10 Of The Best Scrum Tools To Increase Your Team’s Productivity

Scrum tools aren’t just for agile software development offices, even though that’s where Scrum originated. The Scrum framework can be used in many production settings — from marketing agencies to construction firms. In fact, a lot of the best project management software out there includes some functionality for following a Scrum framework, incorporating items like backlogs and sprint planning features.

What Does A Scrum Tool Do And How It Can Help You?

Scrum provides a set framework for producing a product, be it an email campaign, software or consumer product. All Scrum tools are based off of a similar framework of basic Scrum elements. If you’re unfamiliar with Scrum, have a look at our guide 9 methodologies made simple. Because Scrum is related to agile, there’s quite a bit of crossover between software described as “agile tools” and as “Scrum tools”. However, in general agile project management tools will enable a wider scope of agile development functions, not just Scrum-related ones.

Scrum software is designed to facilitate the Scrum framework, encouraging collaboration, transparency, and efficiency among team members. In fact, Scrum software can prove beneficial for almost any organization, as it facilitates communication, organizes workload, and helps members to plan for multiple iterations.

A critical element of any Scrum project management software is the Backlog. Like a whiteboard or sticky notes; this is where you list all the tasks and requirements for your final product. It is vital that you prioritize your backlog according to the urgency and importance of each task.

Another key element of Scrum apps is the Product Owner. This is the person who owns the discussion on which features are included or not as they manage the business and functional expectations for the product.

The Scrum framework divides time into predetermined chunks for completing each task from the backlog, known as Sprints. The graphical representation of a sprint is called a Burndown Chart. These are helpful in visualizing progress in order to stay on track.

Daily Scrums are a meeting for all the team members to discuss their progress and bring up any issues that need attention. Most Scrum tools have scheduling or meeting features to easily plan and coordinate Daily Scrums.

Each Sprint ends with a Retrospective, a time-boxed meeting where the team reviews the Sprint and plans for future improvements.

Keep reading on: https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/best-scrum-tools/

Originally published at www.thedigitalprojectmanager.com on September 24, 2018.