Project management these days has become quite simple and easy, thanks to the project management tools and software options. These tools have made it rather easy for the project managers to view the to-do lists, generate or analyse the reports, and view the status of the projects in real-time. One such powerful tool that can be quite helpful in achieving the best standards with your project management tasks, is Jira. But, how to use Jira to manage projects?
Well, we will try to understand what exactly is Jira and how to use it for perfect Agile project management.
What is Agile Project Management?
Well, Agile project management is essentially a project management methodology. It focusses on the continuous delivery of products to the customers or users. It is designed as the iterative and incremental approach for delivering the customer or client requirements.
A larger project is divided into smaller sections. These individual sections are referred to as the iterations. It would be helpful in achieving the best in terms of planning and guiding the project processes.
Agile project management has its origins in Lean methodologies which were developed in Japan during the 1940s. The term Agile has now grown to include a host of methodologies used for iterative and derivative processes.
Why Choose Jira Project management?
Jira Project management has been an Agile project management option and comes with several advantages. It has been one of the right options for a reduced cost. Since the issues in a process are identified and corrected during the process itself, you do not need to worry about the long term costs.
The customers or the clients are involved all through the process. In the case of Jira, users will have access to each of the stages, and thus you will have a final product that is in agreement with the specifications. This can be helpful in improving satisfaction levels.
It improves and enhances the transparency levels to a considerable extent and thus helps achieve better results. Access to real-time communication adds more value to the usefulness offered by the tool. Yet another advantage you stand to gain is the focus on the smaller packages in each stage. It would be easier to evaluate and ensure a faster correction rate.
How to use Jira to Manage Projects?
Well, explaining every smaller detail in terms of project management in Jira may not be as easier in a concise post like the one we are focussing on. However, we can introduce you into the concept and assist you in understanding it well enough to make a beginning.
Once you have downloaded the Jira Project Management Software, setting up a new project should ideally be an easier task. The procedure does involve a host of steps to be followed, but you can be assured of a helping hand from the tool itself as you would continue getting help throughout the process.
The standard process for how to use Jira to manage projects would involve the following steps.
Start a new Project
To start a new project, you can either use a Kanban Board or a Scrum Board. For the sake of this tutorial on how to use Jira to manage projects, we will use a scrum board.
In the next step, choose to create a new project and give it a name. Click on Create. You will need to create an access level for the project.
Set up your team
Once you have started the project, the next step would be to assign your team. Each of the members in your team who is using the Jira software on a particular project should be made a member. You would need to assign a few members as admins in case you have a large number of people in your team. In the case of a smaller team, you can assign the admin duties to yourself.
Click on the option Project Settings and then on People. On the next page, you can add the member to your team using the option Add People.
You would need to add the name of the user and their email address. Each of the members receives the notification or alert for the invite.
If you want to make a user an admin for the project, you can choose the user and click on Add Group. Add the member to the site admin group. You can make more than one member as an admin.
Manage Permissions
Setting up permissions for every project may not be an easy task. That is where the feature called Permission Schemes come in quite handy enough. The permission scheme can be an excellent option that can be helpful enough in creating permission patterns and applying them to different projects.
Setting up a permission scheme can be easier enough.
Move to Settings and then Issues. Next, scroll down and locate Permission schemes.
Click on the option Add Permission Scheme at the top right corner. Enter the name for the scheme and enter the details or description.
Once the permission scheme has been specified, you can then add them up to your projects.
Jira offers you several other customisation options. Some of them would include :
Issue Types
You can create custom issue types as per your preferences. How to create better and effective issue types would need a more specialised post, but the best assistance provided by the software can be an excellent option in understanding it better enough.
Workflows
Customisation of the workflows can be a great option offered by Jira. This can be helpful enough in understanding how the issue types transform int statuses and the conditions under which these transitions happen. In fact, the custom workflows can be the right option in your quest in how to use Jira to manage projects. You can create new workflows, or edit them through the option Settings > Issues > Workflows.
Screens
This is yet another customisation offered by Jira. It can be used to edit and create different screens and assign them to different projects or events. This can be helpful enough in showing a specific screen when a workflow reaches a particular stage or status.
A Few important Jira Plugins and Integrations
Some of the useful and practical integrations and plugins that can help you improve the performance of your Jira Agile project management can include the following
- Hubstaff – This can be helpful in time tracking and productivity reporting tasks
- Slack – For a preferential team communication.
- Outlook – Assists in effective email integration with Jira
- Google Sheets – Transferring the issues onto Google Sheets can be useful in an effective tracking.
Well, those are just a few options you would find impressive enough in taking care of a perfect operation of your Jira project management.
The Passing Remarks
Well, that should have given you a brief idea into what is Jira and how you can use it for efficient project management. Jira indeed one of the best options with Agile project management capabilities and lets you achieve the best possible results.
We would assume the tutorial here should have ably helped you in how to use Jira to manage projects with ease. The steps and tips should ideally help you make a beginning with Jira. Once that done, Jira is indeed an effective project management tool that offers you an intuitive interface in mastering it further.
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