Setting up a project in Jira<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Jira offers a nice selection of Project Templates that can help you set up a project quickly. If we are talking about Jira Software specifically, these templates focus on offering solutions for agile management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This section will look at the differences between the Project Templates. We will also dive a bit deeper into the initial setup by covering such aspects as managing the workflow, permissions, and integrations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They are also a nice option for larger companies looking to standardize certain settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Picking a project template<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If you develop software, your go-to choices are probably Kanban and Scrum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Use the Scrum<\/strong> template if your team works in time-boxed iterations or Sprints. I suggest using Scrum if you prefer your projects structured in a way that breaks down complex work into small iterations. The Scrum template has the functionality for running time-boxed Sprints and offers a backlog out of the box. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Both of these features support a Push system, allowing you to carefully plan out new Sprints based on a proven estimation of productivity. To summarize, Scrum is best suited for projects with a clear goal and scope like the development of a new product.\u00a0 Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Kanban template<\/strong> is much more suited for a Pull system. It is designed to help your team take on the work they are ready for at the moment. This approach is more flexible as it prioritizes a continuous flow of work rather than fixed iterations. The functionality of a Kanban project in Jira complements the Pull system and its principles by giving you the option to clearly identify the perfect workload per team member and limit WIP so no one gets overwhelmed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Kanban project is perfect for processes where new tasks come naturally. Some better examples will include sales or support processes. Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Both of these Project Templates are pretty well set up from the start. Many smaller teams can use them as is, without worrying too much about the extra bells and whistles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, there\u2019s a ton of settings you can explore if you feel the need to finetune your board. Here are several examples of features you might want to look at while setting up a project:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlassian has other products besides Jira Software. Jira Work Management, for example, is designed to help business teams better communicate and organize their work. You can learn more about different Atlassian products and Project Templates here<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n Among the first decisions Jira will prompt you to make when creating a new project is the choice between Team-Managed and Company-managed projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Team-managed projects are better suited for smaller, self-governing teams. This project type gives you more control over the features and settings. These projects are much simpler to set up and manage, as project admins can work autonomously without relying on Jira admins. The tradeoff is that you will be lacking some more complex features as well as settings that can be applied to multiple projects across the whole company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Company-managed projects, on the other hand, are a great fit for those who would like to collaborate more effectively and share certain processes across multiple projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By default, a Project Template in Jira comes with a ready-to-use workflow out of the box. In essence, this workflow allows you to drag your cards from every column and back. This workflow is fine for a lot of teams and projects and the only thing you probably want to modify from the start are the board columns themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, you might want a separate status for tasks that are either blocked, in QA, in review, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The goal of custom workflows is to create a transparent and visualized process that meets your company\u2019s needs on one Kanban board. It also simplifies organizational communication and provides an overview of a project\u2019s or sprint\u2019s progress, thus helping with sprint capacity planning in Jira.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A custom workflow will allow you to create:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can read more about managing a workflow in Jira here<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Workflows in team-managed and company-managed projects have certain differences. For starters, Project Admins can change workflows in team-managed projects instead of Jira Admins. That being said, the workflow scene will be specific to a project, so you will not be able to share it across several Jira boards.<\/p>\n In addition, team-managed projects have certain limitations, like the inability to have specific workflows for each issue type.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n Every Jira project has a permission scheme. The permission scheme itself is just an object that Jira references when checking permission in your projects. To make the scheme useful, you need to grant users, groups, and\/or roles permission for their project in the scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This may sound overly complicated, but you are essentially deciding who in your team will be able to do the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a complex and nuanced topic. I\u2019d advise you to read through official Atlassian documentation<\/a> before tackling it.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n As a Project Management tool, Jira must be ready to fit into your typical workflow. Luckily, Atlassian has been actively developing it for years to accommodate this need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jira has integrations with tools like Slack or Gmail for better communication. A wide variety of integrations are also available for different teams and departments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Designers can benefit from an integration with Figma, Moro, and AdobeXD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Developers can benefit from GitHub, Jenkins, or Dynatrace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Support and sales teams will probably enjoy the integration with Zendesk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep in mind that the apps I\u2019ve named are merely at the peak of the iceberg. There are dozens of integrations with useful apps you can use in your day-to-day work. Take a look at Jira\u2019s integrations page<\/a> and set up your tools as part of the initial project setup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of these apps are super easy to install. Simply visit the corresponding page on the Atlassian Marketplace and follow the installation wizard\u2019s instructions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: Some third-party apps come at an additional cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that we have our initial project set up, let\u2019s talk about your list of goals, tasks, and priorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your \u201cgoals\u201d or large volumes of work that can be broken down into separate tasks should become Epics\u2014an issue type within Jira that is a parent to issues such as user stories, tasks, and subtasks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We typically use a framework called BRIDGeS<\/a> for multi-context analysis of a project. At the end of the session, this framework leaves us with prioritized, ready-to-use Epics and tasks.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n Once you have your work broken down into Epics, creating a roadmap \u2013 or, as Jira calls it \u2013 a Timeline is quite simple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some tips and tricks for managing your Timeline in Jira:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The color of the connective thread will change to red if the dates of Epics overlap. This feature is handy for easily seeing if certain dependencies are becoming blockers. Still, I\u2019d recommend using dependencies wisely otherwise, the roadmap will become confusing because of the intertwined Epics.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n Jira offers a variety of reporting tools to Product Managers. These tools are easily accessible from the reports tab on the right-side menu. This is probably the best and most diverse tool in Jira\u2019s arsenal when it comes to ensuring that your team is moving correctly on the timeline and that the project stays within budget. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These reports can be used to analyze the performance of your team. They are also easily shareable and exportable. There is a wide selection of reports, but using all of them isn\u2019t necessary. Here is a brief overview of several reports that we find to be the most useful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jira Automation is a no-code feature that allows Jira users to create \u201cif this \u2014 then that\u201d conditions based on a wide selection of events and triggers, such as an issue being moved from \u201ctodo\u201d to \u201cin progress\u201d or all subtasks of a parent issue being moved to \u201cdone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n These automations are quite useful. Setting up a couple of them from the start can save you countless hours later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, you can set up an automated notification to a Slack channel if an emergency happens on prod. Or you can automatically request a review from approvers when a new comment is added to an issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the most common uses of automation for Jira include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can explore the Automations as well as certain interesting use cases here<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Obviously, the initial setup of a Jira project is only the first stepping stone toward successfully managing your teams. Every project, regardless of size or type, has a wide variety of repetitive or recurring tasks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And this is where apps like Smart Templates for Jira<\/a> come in. Smart Templates is a productivity tool designed to optimize team performance and establish company standards. It allows you to create issues or entire issue hierarchies once and reuse them every time your team needs to report a bug, start the hiring process, onboard a new employee, or launch payroll. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If this seems like something you\u2019d like to consider for your team, you can give the app a try for free. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Note<\/span>\n <\/div>\n Team-managed vs. company-managed projects<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Workflow management<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Pro tip<\/span>\n <\/div>\n Managing permissions in Jira<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Pro tip<\/span>\n <\/div>\n Integrations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Working with a timeline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pro tip<\/span>\n <\/div>\n \n
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Pro tip<\/span>\n <\/div>\n Reports<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Automations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Automating recurring issues<\/h2>\n\n\n\n