Both Scrum and ScrumWorks Pro have increased visibility at every stage of a project... That kind of transparency heightens productivity, surfaces potential issues, and facilitates collaborative communication.

Read the full Case Study: Cimarex (NYSE XEC)

I've transitioned several groups to Scrum and we use ScrumWorks for sprint and backlog management. The intuitive interface actually helps my teams learn the Scrum process. The last thing I want to worry about is complex tooling when rolling out a new process like Scrum. With ScrumWorks, my teams are up and running in minutes.

A number of teams that I work with, use a 'hybrid' agile methodology that consists of practices drawn from Scrum, XP and Feature Driven Development (FDD). We evaluated a number of agile planning and tracking tools, and selected ScrumWorks. The main features that we found useful in ScrumWorks were:

• Release planning: Our releases consist of systems, with several embedded products that have to work together. It was critical that the tool support release planning.
• Ability to create sub-teams: Multiple small 'sub-teams' work on a single product; sometimes the sub-teams are distributed geographically. We needed a tool that would support creation of multiple sub-teams per product.
• Ease of installation: ScrumWorks is simple to install and administer. There were no conflicts with other applications used internally within the organization.
• Ease of use: A big plus for ScrumWorks is how easy it is to assign (drag and drop) backlog items into iterations (sprints), and move backlog items between sprints.
• Iteration (sprint) burndown and product backlog item burndown charts: Burndown charts at two levels of detail (one at the task level and the other at the product backlog item level) help assess whether the release is on track.

I would highly recommend ScrumWorks to any organization that has deployed any set of agile practices (not just Scrum), or is contemplating doing so.

ScrumWorks has made a huge difference in our project team's ability to plan and track development releases. We now have a central, web accessible location to manage and update our product and sprint backlogs. Developers can easily update their progress and get up-to-date status on the project as a whole. It has all the features that we needed to get started with Scrum, and Danube has consistently delivered new feature releases in response to our requests. If you are looking for a Scrum tool to help manage your development process, then I highly recommend that you check-out ScrumWorks.

We have development teams in 7 locations throughout the world and all are now successfully using ScrumWorks. The combination of ease of use and comprehensive documentation have allowed our teams to easily make full use of the product. Our single ScrumWorks server provides more than adequate performance for these teams and is of little burden to our administrators. Project stakeholders are able to view team progress from a single location even when those teams are distributed. All in all, we are very happy with ScrumWorks and plan to continue to expand its use within our organization.

ScrumWorks has played a central role in our adoption of agile software development practices. It has eased the coordination of work between our geographically distributed teams, and its clean, intuitive interface is a natural fit with scrum. It's so easy to use that you can focus on the work without having to think about the tool.

I really want to thank you for your software, it really helps us to make agile management a reality.

More than help, just wanted to let you know that we've been using Trac (from EdgeWall) and ScrumWorks for most of our internal development (and Systems Administration) projects. It's been very useful, our users are finding ScrumWorks to be of great help as a central and easy to use repository for all Tasks and Items in our Sprints.

Thanks for a great product, it really feels like ScrumWorks hits a sweet spot in terms of number of features versus value of features!

We're using it for managing 3 sprints of our project and we would like to use it in development of future projects. We've found ScrumWorks so easy and intuitive to use and it's containing all features we need to implement Scrum. Thanks again for this great product.

As I said initially, this is perfect software for Scrum. Even the spreadsheets (which you'd think would be simple) I looked at were too complex, IMO. Good job!

Thanks for providing this great tool. It makes the daily work of project leaders AND developers much more easier, and last but not least, I can throw away MS Project :)

The most pleasant scrum management tool I've used so far. Far better than the MS Team Foundation Server Scrum add-on. It gets the job done and is light and convenient. We very much want to continue to use it.

I have been burdened with implementing, teaching and learning Scrum within my project team. ScrumWorks has been helpful three-fold:

1. The team was able to scrap my messy excel templates and integrate project data with ScrumWorks. I was able to implement Scrum to my team more effectively.
2. ScrumWorks provided a skeleton for my teammates to learn the basic principles of Scrum "hands on". The help documents are an exceptional added bonus.
3. The books "Agile Software Development with Scrum" and "Agile Project Management with Scrum" are valuable for startup learning and reference. However, the features of ScrumWorks have taught by example to me the more detailed issues of implementing Scrum practices."

Thanks :-) Product is simple, and uncluttered like Scrum itself.

We have a very tight deadline approaching and the tool is proving invaluable for group cohesion and results.

