The Right Agile Tool For Your Team

The Right Agile Tool For Your Team

by | Mar 3, 2017 | Ascend Blog, Project Atlassian

Software development and the processes that guide it have been evolving over the past twenty years. The Waterfall methodology, thought by many to now be obsolete, paved the way for both iterative and agile based software development methodologies. Agile itself is not confined to a single method, but is often fluid and changes between process frameworks (i.e. SCRUM vs. Kanban) and the organizations that use agile (Non-Profits, Government Agencies, and Commercial firms). Due to Agile’s propagation among software projects, and the need for teams to stay organized, tools have been developed in order to help software developers, scrum masters, product owners (and the list goes on) stay organized. Here we’ll be examining four agile tools used for planning and organizing teams: JIRA, Trello, Targetprocess and Bugzilla. Specifically, with these tools, we will be examining their pros, cons, and the types of organizations for which they are most suited.

JIRA / JIRA Agile

JIRA is a versatile issue tracking system built and designed for software teams to track project related tasks / issues. Atlassian utilizes Kanban and SCRUM based boards that are highly customizable. As JIRA Experts and Partners, we are not only (slightly) obligated, but also thrilled to write about JIRA and JIRA Agile’s capabilities. JIRA also enables users to create complex reports and filters using Jira Query Language (JQL) which functions similar to SQL. You can find out more, and try JIRA for free here: https://www.atlassian.com/

Figure 1: JIRA Agile Board

Starting Price:

10 users for $10 /month (Cloud and Server). Data center options are available.

Pros:

  • Highly Customizable: you can create custom fields, boards, reports, etc.
  • Built for Cloud + Server: you can install and manage JIRA-Agile in your data center or access it through the cloud.
  • One of the most widely used Agile tools on the marketplace.

Cons:

  • Price: after you get past the 10 users, the price quickly jumps for 15 users to $75 per month. 2,000 users may run you $1,500.00 in the cloud per month. 10,000 users in JIRA Server will run you close to $36,000.00 per month.
  • Add-ons may be pricey, and are sometimes required to extend the base functionality of JIRA.
  • There is a steep learning curve for administration, installation, and customization.

JIRA is a great overall tool for both small and large teams. However, in our experience we’ve found JIRA may offer too much customization for a small team to get a tool “up and running”. But, for many organizations, JIRA is the first tool we show them when helping them select an agile tool. We would recommend JIRA for small but established teams as well as medium sized and large teams / organizations.

Trello

Trello is an agile, cloud-based tool recently acquired by Atlassian. It currently does not have a standalone installation. The boards allow users to define their own lanes or columns (called “lists) where you can drag and drop cards. Cards on the board also allow you to attach images and files, write descriptions and you can assign cards to Trello users (or add them) who have access to your board. Trello Boards can be public or private. You can try Trello for free here: https://trello.com/.

Figure 2: Trello Agile Board

Starting Price:

$0, Trello Gold will run you $5 per month, or $45 per year.

Pros:

  • (In our opinion) The most fluid / easily understandable UI of all the tools we reviewed.
  • No costs upfront: you can create a Trello board with limited costs to you and your team. This is excellent for small teams or startups.
  • Ability to add potentially unlimited number of users to your board.

Cons:

  • Lack of customization (custom fields, screens, and issues / tickets).
  • Limited reporting capabilities (no fancy advanced reporting or dashboards here).
  • No way to link code to cards that are being developed unless you use the advanced APIs.

Trello is excellent for small and medium sized agile development teams, but may not hold up well against larger teams due to its lack of overall customization capabilities. We would recommend this mostly for small teams and startups.

Targetprocess

Targetprocess is an Agile tool allowing users to build out detailed projects and project schedules. Very similar to JIRA, it allows users to customize boards, user permissions, notifications, and issue types (called entities). It has a standalone installation that is normally used for large organizations or projects, and a cloud-based application. You can find additional information regarding Targetprocess, and try it out here: https://www.targetprocess.com/.

Figure 3: Targetprocess Agile Board

Starting Price:

Its free, you can begin using Targetprocess at $0.00.

Pros:

  • Starting price of $0.00 is a huge motivator for small teams looking to begin development.
  • Free courses on basic and advanced system features. You do not have to pay for training.
  • Highly customizable tool with excellent customer service.

Cons:

Targetprocess can be used for both small and large project teams. It has a nice blend of rigid controls and permissions that compare with those provided by the Atlassian tool suite. However, the UI seems to be a bit outdated, but its rigidness may apply best to large programs and projects where users may only be allowed to execute limited functionality.

