{"id":7426,"date":"2025-10-31T13:29:38","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T13:29:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/titanapps.io\/blog\/?p=7426"},"modified":"2025-10-31T13:29:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T13:29:38","slug":"smart-checklist-over-subtasks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/titanapps.io\/blog\/smart-checklist-over-subtasks","title":{"rendered":"Why Companies Chose Smart Checklist Over Subtasks: Case Study"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Team<\/strong>: Engineering and Software Development Teams<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Company: NDA
Industry: Machinery Manufacturing
Employees: \u00b13,000<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The company is a world market and technology leader in the field of cooking appliances with a mission to provide their customers with the best tool. Building great products requires great workflows and a structured approach to product execution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their internal processes are governed by the principle of \u201c99 quality checks\u201d \u2013 a framework broken down into 9 product phases with 99 clearly defined steps across different departments. In addition, they have a standardized process for creating and managing a Jira  project, which consists of 27 steps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With almost 200 Jira projects in Jira and thousands of employees, the company faced three main challenges:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Progress tracking<\/strong>: Teams needed a clear view of what had been completed and what was still outstanding within each workflow phase.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Process documentation and reusability<\/strong>: Recreating complex step-based processes from scratch \u2013 especially as subtasks \u2013 is time-consuming and error-prone.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Jira cleanliness and usability<\/strong>: Engineering teams required work items, one step smaller than subtasks, but couldn\u2019t afford to clutter Jira or lose traceability tied to unique issue keys.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    We needed to document our processes in smaller pieces of work without all the overhead, one unit smaller than a sub-task, more flexible. Sometimes you don’t need the reporter, commenting, history and all of that. That\u2019s where Smart Checklist checked a lot of boxes for us.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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    \n Head of Collaboration Applications <\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

    Solution <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The company implemented Smart Checklist<\/a> to transform how their teams manage work inside Jira. Starting in 2021, Smart Checklist quickly became essential to both Engineering and Software Development teams. Instead of building extensive subtask trees or external documentation, teams now rely on reusable Smart Checklist templates that embed process steps directly into Jira work items. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"definition<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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    We have a standardized way of working, and instead of just documenting it somewhere else, we\u2019ve added Smart Checklists directly into the work items.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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    \n Head of Collaboration Applications <\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

    Since each issue key represents a specific engineering change, it must remain unique. To avoid subtask overload and maintain traceability, Smart Checklist allows them to break down work into checklist items \u2013 keeping the work item view focused, flexible, and Jira clean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Instead of using subtask they ended up using Smart Checklist because it runs under the same issue key, while being a smaller piece of work without all the overhead.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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    \n Head of Collaboration Applications <\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

    By integrating Smart Checklist with Automation for Jira<\/a>, the company is able to track checklist progress and trigger workflows based on checklist item status \u2013 without needing manual updates. This automation is essential in managing their \u201c99 steps\u201d framework and supporting decisions at every stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The process of creating and maintaining every new Jira project follows a set of 27 standard steps. These are managed with a Smart Checklist template, applied automatically to issues, saving time and ensuring consistency across departments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When setting up a new Jira project, the company conducts an interview with the project responsible to understand the workflows and tooling needs. Since Smart Checklist can be enabled per project, it is added only if it supports the specific processes planned for that project. This targeted approach prevents interface overload and ensures every app in the Jira environment has a purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The team also highlighted the seamless JCMA-supported migration from Jira Server to Cloud<\/a> where Smart Checklist\u2019s performance and automation capabilities remained strong, making the transition easier for teams already using the tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n