The use of agile/scrum is being piloted with this project and is currently going very well, and the ScrumWorks Basic package has been key to this success.

Workshops/activities were great for describing the process. The instructors were very patient and positive.

Interesting material, it kept my interest. The concepts were explained well and the instructors were patient in answering questions. The exercises were fun. The instructors were great--their experience shows.

Excellent, excellent class, exceeded my expectations. Dan did a great job of preparing and delivering what I thought was a very effective and highly interactive session. Kudos to him.

The instructor, Kane, was very knowledgeable and answered questions in a methodical manner rather than rushing in.

The trainer (Dan Rawsthorne) was brilliant: very informative without boring us, helpful in terms of answering questions and above all very friendly and approachable.

Usually somebody ends up teaching software classes 'cause they couldn't make it as a real developer or manager. Finally, a class taught by a real expert (describing Michael James).

Kane had so much Scrum knowledge it made my head hurt.

I won't be surprised if you have heard this several times already but let me express my satisfaction with the recently completed CSM Course in Vancouver. The materials provided during and after the course were very relevant and helpful, the course content met my expectations and the delivery was excellent. Kudos to Michael James for his mastery of the subject – he is definitely an asset to your organization!

Michael did a great job -- very rewarding.

It was a great couple of days. Very early on I realized that our current implementation of SCRUM was way off the mark. From today we're making a change! Dan is superb and clearly has enough experience to handle every question. He was a lot of fun and I believe that everyone will have benefited immensely from the experience.

I thought that Kane did a great job of delivering this course, and I learned a great deal. In fact, I just had a meeting with our General Manager to discuss some of the changes I think we need to make to our existing "scrum-ish" process, and to get his buy-in on the likely impact on "paying" work while we pay off some of the "debt" we've accumulated. The conversation went well, and I drew heavily on Kane's presentation in the discussion... Thanks for offering this excellent class. I've already recommended it for two of our other managers

[Describing Dan Rawsthorne] Practical examples of actual problems (especially difficult managerial and human resource problems) were extremely useful.

The discussions were highly valuable. Completing a project in practice was a good idea. Dan is an excellent talker. I don't regret spending two days of my Holiday here.

[Describing Dan Rawsthorne] Lots of examples and actual tools [on] how to solve problems.

Dan was excellent. Really learned a lot - Made it "Look Simple" - Which is not easy to do.

The Instructor [Dan Rawsthorne] was incredibly knowledgeable, worked to answer every question.

This was by far one of the most educational courses that I've attended in a long time. Dan is clearly a leader on this topic and I am very glad that he cares enough to give back to the community.

Finally, Danube produced one of the best Presentations that I have ever been fortunate enough to attend. The customer service, training facility, curriculum, and the food were first class all the way. There is NO doubt that going forward when I need training I will look at Danube 1st as I continue my career development. I will also recommend your company to my friends and coworkers. Thank you for a great experience...

I just wanted to let you know that the class was excellent. Dan did a great job. He has a great personality, good presentation skills, and is able to handle questions well. There was lots of interaction with the class and I think everyone learned a lot and had a great experience. I know I did. It has been a pleasure to work with your organization and I look forward to any future connections that may arise. I would heartily recommend your training services based on my experience this week.

[I liked the] Instructor's [Michael James] ability to draw on vast experience in the field...Learning by doing, I was amazed by how fast a team of total strangers became productive. [The] Scrum process was brought 'alive.' We got in the 'zone.'

Great Job Kane! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Kane was able to answer my many questions about Scrum implementation...He was very patient, polite and professional with my questioning. Thanks!

The patience and the depth in which the instructor answered questions and concerns was extremely impressive and helpful.

Really had a great time [with Dan Rawsthorne is Boston, Ma]. Lots of questions to ask next week at work.

Learning that we are not doing Scrum correctly [at work]...knowing that I can go back and make a difference.

Dan [Rawsthorne] was a very good, personable and insightful trainer...enjoyed the class!

I really liked your [Dan Rawsthorne's] teaching style.

This was a really great training session which gives many good tips and ideas [on how] to use Scrum.

Absolutely a great course.

Now I want to be a Scrum Master.

Michael James was very knowledgeable and fun to listen to.

Awesome work and thank you for coming to Vancouver, BC and making it so easy and accessible to pick Michael James' brain about Scrum.

As someone who has only worked in a waterfall methodology, it was refreshing to learn an alternative that could potentially remove a lot of technical debt and frustration.