Bugzilla

Actively maintained by the Mozilla foundation, Bugzilla is a true open-source bug tracking tool. There is no cloud instance, which means you are required to download and install it on your server or in a hosted instance (i.e. AWS). Of all the bug tracking / agile tools we’ve touched on here, it is the oldest (being released in 1998) and to this day is still actively maintained. You can download and install Bugzilla here: http://www.bugzilla.org. Bugzilla does not come out-of-the-box with an Agile based board installed, you will need to install one: http://www.scrumexpert.com/tools/scrum-kanban-open-source-tools-for-bugzilla/

Figure 4: Bugzilla using the KanbanBoard Plugin

Starting Price:

$0.00 (its open source!)

Pros:

  • Absolutely Free, you will never pay for the actual Bugzilla application.
  • Highly customizable: you have full documentation on the code from the Mozilla group that you can review and build atop the success of Bugzilla.
  • Heavily documented tool and actively maintained.
  • Majority of add-ons for Bugzilla are free, you can extend the functionality of Bugzilla for little to no cost.

Cons:

  • There is no customer support for this tool. Should you have an issue or question, you can consult the Mozilla documentation, Stack Overflow, and other support forums.
  • No cloud hosted option for small teams, you are required to use a standalone server (or purchase a hosting platform).
  • Outdated, clunky UI for many of the Agile based add-ons.

Bugzilla is great for project teams of all sizes who may have some extra server power lying around. And maybe for that reason, it would be geared towards established smaller teams who want to have the customization and configuration capabilities of JIRA / Targetprocess and want to host it on their own server / instance.

What Should You Choose?

While each tool has their strengths and weaknesses, they all appeal to a specific team / project / organization and the way in which they will use the tool.

Let us know if there’s a tool you would like us to review. You can contact us through our site, or comment on this blog entry!

Which tool is right for your organization?

Co-Authored By: Mike Brown & Ben Dickshinski — Ascend Integrated

The Atlassian Cloud: To Migrate or not to Migrate?

The Atlassian Cloud: To Migrate or not to Migrate?

by | Oct 11, 2016 | Project Atlassian

In recent years, Atlassian has been making an aggressive push for users to go to the cloud instance recently. We have been receiving many questions from clients on the Atlassian-Hosted instances of JIRA and Confluence, and whether to make the migration from the server to these cloud instances. Therefore, we wanted to put together a blog in regards to migrating to the Atlassian Cloud from your server, and the potential benefits and drawbacks of using the Atlassian Cloud as your new solution. Here, we analyze the technical, usability and financial pros & cons of the Atlassian Cloud, and the types of companies who would benefit most from moving to the Atlassian Cloud.

*As a disclaimer, we have been using the Atlassian Cloud for hosting our project issues and documentation since 2010, so this is an accumulation of our experiences working alongside both the Atlassian Server instances and the Atlassian Cloud. We are also Atlassian Experts and currently enrolled in the partner program.

What are the Atlassian Cloud’s Benefits?

If your firm already uses the Server-based Atlassian Tools (i.e. JIRA / Confluence) and you are looking to migrate to the cloud, you will find some initial benefits in pricing, low maintenance requirements (no more memorizing “yum” commands), Tool Administration Ease & Add-On installations, and the Atlassian Connect framework.

Pricing

If you are an enterprise with 2,000 or less users, you will pay less for the first year than you would if you purchased an initial JIRA Server License:

  • Pricing for Cloud 501 – 2000 Users: $24,000.00
  • Pricing for Server 501 – 2000 Users: $1,500.00 per month ($15,000.00 annually)

However, in Year 2, the Server License renewal fee is only $12,000.00, whereas you will continue to pay $18,000.00 annually for the Cloud instance. Roughly around Year 3 the cost to support the Server and Cloud will even-out, and at Year 4 the cost to continue supporting the Cloud instance will be more than the server instance. While the cost of the license seems to be a staggering $6,000.00 more annually after Year-3, your firm will make up the cost in saving on overhead associated with server maintenance (labor, updates, licensing agreements), etc. Depending upon your enterprise practices, going to the cloud may be very cost-effective.

Server Maintenance

As hinted at previously, gone are the days of figuring out how to upgrade your JIRA instance, or upgrade the underlying technologies (i.e. your Database, JVM, etc.). This ensures your system (both the Atlassian Tool and the underlying application software) is kept up-to-date without you having to take the site down for maintenance. This is all handled seamlessly by the folks at Atlassian, which means you can focus on what is important to you: getting your software developed. Figure 1 below provides an overview of a typical Cloud instance and the underlying software components / architecture maintained by Atlassian (yes you don’t have to maintain any of it).

Figure 1: Java JVM, OS, and Database Information Example

Administration Ease

User Management (including Billing Management) and Add-Ons are all handled through the Administration panel in JIRA and/or Confluence. You can go ahead and update billing preferences, the number of users in your Atlassian Cloud instance, and instantly connect Atlassian Add-Ons across all your tools (i.e. integrate your Confluence instance with JIRA) using the “Discover New Applications” feature. With one-click, you can have JIRA Service Desk, Core, Confluence, Capture, Portfolio, etc. installed and integrated with your instance. You can also integrate easily with any Google Apps you are currently using as well.

