What is JIRA?
JIRA is a project management tool that is primarily used for issues and bug tracking systems. This tool is widely adopted across the world as an issue-tracking tool for all types of testing. Additionally, the JIRA automation scripts are also gaining popularity.
Jira is currently offered in three separate packages:
Jira Core: is the basic JIRA project management platform.
Jira Software: allows the testers to use all functions of JIRA core, but also includes Agile functionality.
Jira Service Desk: is basically meant for IT professionals as well as other forms of service desks. However, the JIRA service desk is not relevant to project management.
Top benefits of JIRA software
Here are some of the top benefits associated with JIRA project management software:
- Great for Agile
Agile software development is used to refer to the software development methodologies based on the idea of iterative development. The requirements and solutions evolve through collaborations between cross-functional teams. JIRA offers a single view for all the user stories and is capable of generating the needed reports for various sprints. Moreover, the users can easily organize the tickets into sprints and releases while monitoring the workload and task assignments of the team.
- Better prioritization
When any software is in the development phase, the most important thing is to prioritize every process in a planned manner. We have to see which task is more crucial than the other and needs a higher priority. JURA can help developers manage this prioritization easily.
Listing tasks based on their priority can be done at the time of their creation. It will help the developers complete them faster with better efficiency. Above all, the chances of missing any deadlines become almost zero unless stuck by unforeseen situations. With the help of JIRA, developers can wholly focus on the development of the software.
- Integration with other tools
JIRA itself is a great tool, undoubtedly. However, there are various other tools from Atlassian, such as Confluence, which is meant for online collaboration, Bitbucket, Bamboo, etc. Here lies the main point – JIRA and most other tools from Atlassian can communicate with each other natively.
All these tools from Atlassian, when integrated can offer a complete solution to the organizations. Apart from integration with Atlassian tools, JIRA can also be integrated with various third-party tools to offer new features to businesses.
- Better visibility
Lack of clarity and open visibility are the two major factors that can slow down any project, let alone a software development project. When you don’t have a clear picture as to what tasks need to be done and when what else can you expect.
To overcome this problem, JIRA came to the rescue of developers. It connects the software teams so that each member of a team can update others in real-time and share the progress of the task.
This will help all the members of the team know exactly what stage a project is and complete it more efficiently.
4 important Atlassian add-ons for better JIRA productivity
- Mail me
We all know communication is the key to better project management and collaboration between teams. Mail Me is a useful JIRA add-on that has made interacting with internal and external users via mail much faster and more convenient.
You can use it to transfer emails in either HTML or Text format where you can also attach attachments. It lets you build custom templates that can be used for issue communication as they arise within the team. You can also set a particular recipient address as your default receiver.
- My ToDo
While JIRA lets you easily represent issues or subtasks in JIRA, there are instances where this is not appropriate to do. Let’s give you an instance to understand this better.
Say you want to post a note to put a change in code into production or double-check another task. Having such a ToDo list for yourself is extremely important and is a life savior at times. Fortunately, My ToDo is there for your help. You can easily add, remove, and resolve the items in the list and track changes via the history. Also, you can share the list with your team members and allow them to edit it.
- eazyBI
Let’s be real here, creating charts and diagrams is fun only when you have a tendency of self-torture. The hassle arises when you have to keep them updated and ensure that they display relevant information. But, create charts and diagrams is crucial for teams to visualize goals and achievements.
EazyBI is here to make your job easier. You can import your data via a CSV file and use it to generate diagrams in a much efficient manner. EazyBI is a staple tool for companies that need charts and diagrams to make decisions.
- ScriptRunner
JIRA ScriptRunner represents a bunch of mighty functions to automate the work process and enhance internal operations. If you use this tool, you can automate JIRA planning through listeners based upon certain events. Additionally, you get enhanced runtime process functions and application of server-side validation.
The primary concept of ScriptRunner stipulates no need for creating a customized plugin for team use.
- Automation for JIRA
When you are planning to automate your team, you can go for the JIRA automation scripts. The power of this plugin lies in the configurable automation scripts that come along with it. Let us tell you a noteworthy point here – you don’t need to learn JIRA API or create custom scripts. After all, this add-on is meant to automate JIRA!
Wondering what all can be automated? The list is quite long but here are a few things:
- Synchronization of subtasks with their parent issues
- Comments on issues when they get resolved
- Monthly or weekly recurring tasks
- SMS notification for issues carrying high priority
- Assigning issues to the users
These are just some of the things that can be automated with this plugin. However, you are free to use it as per your needs and project demands.
