Agile Tools to Incorporate into Your Daily Routine
One of our favorite tasks to pull from the Backlog is sourcing new tools and routines. We create a list of everything we currently have, assess if it’s helpful or it’s being used, cancel any subscriptions we don’t need and research any new tools or add-ons we can incorporate into the coming year. This inspection and adaptation may seem small to the overall success of the Organization, but it helps streamline our Teams to be happier and more productive.
Here’s a list of Agile tools our Teams use to help with organization, communication, and productivity.
Virtual Kanban boards
Trello—Trello is a simple Agile tool that we use all day, every day. It’s a way to have multiple Kanban boards shared between your Teams
Jira—Similar to Trello, many Teams prefer using Jira for its Agile terminology and emphasis on software development.
Asana—Another favorite of ours, Asana allows for customized boards and timelines, plus is fantastic for communication within Teams.
Wrike—This is a tool we’re personally unfamiliar with but have heard great things about, so we’re researching it for the new year. Wrike not only allows Teams to organize their projects virtually but also helps new Agile users to understand Agile methodologies.
Virtual Brainstorming and collaboration tools
MURAL—If you’ve ever taken a Braintrust class or attended a webinar, you know how much we love MURAL as a collaboration tool! From conducting Retrospectives to brainstorming for new projects, this virtual whiteboard is a perfect Agile tool.
Evernote—Not as popular as it once was, Evernote is still an effective project management tool we frequently rely upon both in our personal lives and within the Organization.
And don’t forget these reliable workhorses
Paper planners—No time of year is more exciting to us than when companies start to release their planners for the coming year. Whether you prefer simple calendars or intricate hourly layouts, there’s a great satisfaction with physically crossing items off a to-do list.
Large sketchpad—If you’re a visual thinker and like to physically write out your notes, having large blank pieces of paper on hand to do sketchnotes is an important tool.
Do Not Disturb function—We can all agree that smartphones are both a blessing and a curse. For times when you need full focus and don’t want to be bothered with notifications or messages, toggle on your Do Not Disturb! If disconnecting completely seems stressful, you can set filters where you can still get notifications from your Stakeholders.
Stress balls/silly putty/fidget toys—We incorporated an array of items into our WFH setups at the beginning of 2020, and over two years later they’re still an important part of our Agile tool lineup. While some may argue that stress balls and jigsaw puzzles do not increase Team happiness or productivity, we strongly beg to differ.
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