Agile approach to project management in Russia: an overview of available software solutions in terms of import substitution



The Association for Project Management states that a project is a task that is distinct and temporary, with the purpose of attaining specific goals and producing desired outcomes or advantages [1]. The primary basis of a project is time and cost, and its success is usually measured by accomplishing the intended objectives and results within the agreed upon timeframe and budget.

The use of procedures, methods, abilities, knowledge and experience to achieve specific project objectives in accordance with pre-defined guidelines is known as project management. The end results in project management depend on a limited amount of time and money.

The difference between project management and management lies in the fact that project management has a specific end result and a time-bound schedule, while management is an ongoing process. This distinction highlights the need for project specialists to possess a diverse skill set, including technical expertise, personnel management abilities, and business acumen.

The most widely used project management methodologies are Waterfall and Agile.

According to report by Project Management Institute, in 2017 51 % of respondents were used Waterfall approach [2]. However, the share of its users is decreasing year by year. The Waterfall methodology, also referred to as the Cascade-model, originated from manufacturing processes and was introduced to software development in 1970. Its project management approach involves carrying out tasks in a linear and sequential manner. With the Waterfall methodology, a single missed deadline or a modification in the scope statement can have far-reaching consequences for future releases.

Agile project management relies on an iterative approach with frequent feedback cycles to promote flexibility in development. This approach allows the team to adapt to changes throughout the entire product development process, instead of following a linear path. Furthermore, it enables the team to release high-quality features regularly, gradually delivering new functionalities to the client during the project.

Agile originated in the IT environment, but then spread to other areas. Agile core principles were determined in Agile Manifesto [3]:

— individuals and interactions over processes and tools;

— working software over comprehensive documentation;

— customer collaboration over contract negotiation;

— responding to change over following a plan.

In recent years, there has been significant progress in project management development in Russia. This progress is attributed to the use of modern project management techniques and tools, as well as the recognition of the need to employ organizational management methods, especially project management methods, to improve work quality, reduce costs, and meet deadlines. In state departments, there is an implementation of specialized solutions using program-targeted management methods. Additionally, the theoretical base of Russian project management is expanding, with new national standards being developed in the GOST system. The Russian government has shown an increased interest in project management, with attention being given not just at the regional level but also at the federal level.

Sberbank, a leading Russian company, is a pioneer in adopting agile development methodologies. In 2016, Sberbank's President, German Gref, acknowledged the need to transform the company to address its competitiveness issues. According to Gref, Sberbank loses to international IT companies like Amazon and Google, not just to other Russian banks. The transition to agile implies a new programming method that requires companies to process all current processes and adopt a new work philosophy. Gref believes that the transition to Agile is the biggest challenge facing large organizations today and may lead to a reduction in management by 30–50 %.

According to a study by ScrumTrek [4], Agile is still in its infancy in 50 % of companies in Russia, with 22 % of respondents reporting the maturity of Agile processes within their organization. However, the use of Kanban is steadily growing, with 27 % of study participants using it in 2021, and more than half of the participants using Kanban practices in combination with other flexible approaches.

Software tools for project management, teamwork, and task tracking are also widely used in Russian companies, with 71 % of companies using special software for project management [5]. The most popular project management software in Russia is Attlasian Jira. According to research conducted by SberMaket, 25 % of Russian companies use it. Among the major users of Jira in Russia are Sber, VTB, Promsvyazbank, Rostelecom and the Ministry of Education.

Meanwhile, Atlassian has declared that it will halt the sale of its products in Russia. The announcement, posted on the company's blog, stated that they will no longer sell new software to Russia and will suspend licenses for the Russian government and certain Russian companies.

It is possible that the sanctions against Russia will be lifted in the future. However, the current situation serves as a precedent that has made both Russian businesses and the government realize the vulnerability of their projects when using foreign software. As a result, Russian companies are now considering the migration of their entire infrastructure to domestic software.

Currenly, there are a number of project management system providers in Russia, which can be categorized into two groups: established companies with a well-known reputation that have been in operation for a considerable period of time, such as Yandex Tracker, Bitrix 24, and Megaplan, and newly established startups, e.g., YouGile, Kaiten, EvaProject, which have emerged as a result of the import substitution trend in the country. Additional information about these companies presented on Table 1.

