What is Agile project management? This section is authored by Cliff Berg, Agile evangelist Some people claim that Agile does not have a place for the role of the project manager. That is a harsh claim, though, and it is a little like someone who has just turned 18 saying to their parents, “I don’t need a parent anymore”. The role of a project manager was firmly established before the Agile movement, largely because work on software was usually organized as a project: that is, a chunk of work that was budgeted for, and was scheduled for, and for which requirements were defined up front. Today, software is best viewed as a living thing: once you create it, you need to keep evolving it. Thus, the view that you create it and then maintain it, and that if you ever need to change it you propose a project - that approach is too slow and cumbersome. Instead, one needs to build the evolution of the product into its process for creating and maintaining it. It is like for most living things, most creatures are not born and then stay the same, and then at some point undergo a metamorphosis and change to a new state. Some do that, but most are born and then continue to evolve and change continuously throughout their lives. Software is like that today - or needs to be, to keep pace with today’s market demands, let alone stay ahead of the market. The “project” construct is based on a corporate finance model whereby an organization is in a steady state, and one then proposes a “project” and an accompanying ROI analysis - usually through an annual planning cycle - that will change the organization to a new state. That heavyweight and plodding approach is an obsolete model. Today, change needs to be continuous. The construct of “project” should be reserved for things that need an unusual boost - a “one-off” step change - but most things need continuous change, so most things should not be funded as projects. A better way to look at automated business systems is as products: things that comprise a capability, that have a life cycle, and that are continuously being enhanced. If most business initiatives are not funded and managed as projects, then there is less of a need for project managers; but project managers have skills that are still needed. Unfortunately, the top-heavy methods of the 1990s created a community of project managers who were trained in those top-heavy methods. It is those methods that are largely obsolete for software. They still work for other things, such as building construction, but software is just too dynamic. Software is not like a building: you cannot see it, you cannot assess at a glance how “done” it is, it connects in myriad ways, rather than only in three dimensions. It is different every time, you never build the same software twice, even though there can be some requirements that are repeated. That means that the process of building software is not repeatable, and so it cannot be managed as such. It is a highly creative process, and there is a lot of trial and error in it. One cannot fully design software upfront; one has to create a tentative high-level design, build it and alter the design as one discovers some elements don't work right until everything fits and works in the end. This is a craftsmanship of unique products that won’t be the same again. Such efforts need leadership, and organization, and decision making, and inspiration. The function of management includes all these things, by definition, and thus, there is very much a role for managers; but what does not work is an autocratic manager who tells everyone what to do, or one who sits at their desk checking off documents. Instead, leadership is needed, from the managers and from others, and the kinds of leadership that work are those that encourage thoughtfulness, rational Socratic discussion, and transparent decision making. People need a high degree of autonomy - not complete autonomy, but a lot. They also need a lot of coordination, and those who lead need to be good listeners and always watching for issues that are being overlooked. Which project management software is best for you? When deciding which project management software to download and use, first consider what your actual needs are, as sometimes free platforms may only provide basic options, so if you need to use advanced tools you may find a paid platform is much more worthwhile. Additionally, free and budget software options can sometimes prove limited when it comes to the variety of tools available, while higher-end software can really cater for every need, so do ensure you have a good idea of which features you think you may require. How we test Project management tools have developed markedly in recent years, adding a host of features, from Gannt charts to file sharing solutions. For this independent review, we’ve analyzed some of the best-known project management solutions on the market, evaluating them for their usability, features, and integration with other software. How they stand up to the new rigours enforced by the COVID-19 pandemic has also been considered. In terms of what you should look for in a project management tool, scalability, reliability and security are also important. These are factors that we carefully assessed before choosing our best project management software solutions.