Best software for PI planning and program boards

Compare leading software for PI planning and programme boards and see how Easy Agile Programs gives Jira teams a simple, Jira-native program board.

TL;DR

  • The best PI planning and programme board software gives teams one shared view of features, iterations, dependencies and milestones.
  • Heavyweight SAFe platforms can be powerful but are often costly and separate from Jira, which adds complexity.
  • Easy Agile Programs is Jira-native software for PI planning and programme boards that turns Jira issues into a live Program Board.

What good PI planning and programme board software should do

Strong PI planning software should help your organisation:

  • Visualise features and epics across multiple teams and iterations.
  • Understand dependencies and risks early.
  • Communicate a clear plan that stays useful after the planning event.

If your delivery teams use Jira, the best PI planning software will also work with Jira issues directly.

Types of PI planning and programme board software

When you search for PI planning software, you will find:

  • Enterprise SAFe platforms that cover portfolio, programme and team levels.
  • Whiteboarding tools that teams use to sketch programme boards.
  • Jira apps that add programme level views and boards to Jira.

Each category has a place, but Jira apps are often the most straightforward option if you already rely on Jira.

Easy Agile Programs as PI planning and programme board software

Easy Agile Programs is a Jira app designed to give you a clear programme board without requiring a separate platform.

With Easy Agile Programs you can:

  • See features and epics on a Program Board across teams and iterations.
  • Map and manage cross team dependencies.
  • Track progress throughout the PI or release cycle.

This helps programme managers, product managers and team leads share a single, accurate view of the plan.

How Easy Agile fits with other tools

You do not have to abandon existing tools to use Easy Agile Programs. A pragmatic setup is:

This combination lets you use the right tool at each stage while keeping the committed plan in Jira.