Table 1

Project Management Systems

	Plans	Self-hosted	Software Registry	Pros and cons
YouGile	Free up to 10 users with no restrictions. Offers two plans — cloud solution plan and self hosted plan. 333 rubles per user monthly on cloud plan, 579 rubles on self hosted plan.	+	+	It is easy to establish transparent collaboration between different departments, for example, between production and sales. The interfaces are simple and intuitive. Lack of integrations.
Bitrix 24	Free for teams < 12 users. The storage is restricted to 5 GB on the free plan. From 4790 rubles per month.	+	+	It can be used for any purpose — as a CRM, as IP telephony, as a task scheduler and even as a designer of landing pages and email newsletters. There are a lot of opportunities, but they all require long-term customization and employee training. Weak UX interfaces.
Megaplan	Free up to 5 users. 384 rubles per user per mongth for cloud solution or 115000 rubles for on-premise version (30 licenses).	+	+	Simple intuitive interfaces for project management, easy to work with tasks. Allows to systematize sales. There are different scenarios and schemes for transactions, for different sales funnels with many different options and «paths» of the client. Inconvenient call planner. Very few opportunities to customization. Few reports. Poor search mechanism
EvaProject	Free plan up to 2 users. From 499 rubles per user per month.	+	+	Extensive range of tools for task management and employee control. Extranet environment for guest users. On-Premise option and CRM. Plans based on the number of users and a number of functions, which is inconvenient for task trackers. Availability of automation and reporting only on expensive plans. No mobile app.
Kaiten	Free plan with restrictions. From 420 rubles per user per mongth. On-premise version — from 2 millions rubles per year.	+	+	Powerful UI/UX — summary boards that allow you to visualize absolutely all the processes taking place in the company. Many report types, scrum sprints, burndown charts Low performance, slows down when there are a lot of tasks. Lack of integrations.
Yandex Tracker	Free up to 5 users. Dynamic price based on the number of users. The base price is 258 rubles per user, discount provided for teams with >101 users.	-	+	It's easy to plan sprints, estimate labor costs. There are templates for typical tasks, there are many possibilities for visualization: charts, graphs, dashboards. It is possible to automate routine processes, for example, approval of documents or work with applications from clients and employees. No out-of-the-box data transfer from other sytems. Poor customer support service,

It's worth noting that some of the companies from the first group have been operating for over a decade. Over the years, Russia has seen the emergence of import substitution trends, and while it's not a new phenomenon, the share of Atlassian product clients is still much larger than those using other project management systems. For instance, according to SberMarket research, only 1 % of Russian companies use Yandex Tracker. This could imply that these products do not meet all the requirements set by businesses and governments for seamless integration. For instance, some lack a self-hosted version, which is crucial for large enterprises and government departments. Users of some systems complain about the inconvenience of their interfaces. Additionally, some products do not offer sufficient integrations with other services.

However, the main disadvantage that all of them are different from Atlassian product. Atlassian has successfully created a product that has become a new standard for user experience. For enterprise companies, switching to a new project management system can be incredibly complex and expensive, requiring a complete overhaul of business processes and extensive employee training.

Nevertheless, it's encouraging to see that several newly established project management systems' vendors have made a strategic decision to stick to Atlassian's products, recognizing their innovative features. For instance, they are working on developing customizable workflows, robust reporting capabilities, and intuitive collaboration tools that streamline project management processes. They are also focusing on providing a seamless user experience across multiple devices and platforms, something that Atlassian products are well known for. By building on the strengths of Atlassian's products while also addressing their shortcomings, these vendors are positioning themselves as strong competitors in the project management software market.

In conclusion, with the presence of such promising players in the Russian project management software market, the potential for growth and development is high. However, in order to truly understand the prevailing trends in this sector, it is crucial to evaluate how businesses respond to these new startups. This ongoing effort to stay abreast of emerging developments and shifting business needs will be critical to the continued evolution of project management systems in Russia, and to the long-term success of businesses operating in this space.

References:

1. Project Management Glossary. — Текст: электронный // APM: [сайт]. — URL: https://apm.org.uk/resources/glossary/ (дата обращения: 20.04.2023).
2. Global Project Management survey. — Текст: электронный // PMI’s Pulse of Profession: [сайт]. — URL: https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/learning/thought-leadership/pulse/pulse-of-the-profession-2017.pdf (дата обращения: 20.04.2023).
3. Manifesto for Agile Software Development. — Текст: электронный //: [сайт]. — URL: https://agilemanifesto.org/ (дата обращения: 20.04.2023).
4. Agile в России 2021. — Текст: электронный // SkrumTeck: [сайт]. — URL: https://scrumtrek.ru/blog/agile-scrum/7205/otchet-issledovanie-agile-v-rossii-2021/ (дата обращения: 20.04.2023).
5. Polkovnikov, A. V. The Reality of Project Management Practice in Russia: Study Results / A. V. Polkovnikov. — Текст: непосредственный // Procedia — Social and Behavioral Sciences. — 2014.