Agile and Kanban software addresses the need for better organization, transparency, and team communication. They achieve this by providing real-time visibility and centralizing project management tools, which leads to improved teamwork and productivity. Kanban boards visually represent tasks and projects, enabling team members to track progress and managers to monitor employee performance.

Why use Kanban boards?

Many industries have adopted Kanban boards to enhance workflows and achieve business agility or continuous delivery. Agile and Kanban software simplifies the process, helping teams align priorities, maintain focus, and collaborate effectively on a single platform.

A well-structured Kanban board can enhance productivity and reduce workplace chaos by displaying up-to-date information. It unites geographically dispersed teams, ensuring everyone is on the same page and accountable for their tasks. When used correctly, it can also help companies eliminate bottlenecks and reduce wasteful practices, leading to improved project delivery success rates.

Here are the top five Agile and Kanban software options for 2023:

1 Smartsheet

Overview

Smartsheet is an award-winning cloud-based dynamic work platform that centralizes all business operations to create an intuitive, flexible, and scalable experience. It offers four flexible options for businesses to access their work: grid, Gantt, card, or calendar view. It empowers teams to manage projects, automate workflows, and build new solutions with no-code tools, promising ease of use and security so they can succeed in the fast-paced business landscape.

Features

Smartsheet is unmatched in its flexibility due to the multiple ways teams can access their work, making project management virtually easy so members can transition smoothly into accomplishing their tasks. It also offers content management where users can plan, manage, and review content production to finalize assets faster. Executives also get an exclusive dashboard where they have a real-time view of the status of any project with KPIs and visual metrics.

The cloud-based platform also features a control center that offers visibility, consistency, and scalability. It automates project creation, aggregates portfolio reporting, and manages change automatically from the central console to new and existing project plans. It provides a standardized methodology that fast-tracks the execution of tasks.

Moreover, with its Dynamic View, teams can securely manage their critical business process based on corporate requirements.

Smartsheet accelerates the transformation so businesses can stay ahead of their competition. With intelligent workflows, integrations, and other capabilities to effectively manage projects, it is one of the best agile and Kanban software, especially since it's trusted by 90% of the Fortune 100. It also offers 24/7 online or over-the-phone support, guaranteeing industry-leading SLAs to resolve customer issues or concerns.

2 Zoho Projects

Overview

Zoho Projects is cloud-based project management software trusted by established brands in the industry, like Dell and Stanford University. Its customers and critics rated it highly, earning a consistent 4-star rating from Capterra, GetApp, the App Store, and PCMag. It offers an easy-to-use, customizable interface and allows seamless integrations with Zoho and third-party apps.

Features

Zoho Projects contains comprehensive features for task management, team collaboration, time management, and more. It offers different task views from lists, milestones, Gantt, dependencies, calendars, or a Kanban board to display tasks as cards grouped in other columns based on their status.

It enables quick delegation through its issue management. Admins can list issues or bugs in projects and assign them to a team member in one click. Notifications are sent right away whenever a topic is created or updated. They are also activated automatically if a task is nearing its due date.

Zoho Projects also features baselines in the Gantt chart creator, allowing team members to compare their progress over different periods, even comparing two baselines simultaneously from two other users. End variance signifies delayed tasks that must be completed, while slippage tracks highlight tasks with zero progress and have slipped from the baseline's due date.

The project management software is easy to customize. Depending on the project requirements, users can create various custom fields to display the correct information from the owner, duration, rate, start and due date, etc. They can also customize their workflows to better understand the status of issues, whether it's on hold, new, done, published, etc.

With a high level of customization, automation, and multiple integrations, Zoho Projects offers many solutions applicable to different sectors and industries. It is easy to use and accessible on mobile applications.

3 Notion

Overview

Notion is an all-in-one workspace where users can centralize all information, manage projects, or document their workload to facilitate smooth and efficient collaboration among multiple people. It is a flexible product that offers limitless possibilities for use cases. It assists in organizing to increase user productivity through streamlining workflows and other business or non-business operations.

Features

Notion offers templates users can maximize to set up their virtual workspace, but the software also features agile and Kanban boards they can customize for project management and data visualization. They help show items in a database that move through different process stages or are grouped by property.

Team members can change how each card looks, from typography to text size. Notion also simplifies organization due to its intuitive interface, making rearranging different elements displayed on the Kanban board easy. Users can also resize the cards or dress up the board by adding an image or enabling a preview of the card's content.

Notion also offers integrations so businesses can reduce switching between multiple tabs, which causes delays and opens up the possibility for interruptions. With its built-in AI, team members can improve their workflows through its automation. They can generate results to fast-track project deliverables.

Notion has a higher learning curve compared to other agile and Kanban software. It's a powerful tool for an organized database and efficient project management.

4 Planview

Overview

Planview is a recognized innovator and industry leader in portfolio and work management. With over 4500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide, its platform optimizes productivity and facilitates cross-functional collaboration with seamlessly connected tools. It brings enterprise applications and software development lifecycle tools to offer a holistic view of the tech landscape.

