of assigned items, status, and progress
Customizable My Home Summary Page Configure grids to display specific fields
My Home Pages for All Owned Assets Tabs for tasks, tests, features, projects, feature
groups, etc.
View Any Member’s Assignments Member filter for quickly changing view
View Unassigned Items
My Home Filtering by Project Click to select all projects or one project
My Home Dashboard Personal burndown and actuals trend
Flexible My Home Filtering Filter assignments by status, priority, etc.
Search/Find Search on name, description, etc.
Add Tasks and Tests
Close, Reopen, and Delete Items
View Tracking History
Integration
Open Web Services API Query, update, insert,…
Import (XML, Excel) Import features, defects, issues, requests, tests, and
tasks
Export (Excel, MPX) Customize and export grids
Acceptance Test Framework Import external test results via API
Visual Studio Add-in View and update tasks directly within the Microsoft
Visual Studio IDE
Export (MPX) Export project information in MPX format
Wiki Integration Incorporate links to wiki pages
Security
Add Unlimited Users Based on licensing
Activate/De-activate Users
Password Authentication
Drag-and-Drop Project Assignment of Members
Assign Users to Multiple Projects Security automatically flows down thru project structure
Assign Users to Specific Projects, Release, Assign users to specific levels in the project tree
Teams
Manage Roles by Project across all Members
Manager Roles for a Member across all Projects
Security Continued Next Page

 Copyright © 2007 VersionOne, LLC. All rights reserved.

 Agile Tool Evaluator Guide

V1: Agile
Enterprise

Security (continued) Additional Notes

Filter Users by Group
Search/Find Users
Miscellaneous Features
Notifications Automated RSS-based notifications
Add Features, Defects, Request, and Issues Shortcut link to add from anywhere in the product
from Anywhere
Audit History Detailed change logging
Attachments (DOC, XLS, PDF, etc.)
Search/Find
Rich Text Editing Descriptions, resolution details, test steps
Notes Add comments to any item
Unit Independent Estimation Example: ideal days or points at feature level and hours
at task level
Links Link assets to web pages or shared documents
User-Defined Filters
Service & Support
Online Product Webinars
On-Site Product Training
Agile Training & Consulting
Product/Technical Support
Online Help
Online Product Tours, Tutorials, etc.
Searchable Knowledge Base

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 Copyright © 2007 VersionOne, LLC. All rights reserved.