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Licensed for DistributionMagic Quadrant for Enterprise Agile Planning ToolsPublished 21 April 2020 - ID G00394014 - 39 min readBy Analysts Keith Mann, Mike West, Bill Blosen, Akis Sklavounakis, Deacon D.K WanNewer vendors are successfully challenging past Leaders as enterprise-scale agile methodologies enter themainstream. This Magic Quadrant evaluates 16 vendors of enterprise agile planning tools to help you makethe right choice for your organization.Market Definition/DescriptionAgile is the dominant means of creating software today because it enablesorganizations to respond to change quickly, to learn rapidly, and to deliver continuously.Making use of agile practices at scale is essential to digital business success.Enterprise-scale agile is a mainstream practice. Organizations that recognize the advantages of agile developmenthave learned to coordinate the work of multiple agile teams and adapt their governance and leadership processesto support agile methodologies. Top-down, strategic adoption of agile is common, driven by digital businesstransformation initiatives. Top-down adoption is also being accelerated by the growing adoption of the ScaledAgile Framework (SAFe), the “Spotify model” and other frameworks.Enterprise agile planning (EAP) tools coherently manage the diverse information andprocesses involved in enterprise-class agile development.Enterprise-class agile development is a natural evolution of project-level agile to support the demands of largescale software management. Agile processes are highly accelerated and iterative. The information needs of agileteams often differ from those of their leadership. This has led to the use of a variety of tools: some for the teams,others for management.EAP tools address management needs by combining data from multiple teams to produce: Customer value metrics: Such as customer satisfaction/adoption and the delivery of business outcomes. Velocity metrics: Such as Scrum team velocity and Kanban team lead and cycle times. Organizational effectiveness metrics: Such as team use of agile practices and issues arising from ineffectivecross-team coordination. Quality metrics: Such as test coverage and escape defect count.
Agile at scale introduces process change and new practices, either through the adoptionof an enterprise agile framework, or through organic growth and evolution.These new processes and practices create a need for tools that support: Monthly, weekly and even daily deliverables based on business outcomes. Increased visibility into the flow of work. Requirements captured in epics, features, user stories and tasks. Collaborative and shift-left practices such as test-driven development and acceptance test automation. Management of cross-team dependencies. Release planning and forecasting.Some optional product capabilities are evident among EAP tools. For some niche vendors, these becomedifferentiators.Among these are: Flexible workflows and configuration for organizations that adapt enterprise agile frameworks or discover theirown ways of working at scale. Advanced collaboration features to support distributed teams. Support for regulatory compliance processes. Requirements modeling, analysis, and management. Cyberphysical and Internet of Things development support.This Magic Quadrant provides an evaluation of the major vendors of EAP tools.Magic QuadrantFigure 1. Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Agile Planning Tools
Source: Gartner (April 2020)Vendor Strengths and CautionsAtlassianAtlassian is a Leader. Its EAP tool is Jira Align. Consider Atlassian if you are looking for a full-featured solutionwith framework support.Atlassian acquired AgileCraft — a Leader in the previous edition of this Magic Quadrant — in April 2019 andsubsequently rebranded it Jira Align. Atlassian offers a comprehensive solution for large organizations aspiring toembrace agile and DevOps. Its tool has built-in support for multiple enterprise agile frameworks, including SAFe.Jira Align can combine data from many teams using varying methodologies and team-level tools, includingAtlassian Jira Software with which it has excellent integration. It can track software changes from roadmapthrough DevOps toolchain to release.Strengths Atlassian’s Jira Align is a comprehensive solution that excels in many use cases. Atlassian offers a number of complementary tools and an extensive third-party marketplace for add-ons. Atlassian’s Jira Align has a modern, simple and elegant UI.Cautions
