Pivotal Tracker

In my preparation for the Andela Bootcamp, I was introduced to many interesting tools and technologies. I got to learn about Node.js - a Javascript runtime, Express.js - a web framework for Node.js, ESLint - a Node.js package for fixing problems in your Javascript code, and one of my favourites… Mocha - a feature-rich JavaScript test framework running on Node.js and in the browser. But none of these technologies fascinated me as much as Pivotal Tracker - a tool for Agile Project Management.

As a software deveoper who has worked as a freelancer on client projects, I have always looked for the best way to collaborate with the client and get feedback in order to keep improving their product. I’ve tried many different tools including face-to-face meetings (which I found were very costly), email (which I found was not useful for quick feedback), and most recently Trello. I enjoyed using Trello because it has a big number of features that help to improve collaboration. Many of these features are available by default, even in the free tier of the app… and the user can choose to add even more features using plugins/add-ons and integrations. But I’ve realised that Trello’s biggest strength is also its biggest weakness. Because of its large number of features, it was always hard for me to train the client on how to use it fast enough. The client would always get overwhelmed when I would try to explain how we could collaborate on the app. This is why I have enjoyed using Pivotal Tracker.

The idea behind Pivotal Tracker is quite easy to understand which makes it easy to learn and teach to even someone with no experience using project management tools. Once you’ve learnt how to post stories, how to choose whether a story is a feature or a chore or a bug, and how to estimate the complexity of a story, you can then begin to collaborate with your development team and the client easily. Also, you only need one or two days to be able to teach the client how to use it.

Pivotal Tracker is a story-based project planning tool that takes its inspiration from agile software methods. Agile software is updated regularly with incremental changes instead of one big update, with the goal of providing faster and more responsive software. If a software company uses the Agile methodology, Pivotal Tracker is an ideal tool for project management in that company.