Irie, Inc.

Wrapping up this series comparing the top Agile backlog tools.

The objective of every backlog management tool is to allow you to create, manage, and prioritize the backlog. Every one of them provides a simple Ranking mechanism for determining what work to do next. However, some are a little better than others.

Every story can be put into different categories based on how it impacts the bottom-line. Doing so is an integral part of the Business Value Game. So, how do the tools support it?

There are a number of good reasons for wanting to do this, Perspective being the biggest. How well do the tools let you do it?

An epic is more than just a collection of functionally related stories. It is a usage scenario. It describes the “Happy Path,” among the many paths, that the user will take through the application. What tool supports and encourages thinking of them like that?

The ideal tool will let me organize things how I want, without unnecessary or bothersome restrictions. It will also facilitate my need to quickly focus my attention on only the parts that I need to see right now. Unfortunately, not all tools do that.

An Agile process is an adaptive process, right? What can be more ‘adaptive’ than changing your mind about how you want to organize your user stories? Can the tools keep up?

Creating a new item is something that every tool makes easy. Some make it easier than others. What really differentiates them is how you go about putting it together with the ones that it is related to.

Another seemingly simple task: Given two or more story cards that already exist, I want to group them together. How do the tool options stack up?

I want to take two backlog items and turn them into one. Let’s see how the different tools compare at this seemingly simple task.