Time tracking in agile projects is a hot topic. However, the Agile evangelists can argue that tracking time in agile projects, mainly when referring to the Scrum Guide, is unnecessary, especially since the remaining work in the product backlog is a variable of interest and not time.
How do we budget and plan for the next billing cycle if time tracking is anti-agile?
On the other side of the spectrum, you have the project managers who favor time tracking and are firm believers of the saying, "you can't manage what you can't measure."
Here are four reasons worth considering whether or not time tracking is required when working in an agile way.
Accurate billing:
Using an agile approach for developing software is supposed to simplify the process. But if not managed well, it can overcomplicate the billing process. When using a time tracking tool, you are guaranteed accurate billing, especially when working on an hourly rate project. You can easily pull your hours spent per person and issue your invoice with the right tool.
Accurate estimations by learning from past projects:
Time estimation helps software development teams use the estimations to learn from past sprints and projects. Once an agile team gets into the habit of time tracking, the project or product manager can start gathering data about how long specific pieces take to complete. These valuable insights can be used for future estimates and better planning for future projects.
Increased work productivity:
Time tracking tools help users analyze the hours spent on projects and other activities. One of the best things about tracking time is that it gives managers an overview of where time is spent and how productive their teams are on different projects.
Improved processes:
One of the 12 principles of agile is "At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly."
The key benefit of the agile approach is the ability to adjust and improve rapidly. Data-based decisions help agile teams make a decision faster, and as such, time tracking and resource management tools can provide agile teams with the data they need to improve the process.
We already know that the current market conditions are more challenging and demanding. Time tracking software and time management are the best shot at optimizing continuous productivity.
Using time tracking tools such as Jira can help managers and the entire organization track their time effortlessly, manage and distribute their workload, and achieve a balanced pace without burnout.
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