Rally vs. Scrumworks
My first impression is that these are two applications that have come from very different backgrounds. ScrumWorks started off as a java based desktop application. Rally is based on an ASP model where the application and data are all hosted at a remote site. Both applications have grown their feature sets over the last two years with what appears to be 2 different objectives in mind. Rally has taken the approach of adapting to a wide range of customer needs, both Agile and traditional. Their goal seems to be to reach the high end customer and integrate with existing high end systems on the market. Their feature set is very broad and has been adapted to fit in a variety of different scenarios. In addition, Rally has also significantly beefed up their integration support in the last two years. There is no doubt in my mind that when it comes to integration and customization, Rally is the clear winner.
ScrumWorks, on the other hand, has kept focused on a goal of serving just the Scrum and XP community. As a result, they have a much narrower feature set that is easier for the typical Agile team to understand. This is just speculation on my part, but I think it doesn’t require as much training to use ScrumWorks. I would describe the ScrumWorks product as more fit for a specific use – in this case for Scrum and XP projects.
In general, when it comes to ease of use, ScrumWorks benefits from the fact that it has a thick client that can take advantage of OS features that web based applications can’t do quite as easily (Drag and Drop, etc.). So in terms of usability, ScrumWorks is currently the clear winner. However, Rally is not resting on their laurels, and they are implementing new usability enhancements that will quickly come to rival those of ScrumWorks in short order.
When we look at reporting functionality, ScrumWorks comes out ahead. ScrumWorks has a custom report generator utility that allows you to create your own customized reports. All of Rally’s reports are fixed and can’t be changed or added to. Once again, Rally is acutely aware of this issue and not likely to let it rest for long.
Cross Team & Program Management – Both products claim to have some cross team and program management features. Neither product really possesses a strong feature set in this domain. Rally defines a program as a combination of a specified product and a specified release – a very loose definition. ScrumWorks uses a separate mechanism that is completely orthogonal to the Stories and releases – instead you can create arbitrary groupings of features which can represent programs. This is a more flexible approach, but it still doesn’t provide the financial tracking features that I would expect from a full fledged portfolio management tool.
Detailed Feature Comparison
Feature
Rally
ScrumWorks Pro
Desktop (Fat) Client
No
Yes
Web (Thin) Client
Yes
Yes – Not all desktop features are available on the web client
Local Database
No – hosted by a 3rd party
Yes – Built into the default installation
Impediments Log
No
Yes – Tracks dates, resolution, and responsibility
Records blocking issues
Yes
Yes
Burn Down Charts
Yes – Sprint Burndown/Cumulative flow, Release burndown/cumulative flow, Bug & Test Tracking
Yes – Mike Cohn style ‘enhanced burndown’, Sprint & Release burndown
Customized Reports
No
Yes – Customizable report builder GUI
ROI and EVA
No
Yes
Time Tracking
Yes – optional
Yes – optional, but supported with custom reports
Supported Object Types
Release, Sprint, Story, Task, Test, Program, Defect, Defect Suite
Release, Sprint, Story, Task, Theme, Program
Supported Methodologies
RUP, Scrum, XP
Scrum, XP
Drag n’ Drop UI
Limited to certain screens
Used almost universally
Hierarchical Relationships
Yes
No – Uses themes instead
Built in collaboration features
Yes – Wiki & IM integration
No
Test management
Yes
No
Defect management
Yes
No
Program Management Features
Release Status – not really configurable
Release Status + configurable feature sets, Good cross product functionality
Sprint Task Tracking
Yes
Yes – nice web based task board UI
Assign Business Value
No
Yes
Product and Role based permissions
Yes
Yes
LDAP Integration
No
Yes
Import/Export
Yes – Excel, XML
Yes – Excel
Supports Use Cases/Non-functional requirements
Yes
No
Notifications
Yes – RSS, email
No
Detailed Change History
Yes
No – very superficial
Product Integration
Eclipse, Mercury, Salesforce, Bugzilla
Bugzilla, JIRA
Pricing
$65/person/month
$249/person/year ($21/month)
Admin functions
User accounts, Roles, Custom features, Workspace management
User accounts, Roles
Hardware Requirements