Although its UI is elegant, Atlassian’s Jira Align is very extensive, so it may take some time and analysis to findthe best way to use it in an organization. Atlassian has been enhancing its enterprise sales capabilities, but its pricing remains largely fixed, thoughAtlassian has begun to negotiate on both terms and conditions and on pricing structure for multiyear Jira Aligncontracts. Jira Align supports a wide range of development practices, which may prolong the life of some undesired legacyprocesses in organizations that do not follow the tool’s suggestions for improving execution.BlueprintBlueprint is a Visionary. Its EAP tool is called Storyteller. Consider Blueprint if you are looking for a productplanning solution based on visual modeling.Blueprint’s offering is focused on agile portfolio management. Storyteller creates a visual model of the plannedsoftware and maps that model to stories, test plans and deployment automation. The visual metaphor is unique inthe EAP tool market. It uses multilevel business process models, which offer the ability to drill down into eachelement, ultimately to flowchart representations at a detailed level throughout the development and releaseprocess. This focus on the visual model can make Storyteller a good choice for regulated industries. Storytelleralso supports value streams and customer journey maps.Strengths Blueprint’s Storyteller uses a unique visual-model-based solution to represent everything from value streams tostories. Blueprint’s product is focused on regulated industries and offers good support for plan-based development andbehavior-driven development. Blueprint Storyteller’s integration with other EAP tools is strong, so it may be used as part of a combinedsolution that requires regulatory compliance.Cautions The visual model is key to Blueprint Storyteller. Customers who do not find the model view to be a compellingfeature may find the product less effective. Blueprint’s focus on regulated industries can make product planning unnecessarily complex for agileorganizations without that requirement. Blueprint Storyteller addresses “nexus of design” thinking and concentrates on regulatory constraints andcompliance management, which some users may find unfamiliar.BroadcomBroadcom is a Leader. Its EAP tool is Rally. Consider Broadcom if you want an all-round EAP tool with a stronghistory in the market.Broadcom has rebranded CA Agile Central to Rally, which was the product’s name prior to its acquisition by CA. Ithas good all-round functionality, and Broadcom has publicly announced an updated UI. Rally is available as part ofBroadcom’s Digital BizOps Starter Edition, which is free for up to 50 named users. Broadcom has a significantglobal presence both directly and via its partner network.Strengths
Broadcom offers strong functionality for all aspects of EAP. Broadcom shows a good understanding of the enterprise agile market and has a history of responding well tomarket changes. Broadcom has a large product portfolio with support for enterprise-scale agile and DevOps.Cautions Broadcom focuses its direct efforts on its top enterprise clients. Smaller clients should ensure that they arecomfortable with the impact of this on the level of direct service they receive. Broadcom has several integrations between Clarity Project Portfolio Management and Rally. Customers who areusing the former need to consider how the two are used together when moving to product-focuseddevelopment. Broadcom has introduced a consumption-based pricing model for its enterprise clients. Such clients will needto understand this model and may need to manage their licensing differently to receive the best value.CollabNet VersionOneCollabNet VersionOne is a Leader. Its EAP tools are VersionOne and Continuum. Consider CollabNet VersionOneif you are focused on (or migrating to) agile, and if you plan to implement Scrum, Kanban, Extreme Programming(XP) or an enterprise agile framework such as SAFe.CollabNet VersionOne continues to be among the Leaders in the market with a number of innovations, notablyscaling support via enterprise agile frameworks; and integration with value streams and DevOps pipelines. Overthe past year, CollabNet VersionOne has continued to focus investment in its VersionOne product on value streammanagement, as well as collaboration (including a plug-in for planning poker). The company’s backlogmanagement and predictability, as well as its budgeting functions, also stand out. The VersionOne product hasfavorable and flexible licensing terms and strengths in terms of ease of implementation and use. It is available asSaaS or for on-premises deployment.Note: CollabNet VersionOne (CollabNet) and XebiaLabs announced on 21 January 2020 that the two companies hadmerged. The content of this Magic Quadrant has not changed in any way as a result of this acquisition.Strengths CollabNet VersionOne’s top-to-bottom platform approach provides an enterprise agile solution that addressesmultiple levels within an organization, from portfolio management to support for teams, and it enablescompanies to deploy value stream management. CollabNet VersionOne fully supports Scrum, Kanban, XP and SAFe methodologies, as well as the “Spotifymodel.” CollabNet VersionOne has prebuilt integrations with (as well as orchestration support for) DevOps solutionssuch as Chef, Jenkins and Selenium.Cautions Despite most reference customers for CollabNet VersionOne reporting ease of implementation, the product’sextensive functionality and customizability mean that it requires some effort to set up properly. Although extensive DevOps tools integration exists, it falls behind that of other Leaders in this Magic Quadrant.