Features

Planview Platform for Connected Work aggregates live data from disparate systems, incorporating all factors users can leverage for real-time scenario planning. With every idea, plan, delivery, and outcome on a single pane of glass, it streamlines the workflows of team members to increase their productivity.

It contains project management tools so teams can plan projects, schedule tasks, and track progress through integrated Kanban boards or Gantt charts for data visualization and improved collaboration. It features a Work Breakdown Structure that allows members to forecast the effort and resources required to deliver.

Planview Platform also offers solutions for strategic alignment so teams can coordinate delivery and achieve goals from accomplishing objectives or quickly adapt and pivot as business priorities change. With a real-time view of resource capacity, availability, and utilization, teams can make informed decisions and positively impact the business ROI.

The solutions of the Planview Platform create an organizational focus to achieve strategic outcomes, empowering teams to deliver their best work. With improved time-to-value and predictability, deep visibility, and complete actionable data, Planview transforms the virtual workspaces of businesses so they can provide better products, services, and customer experiences.

5 Kanban Tool

Overview

Kanban Tool empowers businesses to excel in the competitive market with its features, customization options, and data security. This project management and collaboration platform offers Kanban boards that seamlessly track time and provide valuable analytics. Its purpose is to simplify team workflows, enhancing productivity and goal achievement.

Since its launch in 2009, Kanban Tool has gained popularity among thousands of  users spanning over a hundred countries. It has earned recognition as a leader, top performer, frontrunner, and trusted vendor on platforms like SourceForge, Software Advice, Capterra, GetApp, Crozdesk, and G2.

Users have praised this Agile and Kanban software for its user-friendliness, robust features, and ability to bring order, structure, and visibility to business operations. With its quick setup, customization options, and responsive customer support, Kanban Tool stands out as an excellent project management and collaboration platform due to its versatility and affordability.

Its extensive range of customizable features sets Kanban Tool apart from competitors. It allows users to create tailored board layouts and seamlessly integrate with existing tools, enabling agile workflows that promote effective collaboration and maximum productivity. Additionally, it offers a variety of optional features known as Power-ups, enhancing the overall user experience.

Kanban Tool also distinguishes itself as the first Kanban Board with an AI assistant. Leveraging OpenAI's capabilities, the AI assistant simplifies board creation. Analyzing user needs and objectives generates optimal workflows or checklists, providing a clear roadmap for task completion.

With mobile apps available for iOS and Android, Kanban Tool takes enterprise collaboration to a new level. This Agile and Kanban software offers a versatile visual management solution for teams looking to visualize their work on an AI-powered Kanban board and improve their business processes.

Features

Kanban Board

Teams benefit from real-time insights into each member's tasks via the task cards on the Kanban board. This software offers pre-designed board templates, including primary, time-driven, event-driven, product development, and sales pipeline options.

Furthermore, it boasts a flexible workflow editor that permits the creation of collapsible columns and rows (swimlanes), enabling teams to focus on specific areas while overseeing multiple projects concurrently. Kanban Tool is compatible with major web browsers and supports nine languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Czech, and Russian.

Kanban Tool features advanced search capabilities and in-app search filters for swift operations.

Kanban Cards

Kanban cards serve as visual representations of work items displayed on the Kanban board. They contain critical project information and status updates, simplifying handovers and data collection. Their uniform format fosters seamless team collaboration and builds trust among all involved parties.

The Kanban card template is customizable and, aside from the default fields such as description, due date, assignment or attachments, it can also display up to 15 custom fields of various types, such as text, dropdowns, user lists, dates, and more, providing team members with the necessary details to perform their tasks effectively.

Power-Ups

Power-ups enhance the Kanban Tool experience by offering external integrations and additional board and card features, e.g., recurring and postponed tasks, checklist templates, task reminders, or task summaries. These optional additions help optimize workflows for teams, offering visual enhancements and expanded functionality.

Advanced Reports, Analytics, & Metrics

Kanban Tool provides advanced reporting features, including time reports, a lead & cycle time diagram, and a cumulative flow chart. It also includes a built-in time tracker for precise project progress monitoring, ensuring efficient resource management and well-informed decision-making regarding task allocation.

Security

The Agile and Kanban software prioritizes user security, offering two-factor authentication, single sign-on, and SSL/HTTPS connection encryption. User access is granted based on their full-access, custom, or read-only privileges.

Kanban Tool remains dedicated to empowering teams with the solutions needed for business agility. An on-premise version is available for organizations with strict compliance requirements, allowing businesses to install the application on their offline server, ensuring unmatched data control and security.

With its user-friendly interface, extensive features, and customer-focused approach, Kanban Tool is an excellent choice for businesses seeking to streamline processes and maximize productivity in a highly competitive environment.

Conclusion

Using one of the top five best agile and Kanban software solutions can lead to successful and impactful business transformations. When used effectively, these platforms can translate virtual strategies into tangible results. Each tool offers unique advantages, such as Kanban Tool's AI-integration or Smartsheet's flexible views, all capable of streamlining operations through organization and automation features.