Groups usually select Jira as an answer for situation monitoring, however the software program may also function a common venture administration platform that can assist you plan, monitor, and handle your agile software program growth tasks — with out having to do a lot additional work or set up any extra software program.
Actually, Jira features a pre-built template that provides a easy workflow that can assist you coordinate sources and monitor duties related to a venture. We’ll use this template as a part of a step-by-step information on how you can get began with Jira for venture administration.
What’s Jira?
Jira is software program that was initially designed for builders and engineers, however it has advanced right into a full-service venture administration platform that may assist any staff or division coordinate duties. Jira additionally connects seamlessly with different Atlassian merchandise resembling Trello and Confluence, and it connects with many third-party instruments as nicely.
One clarifying observe earlier than we dive in: This how-to information will deal with how you can use Jira for venture administration, not Jira Service Administration (previously Jira Service Desk). Jira Service Administration affords extra instruments for service groups, resembling a customer-facing portal that enables them to submit help requests. Whereas the software program names are related, and there may be some overlap in options, these are two separate merchandise that aren’t interchangeable.
Who’s Jira for?
Attributable to its deal with situation monitoring, Jira was initially created as a instrument for software program growth groups, and it actually shines on this space when in comparison with different general-purpose venture administration software program. Nonetheless, Jira can be utilized by groups of all types, and it affords templates for advertising, design, gross sales, operations, human sources, authorized, finance, and extra.
SEE: A Full Information to Software program Growth Venture Administration
How you can use Jira for venture administration
Step 1: Select a Jira venture administration template
Whilst you can construct a venture in Jira from scratch, you’ll save your self a whole lot of work by selecting and customizing considered one of their pre-existing templates. First, head on over to Jira’s template library and browse the templates which are designed in your staff (we’ll be utilizing the venture administration template for the needs of this information).
When you discover a template that you just like, hit the massive blue “Use template” button on the appropriate hand aspect of your display screen.
A pop-up will ask you to both choose an present Jira web site or create a brand new one.
Make your choice, then hit the blue “Create page” button.
Jira will open in a brand new tab and ask you to offer your venture a reputation.
Sort it in, then click on the blue “Create project” button.
Step 2: Invite your teammates to Jira
Assuming this isn’t a solo venture, you’ll want to ask your teammates with a purpose to begin venture monitoring in Jira. Even when your teammates don’t have an Atlassian account already, you’ll be able to nonetheless add them on to your venture by clicking the spherical grey “Add people” button (which seems like a plus signal subsequent to an individual icon).
Get your staff aligned with a Staff Poster template in Jira. Picture: Atlassian
Step 3: Configure your Jira venture
Now that you just’ve obtained your venture template arrange and invited all of your teammates, it’s time to really configure your venture administration in Jira. On the high of the venture window, you’ll see a horizontal bar that lists a number of venture view choices: Abstract, Board, Record, Calendar, Timeline, and so forth.
To shortly add duties, choose the Record view and hit the “Create” button. When you’ve entered all of the duties, scroll right down to assign every job to a staff member and set a due date. If the duty isn’t presently being labored on, you’ll be able to go away the staff project and due date fields clean to point that it’s a part of the backlog.
If you wish to customise your venture much more, replace every job’s standing, give it a class, set the precedence, and add a label. These extra {qualifications} make it simple to filter your duties to see solely particular ones, which can be extraordinarily useful down the road as you add extra of them. You may also create subtasks beneath a father or mother job, which retains complicated tasks organized.
Observe duties utilizing a Jira template in Record view. Picture: Atlassian
Step 4: Observe your progress
As your staff proceeds along with your venture work, guarantee that everyone seems to be updating and checking off duties as they’re accomplished. In case you are new to utilizing venture administration with Jira, it might take a while and apply to get used to managing your workflows in a brand new system, so be affected person and frequently test in along with your staff.
Thankfully, Jira affords a number of options that allow groups to observe how they’re doing. The Abstract tab of every venture acts as a dashboard that summarizes the important thing metrics of every venture. Among the widgets embody a pie chart exhibiting in progress duties vs. accomplished duties, a bar chart that breaks down duties by precedence, and a staff workload chart that exhibits how a lot work every particular person has been assigned.
Jira additionally affords a local time monitoring function, so you’ll be able to see how a lot time is being spent on every job. Should you want extra capabilities than Jira’s native time monitoring function, you may also choose a third-party time monitoring instrument from the Atlassian market.
Chart in Jira exhibiting venture objects organized by precedence. Picture: Atlassian
Step 5: Full your venture in Jira
As soon as your staff has lastly checked off all of your duties and accomplished the venture, it’s time to shut it out. There are two methods to do that in Jira—learn solely and archive. Should you nonetheless need folks to find a way learn the venture and replica it, set the permissions to learn solely. If you wish to utterly retire the venture, use the archive operate to take away it from energetic use.
Key options and advantages of Jira for venture administration
Template library
Jira affords dozens of templates that make it simple to create a brand new venture and begin setting it up proper out of the field. These templates are tailor-made to totally different groups’ wants in addition to totally different venture administration methodologies.
Among the methodologies supported by Jira templates embody:
Agile venture administration.
Scrum venture administration.
Kanban venture administration.
Lean venture administration.
Waterfall venture administration.
Staff collaboration instruments
There are a number of methods to collaborate along with your staff in Jira. You possibly can tag one another in feedback on duties and react to them with emojis to point out that you just’ve learn them. You may also combine Jira with well-liked work communication instruments, resembling Slack, as a way to hold utilizing acquainted platforms whereas ensuring Jira stays up to date.
Automation
All that point spent updating job statuses actually provides up. To cut back useless repetitive work, Jira affords automations to maintain issues transferring with out customers lifting a finger. Some examples of automations embody auto-assigning work, syncing father or mother and baby duties, and cloning points. Jira affords numerous pre-built automation templates to select from, and you may also create your personal from scratch as nicely.
The no-code automation builder in Jira. Picture: Atlassian
Reporting and analytics
Staff-managed tasks in Jira get entry to 4 sorts of studies: the burnup report, the cumulative circulation diagram, the speed report, and the spring burndown chart. Jira additionally embeds metrics in every venture as a way to monitor your progress with out having to click on over to a separate reporting module. Extra metrics additionally seem within the widgets on the Abstract tab of every venture.
FAQ
Is Jira appropriate for venture administration?
Sure, Jira was designed as a venture administration answer for software program growth groups, however it may be utilized by many various kinds of groups as nicely. In case you are searching for a less complicated venture administration software program with a decrease studying curve, we additionally advocate trying out Trello, one other Atlassian software program that makes a speciality of kanban boards for venture administration.
How you can use Jira to trace venture progress?
Jira embeds metrics straight within the venture views as a way to monitor your venture progress because the work is accomplished. The deployment frequency and cycle time insights make it potential to optimize your workflows as you go. When you’ve accomplished a number of tasks in Jira, it is going to additionally have the ability to venture insights and analytics from the backlog that can assist you enhance future tasks. Jira additionally offers a local time monitoring function, or you’ll be able to allow a third-party time monitoring.
Can Jira do Gantt charts?
Jira affords two barely totally different Gantt chart choices, known as Timeline and Roadmaps. Timeline shows a Gantt chart for a single venture or staff. Roadmaps show Gantt charts for the complete group, permitting for extra long-term strategic planning.
How do I take advantage of Jira as a venture supervisor?
In the case of utilizing Jira for venture managers, first create an Atlassian account and select a template to make use of in Jira. Then invite your teammates to your venture and configure the venture knowledge. Observe your progress as you go, then archive the venture or change it to read-only as soon as all of the duties are accomplished.
