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	None – externally hosted	Server must be allocated for clients & web app to connect with
Frequency of Updates	Quarterly	Quarterly
Built-in Support for pairing time management	No	Yes – There are “Team hours” and “individual hours”
Usability for teams	OK, some complain of delays and there are complaints about charts	Good, The thick client offers more natural DnD style of interface – good web interface for task board – natural for teams to adopt
Multiple Teams/Common Backlog	Possible, but awkward	Pretty well thought out
Support	Online, Forums, Coaching, Training	Online, Forums
Integration Technical Options	REST, SOAP, Others	SOAP