Several reference customers for CollabNet VersionOne encouraged use of its training and on-site consulting,which has been highly rated, to ensure smooth adoption and consistent usage of the tool.DigitéDigité is a Niche Player. Its EAP tools are SwiftKanban, SwiftEASe, SwiftEnterprise and SwiftSync. Consider Digitéif you are looking for a full-function Kanban solution, and when complete enterprise-portfolio-level functionality isnot essential.This is Digité’s second appearance in this Magic Quadrant, having received an Honorable Mention in 2018. It offershighly evolved Kanban functionality (SwiftKanban) with minimum and maximum work in progress (WIP) limits toenable improved flow. It also offers extensive card visualization customization, rules for sorting cards, andvisualizes developer workloads for managing efficiency. Digité’s standup Wizard is an innovative feature thatsupports standup efficiency. Forecast graphics show, among other things, how many cards a team can deliver andthe probable cost of delay. Digité offers low-cost pricing options to encompass enterprise-level support.SwiftEASe supports SAFe 4.6, and SwiftEnterprise offers artificial intelligence/machine learning-enabled teamhealth and project analytics.Strengths Digité SwiftKanban is a complete Kanban tool. It offers a full range of functions and excellent flexibility, toenable scaling across dozens of teams. Digité has recently introduced a story-mapping capability that uses the company’s visualization technology. ItsSAFe PI Planning Program Board is also a nicely visualized strength. Through SwiftSync, Digité’s products integrate with over 50 application life cycle management (ALM), CRM andDevOps tools, including Atlassian Jira Software, CA Agile Central, CollabNet VersionOne, Microsoft AzureDevOps and Slack.Cautions Digité is not well-known outside India, except within the Kanban community, but it has established partnershipswith companies such as Lean Kanban for training and support. Digité’s strong Kanban roots permeate its various tools, and some nuances can catch pure Scrum or SAFeorganizations by surprise. Digité’s tools have evolved largely in support of Kanban service providers and product development companies,though they are now used in a much wider variety of enterprises in areas including corporate IT.FavroFavro is a Niche Player. Its EAP tool is also called Favro. Consider Favro if you want a highly flexible, collaborativetool that enables teams to adopt individual ways of working.Favro tracks work items as rich, highly configurable cards, each of which can be displayed on multiple boards andin multiple views. Because it is so highly flexible, Favro can support enterprise agile frameworks such as SAFe. Itstrue strength, though, lies in its ability to adapt to any team’s way of working.Strengths Favro’s flexibility makes it suitable for a wide range of applications, and is not limited to software development. Favro’s ability to show a given card on multiple boards helps enhance team collaboration.
Favro’s cards can capture many different types of information, so a separate documentation tool may not beneeded.Cautions Favro is better suited to organizations that support autonomous teams that have individual ways of workingthan those that prefer a standard methodology. Favro offers templates for EAFs such as SAFe and the “Spotify Model,” but these templates provide lessprocess guidance than tools from Leaders in this Magic Quadrant. Favro is a small company with limited geographic presence.GitLabGitLab is a Visionary. Its EAP tool is also called GitLab. Consider GitLab if you are looking for solid capabilitiesfrom a major Git provider with a focus on DevOps.GitLab offers a modern product
Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Agile Planning Tools Published 21 April 2020 - ID G00 394014 - 39 min read By Analysts Keith Mann, Mike West, Bill Blosen, Akis Sklavounakis, Deacon D.K Wan Newer vendors are successfully challenging past Leaders as enterprise-scale agile methodologies enter the mainstream. This Magic Quadrant evaluates 16 vendors of enterprise agile planning t ools to help you .
