JIRA Software Alternative - Why Zepel is the project management tool your team needs
Tags: jiraalternative, jirasoftware, projectmanagementtool
Published: 2019-08-08 04:57:43

---
title: JIRA Software Alternative - Why Zepel is the project management tool your team needs
published: true
tags: JIRA Alternative, JIRA Software, Project Management Tool
canonical_url: https://blog.zepel.io/jira-alternative/
---

 ![JIRA Alternative - Why Zepel is the project management tool your team needs](https://blog.zepel.io/content/images/2019/07/jira-alternative.png)

If you’re looking for a JIRA alternative that’s fast, gets out of your way, and helps you plan and track features your team is building, you are at the right place.

JIRA has done wonders in shaping the industry. But the world has moved on. Today, teams don't just want a tool that is functional. They also want a project management tool that is developer friendly and built for speed and efficiency.

> With JIRA, you can wring a list of issues and start working on your feature.   
>   
> But you can’t get your team to care and update progress unless you put a gun to their head.

Not to forget the configuration hell you’ll have to go through before you can even create a user story.

You need an alternative to JIRA that lets you work with members across teams, plan and track features, and more importantly lets you do what you do best - writing code and building features.

By now, you are probably wondering what makes Zepel a great alternative to JIRA. Sure, there are some feature differences. I’ll get to that in a bit.

**But the fundamental difference is that Zepel is built for software product teams.**

That means Zepel doesn’t try to please everyone. Zepel doesn’t make you do a hundred things before you create a user story. And it certainly doesn’t make you call your user story a type of issue!

If you want to plan, track features, gain visibility across teams, and build solid features that will delight your customers, we’ve got your back.

* * *

## Why teams prefer Zepel as a JIRA Alternative

### An Interface everyone understands

JIRA’s biggest limitations are how hard it is to understand and the clutter that comes with it. For anyone who has not spent several hours trying to learn the tool, it is nearly impossible to get them to update progress on your user stories.

Working on Zepel is so fast, you’d think you’re writing on a document. Want to delegate work or set due dates and statuses? It’s as simple as typing ` /`.  
  
Create items, organize, and start working on them in a matter of minutes and watch your team update progress as you go.

 ![JIRA Alternative - Why Zepel is the project management tool your team needs](https://blog.zepel.io/content/images/2019/07/Zepel-Document-Interface.png)

### A Desktop Widget next to your code editor

Developers spend a majority of their time on the code editor. So, why jump back and forth between tools to stay updated?  
  
Zepel’s desktop widget lets your team view, edit, and update their progress right from the comfort of their desktop. And with **Slack** , **Github** and **Bitbucket integration** , PR merges can automagically complete items on Zepel and keep everyone updated.

 ![JIRA Alternative - Why Zepel is the project management tool your team needs](https://blog.zepel.io/content/images/2019/07/Zepel-Desktop-Widget-3.png)

### Everything you need, minus the messy configurations

Configurations are helpful when you need that executive level dashboard. But what good is a dashboard if it confuses your team so much they don’t even want to update progress?  
  
With terminologies like Epics that your team doesn’t use on a day-to-day basis, you end up alienating your team and make it even harder for them to adopt your project management tool.  
  
Zepel uses simple terminologies like Features and does not force a process on your team. And with the Desktop Widget right by your teammate’s code editor, your work is always updated and your reports will _**finally**_ make sense.

 ![JIRA Alternative - Why Zepel is the project management tool your team needs](https://blog.zepel.io/content/images/2019/07/Simple-project-management-tool.png)


### Let everyone work just the way they want

Setting up and understanding how multiple Boards work in JIRA is hard. Let alone moving items from one Board to another.  
  
With Zepel, creating Boards is as effortless as clicking a **( + )** button. Want to move an item from one Board to another? Simply change the status.   
  
No, really. It is _**that**_ simple. No need to code or set up rules.

 ![JIRA Alternative - Why Zepel is the project management tool your team needs](https://blog.zepel.io/content/images/2019/07/Multiple-Boards-in-Zepel-2.png)

### First-class Sprints to build the perfect feature

Add items across features into a Sprint to keep your team focused on things that matter the most. Multi-select them and add them all to a sprint with right click.  
  
The best part? As your teammates use Boards that fit their workflow and update progress, you get to see how it all connects back to your feature progress.

 ![JIRA Alternative - Why Zepel is the project management tool your team needs](https://blog.zepel.io/content/images/2019/07/Run-Sprints-in-Zepel.png)

### Simple reports that don’t confuse

Every company can provide reports on your project. With Zepel, you can take a step further by getting reports that don’t confuse you. But aids in helping you move forward.  
  
Whether you need to zoom in and see the progress of a specific feature or take a step back and see how the entire project is progressing, Zepel has just the right kind of reports for you.

 ![JIRA Alternative - Why Zepel is the project management tool your team needs](https://blog.zepel.io/content/images/2019/07/Simple-Reports-in-Zepel.png)

[![JIRA Alternative - Why Zepel is the project management tool your team needs](https://blog.zepel.io/content/images/2019/07/jira-alternative-import-banner-1.png)](https://zepel.io/?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=import&utm_campaign=jira-alternative)

## Why you need a JIRA alternative for your team

“_There are plenty of project management tools out there. Why have another one for software product teams?_”, I hear you ask.

The thing about building features and products is, there are plenty of moving parts. Your team gets reorganized as you grow. And you’ll adopt new processes to increase visibility across teams and to improve the quality of the outcome.

The last thing you want at this time is a tool that forces a process on to your team.

 ![JIRA Alternative - Why Zepel is the project management tool your team needs](https://blog.zepel.io/content/images/2019/07/Zepel-App-1.png)

Unlike JIRA and all the other alternatives out there, Zepel doesn’t force a process on your team. Whether you want to run **Sprints** , use **Kanban** , a combination of both, or even **simple**  **task management** , Zepel fits and adapts to your team’s process as you grow.

And more importantly, irrespective of what process you adopt, Zepel is fast and is equipped with all the simplicity and flexibility your team needs to do their best work.



[![JIRA Alternative - Why Zepel is the project management tool your team needs](https://blog.zepel.io/content/images/2019/07/jira-alternative-footer-cta-1.png)](https://zepel.io/?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=bottom-cta&utm_campaign=jira-alternative)