Figure 2: Atlassian Marketplace for JIRA

Atlassian Connect

Atlassian Connect is a framework allowing you to develop add-ons for the Cloud (JIRA and Confluence). You can develop your own custom add-on and access the application through a REST web service over HTTP. This helps bridge the gap for those Atlassian Tool users who have custom add-ons they use specifically within their enterprise. Atlassian Connect allows these users to migrate the add-on functionality to the cloud. If you decide to develop your own add-on for your Atlassian Cloud instance, be sure to brush up on JSON, REST APIs, and utilize the Atlassian User Interface (AUI) CSS Library to maintain the cloud standards and best practices.

What Are the Challenges to the Cloud?

While migrating to the Atlassian Cloud enables customers to take full advantage of all the Cloud has to offer, there are some limitations to the functionality provided through the Atlassian Cloud. Here, we provide a list of limitations we found while doing our due diligence for our clients.

Limited Plugin Support

While Atlassian Connect provides a bridge between custom add-ons and the new Cloud instance, Atlassian Connect has a learning curve, development time and effort. Many of the add-ons in the Atlassian Marketplace were developed for Server / standalone instances only. You may find many of the add-ons you have purchased for your JIRA Server incompatible with the Atlassian Cloud. If you have custom plugins used by your enterprise, you will need to develop these using the Atlassian Connect Framework in order to connect with your Atlassian Cloud instance. This will require additional development time and effort.

Limited LDAP Integration

Many firms utilize Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) for accessing their JIRA or Confluence instance. Users are required to have an LDAP profile in order to access the Atlassian Tool suite. Atlassian Cloud does not allow users to interface with their LDAP directly. Atlassian has been repeatedly dinged by the user community on this issue, and they are currently working on a solution: https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/ID-79?src=confmacro.

Storage Limits

There are strict storage limits set on the Atlassian Cloud instances depending on the number of users. If your server instance is hosting several hundred gigabytes of files and data through either attachments or images uploaded to JIRA issues or Confluence, you may find it challenging when upgrading to the Atlassian Cloud.

  • For 0-500 Users, the limit is 25GB (for Confluence and JIRA) which may be uploaded and stored in the Atlassian Cloud instance.
  • For 500+ Users, the limit is 50GB for confluence and 100GB for JIRA.

URL will become “companyname.atlassian.net”

Many of our clients and Atlassian customers normally access their tools through a subdomain, for instance they will access their JIRA or Confluence instance by typing “jira.companyname.com”. However, should you decide to move to the cloud, your URL will be changed to “companyname.atlassian.net”. Essentially the name of your instance will become a subdomain of atlassian.net. Atlassian is looking to build a feature enabling users to create and update their own URLs in the Atlassian Cloud, but it has not yet been developed: https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/CLOUD-6999.

Performance Issues and Garbage Collection

There have been some noted performance issues around the Atlassian Cloud, specifically working with JIRA and Confluence. Users do not have access to the underlying server, and therefore cannot directly increase the JVM Memory or the overall RAM allotted for their instance. Therefore, depending on the instance, you will see a lot of red when it comes to managing the Java Heap and the Garbage collection. We recommend Forcing garbage collection at least once daily in order to free objects in memory not being used by the Atlassian Tool.

Figure 3: Atlassian Cloud Java VM Memory and Garbage Collection

You will also not have access to the underlying PostgreSQL Database, so your reporting will be restricted to what you will be able to perform using JQL queries.

Limited Support for 2,000+ Users

Large Enterprises will run into a wall if they have over 2,000 active users on their JIRA or Confluence instance. Currently, the Atlassian Cloud only allows customers to purchase licenses for up to 2,000 users.

No FedRAMP Certification

If you currently providing hosting or tool solutions to the Federal Government, you understand the importance of the FedRAMP certification for data centers. For many agencies, tools are required to be FedRAMPed if they are hosted outside of an existing agency data center.  Currently, the Atlassian Cloud is not FedRAMP certified.

Conclusion

As an Atlassian Expert and Partner, we feel the Atlassian Cloud is overall an excellent and constantly evolving tool with widespread use across multiple industries. The Cloud provides convenience and removes obstacles associated with purchasing and maintaining an Atlassian Tool Suite for smaller firms, development teams, or firms wanting to “try out” the Atlassian Tool Suite. You can try out the Atlassian Cloud here: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/try.

The Atlassian Cloud may not be a good fit for large enterprises (with +2,000 users) or those firms which may be utilizing a considerable number of add-ons not currently developed for the Cloud. However, we strongly encourage both small and large enterprises to investigate everything the cloud has to offer.

Ascend Integrated encourages you to explore the Atlassian Cloud and all that it has to offer, it may be just what your firm needed for tracking and managing your tasks.

What are your thoughts on the Atlassian Cloud?