Category Compare: DevOps vs. Scrum Software

In this report, we define and compare DevOps vs scrum software to help you decide which one aligns with your business goals.

Both DevOps and scrum software are crucial tools of agile project management. IT project managers use these tools to manage a software development lifecycle (SDLC). Investing in either of the two software categories helps remove challenges of agile project management such as inefficient risk management, lack of communication, or budgeting issues.

Although DevOps software and scrum software fall under the same umbrella, both of them differ based on their features. If you don’t have a clear understanding of these categories you might end up purchasing expensive tools without any returns on investment (ROI).

DevOps software is used to improve communication and collaboration between the development and operations teams during a project. On the other hand, scrum software provides an agile framework to develop, deliver, and sustain complex products.

Below, we'll talk about the similarities and differences between the two software categories to help you understand which is better suited for your business.

What is DevOps software?

DevOps software assists with effective communication and collaboration between the software development team and the operations team. This process helps speed up the tasks of the software development team by eliminating bugs, addressing design errors, identifying data relationship errors and other quality issues. You can use a DevOps tool to continuously test the software for quality issues during development and ensure the delivery of products.

DevOps software employs various techniques such as continuous development, integration, and configuration management within a software development pipeline.

Key features of DevOps software

The primary features of a DevOps tool include:

• Collaboration tools: Share calendars, Kanban boards, and Gantt charts with the DevOps team members, collaborate on project-related documents, and chat in real time on work updates.

• Continuous integration: Merge all the product-related changes during the development stage in the centralized repository. Keep track of changes and lock different versions to monitor activities throughout the project.

• Continuous deployment: Automatically release changes that pass all stages of the production pipeline from the repository to the production environment. Test all the production changes, identify the failed attempts, and kickstart a new change process.

• Change management: Track and monitor all the changes/transitions in the software development pipeline to support continuous improvement and on-time delivery.

• Configuration management: Identify and maintain components (i.e. servers, configuration information, software, etc.) and their relationships across all the development tasks. Ensure that all the components work together smoothly throughout the project lifecycle.

• Monitoring: Oversee the entire software development lifecycle (planning, development, deployment, and testing) to ensure on-time delivery of projects. Get real-time updates on the tasks, applications, and infrastructure utilized to get the job done.

• Prioritization: Arrange activities and tasks on the calendar planner/Gantt chart/kanban board based on their relative importance in the production pipeline.

• Testing management: Manage testing processes and pipelines to check their visibility and ensure error-free testing of changes before deployment. Monitor and track testing activities for their success and failure to optimize processes for the future.

• Release management: Plan, coordinate, and document all the testing/deployment processes of new changes in the production environment.

What is scrum software?

Key features of scrum software

The primary features of scrum software include:

• Prioritization: Use value-based prioritization to drive the structure and functionality of the agile scrum framework. Decide the order of tasks based on their relevance in the production pipeline.

• Sprint planning: Identify scrum team members with the right skill sets and align them with the laid-out tasks within a production pipeline. Set a deadline for task completion, feedback, and delivery.

• Task management: Monitor each task within a project for progress and updates. Make decisions to accommodate changes when an issue arises in order to complete assignments.

• Backlog management: Evaluate, schedule, and assign tasks that have been put on the back burner (product backlog) to speed up the development of high-priority products.

• Collaboration tools: Share files and chat with the team members to get instant approvals and feedback on the production pipeline.

• KPI monitoring: Track the status of projects based on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as on-time completion, team members involved, changes implemented, and other factors reflecting performance.

• Release planning: Maintain a timeline for taking a project live that outlines what features should be operational at the go-live date.

• Roadmapping: Identify the desired outcomes from a project and important milestones to hit and create a plan on how to achieve them.

What do they have in common?

DevOps and scrum software tools share a common goal—to prioritize tasks that speed up product development and release with effective monitoring and collaboration. Both tools:

• Streamline and automate project management and product development pipelines for efficient and error-free development and deployment.

• Solve issues as they arise within projects by breaking them down into smaller tasks.

• Offer prioritization, monitoring, collaboration, and release management as key features.

Which project management tool is right for your business?

Before investing in any software, assess your business’s project management requirements and objectives.

If your business needs a tool as a means to enhance communication and collaboration within the development and operations teams then DevOps software would be the right solution. The tool focuses on providing the industry best practices and tools to shorten the product development lifecycle and provide continuous delivery of high-quality products and services.

If you want to develop new frameworks to solve problems within a product development pipeline, scrum software would be the right choice. The tool lets you document all the development tasks to prepare performance reports and optimize future product development pipelines to enhance efficiency and productivity.

Once you’ve decided which software to use, head to our DevOps software and scrum software category pages where you can find a sortable list of products and software reviews from verified users.

How to choose the right project management software system for your business

Here are some key considerations to select a project management software that aligns with your business needs.

• Look for collaboration tools: Collaboration is essential when working with a team on multiple projects, especially in a hybrid work environment. The feature allows you to keep your team members updated on the project's progress. You can even use it to get instant feedback or approvals on tasks. Explore the available options to communicate and collaborate (file/media sharing, group chat, voice/video call, etc.) using your selected project management tool.

• Assess the reporting and analytics capabilities: Check what performance metrics you can track using the given feature in your selected DevOps or scrum software. Assess the tool’s ability to prepare reports (automatic or manual) for process audits and performance analysis. In addition, look for a tool that allows you to download and share project reports via other platforms and in different formats.

• Check the allowed team size: Project management software tools may have a cap on the number of users allowed on a single project. However, the feature is mostly based on the subscription plan you’ve opted for. Therefore, it is better to check the permitted team size and select a plan to match your current and future project requirements.

• Assess the data security: Data security is an essential element of project management software. You have all your ideas and new developments stored within a single tool, which needs to be protected from instances such as unauthorized access or accidental deletion. Introspect the data security measures followed by your selected project management software to reduce the chances of data leaks or unauthorized access. In addition, also assess the recovery methods followed by the software provider in case an incident occurs.

Common questions to ask while selecting a tool for your business

Ask the following questions to software vendors before purchasing a project management tool:

• Does the tool have real-time alerts and notifications? Real-time alerts and notifications on project progress such as task completion, new tasks aligned, or updates or comments on tasks save a lot of time. You don’t have to manually look for updates on all the tasks and can immediately act upon urgent requests.

• Is there a mobile application for your tool? Check if the software you’ve selected for your project management needs has a mobile application for Android and iOS devices (smartphones and tablets). Assess the capabilities of the mobile application such as reporting and analytics, file share/downloads, chat, or calls.

• Can your tool integrate with the customer relationship management (CRM) tool? Inquire about the tool’s ability to integrate with CRM tools used by your business. The integration will assist in directly importing all the customer data for projects or tasks that require cultivating customer relationships. You can share documents or project updates with clients and seek approvals or feedback.