I felt that Michael James was very motivated to help us learn. It shows that he truly loves Scrum. I also liked that he didn't sell scrum, but kept to the facts...let them speak for themselves.

Very interactive and hands on training. Michael James was one of the best trainers I have ever been trained by. I was engaged almost the entire time.

Michael James was an excellent instructor, great subject matter expert and focused leader.

Damn, that was a good class! I learned a lot, especially about the Product Backlog and how to create stories. The sizing, prioritization, and agreements were very helpful to me. Now I understand the Product backlog MUCH better than before and have deeper knowledge in how it works. That alone was worth the price of admission. Dan was an excellent instructor, his real world stories complemented what he was teaching. What was very illuminating is how large organizations (ex. US Army, FAA, Nokia, etc.) can become Agile and implement Scrum....One thing I am excited about is getting deeper into the Scrum community. This is where I want to be, therefore I am orienting my career in this direction. Scrum is inspirational stuff, I really dig it."

I thought the CSM course was excellent. My only regret is not attending the Product Owner course the next day. I'm not necessarily a product owner, but I think there is a lot of overlap in the classes that I could have benefited from.

Great Course. Very effective for learning about the process.

Instructor [Dan Rawsthorne] expressed eagerness to discuss out of the box non-standard scenarios and cases.

Great Course. Extraordinarily valuable for Product Owners.

Instructor [Dan Rawsthorne] was fun and very knowledgeable.

Enjoyed the instruction style of [Michael James].

Just wanted to say that the training with Kane went perfectly. He is a terrific presenter and a real credit to Danube.

Kane Mar has a great presentation style. As a CSM already I was unsure if I would get a lot from repeating the training (with a different instructor) but it was great. Learned a ton more. And learned all the things we were doing wrong!

I participated in the ScrumMaster Certification course in Copenhagen this week and, from the second Michael James opened his mouth and welcomed everyone, we were completely drawn into this amazing world of learning, participating, and debating. As a systems developer for a minor Danish Internet Service Provider, I've taken quite a few courses in the past five years, but I have to say that no other teacher, tutor, or mentor has even gotten close to Michael James' skills in communication! I'm sure that working with Agile development and using Scrum for years has had its effect on him. If not, there has to be some “Rainman” in him. His expertise in using timeboxes is absolutely breathtaking and, on more than one occasion, after a brief detour to another relevant issue, his little timer beeped only seconds later after asking if we had any questions. Even after having spent up to 10 minutes on a trainee's question without checking the timer, this was the case! As a trainee at his course, you cannot help finishing the two days with a feeling that you've achieved something very unique, but I'm not sure if it's the theories and Scrum exercises or Michael James' skilled way of tutoring/training.

[Referring to Kane Mar]...thank you so much for your expertise. I know management felt that these past three days went really well and the team feels the same way. There are many best practices that came out of this training that I think will help us for a long time.

...you definitely have some of the the best people working for you - I am jealous! Michael jumped into an entangled situation, a difficult one, and he addressed the pain and brought people to think together and to look outside the box. I felt that the teams' and my objectives have been met plus more. You guys are worth it...Danube is a model company, distinguished with superior relationship and affinity with its customers, in addition to being dynamic and agile in accommodating the needs and addressing the pains of those seeking its services. You guys have built something to be very proud of. Keep it up!

Thank you very much for this email and all the useful links. Michael James was way ahead of you and I simply felt I had to take a minute to compliment his skills as a trainer. I participated in the ScrumMaster Certification course in Copenhagen this week and, from the second Michael James opened his mouth and welcomed everyone, we were completely drawn into this amazing world of learning, participating, and debating. As a systems developer for a minor Danish Internet Service Provider, I've taken quite a few courses in the past five years, but I have to say that no other teacher, tutor, or mentor has even gotten close to Michael James's skills in communication! I'm sure that working with Agile development and using Scrum for years has had its effect on him. If not, there has to be some “Rainman” in him. His expertise in using timeboxes is absolutely breathtaking and, on more than one occasion, after a brief detour to another relevant issue, his little timer beeped only seconds later after asking if we had any questions. Even after having spent up to 10 minutes on a trainee's question without checking the timer, this was the case! As a trainee at his course, you cannot help finishing the two days with a feeling that you've achieved something very unique, but I'm not sure if it's the theories and Scrum exercises or Michael James’s skilled way of tutoring/training. If my appreciation of Michael James’s work in some way could be forwarded to Danube management, I'd be very pleased.