Getting Started with Jira: A Practical Guide for Non-Developers

Jira is often perceived as a tool built exclusively for developers, but its true potential extends far beyond coding. It can be a game-changer for non-technical teams as well, from marketing and communications to HR and project management.

At COMMpla, while we rely on this powerful tool to organise our software development (tracking tasks, setting priorities, and monitoring time to improve efficiency) our approach doesn’t stop there. We have recently expanded its use to support the daily activities of our marketing teams within their projects.

Whether you’re approaching Jira for the first time or are curious about its applications beyond tech, this article provides a breakdown of how to get started.

What is Jira?

At its core, Jira is an issue tracking and project management software. While it originated as a bug and issue tracker for software development, its capabilities have expanded significantly to encompass a wide range of use cases, including:

• Software Development: Planning sprints, tracking user stories, managing bugs, and releasing software;
• IT Service Management (ITSM): Managing service requests, incidents, and problems;
• Business Teams: Project management, task tracking, and workflow automation for marketing, HR, legal, and finance teams.

How Jira Functions

Jira is a powerful tool specifically designed to support software development teams through their entire lifecycle. Here’s a breakdown of its key functionalities:

• Agile Boards (Scrum and Kanban): Jira provides dedicated Scrum and Kanban boards. Scrum boards facilitate sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and sprint reviews, while Kanban boards offer a continuous flow visualisation for work in progress. These boards help teams visualise work, limit work in progress, and identify bottlenecks;
• Backlog Management: Development teams can create and prioritise a product backlog, which is a single source of truth for all work to be done. User stories, epics, bugs, and tasks can be added, estimated, and ranked based on business value and urgency;
• Sprint Planning and Execution: Jira enables seamless sprint planning by allowing teams to pull items from the backlog into a sprint. During the sprint, teams can track the progress of each issue, update their status, and monitor burndown charts to ensure they are on track to meet their sprint goals;
• Issue Tracking (Bugs, Tasks, Stories): At its core, Jira excels at tracking various types of issues. Developers can log bugs with detailed descriptions, steps to reproduce, and attachments. User stories define functional requirements from the end-user’s perspective, and tasks break down larger work items into manageable units;
• Workflow Customisation: Jira’s highly customisable workflows allow teams to define their unique development process. Each issue type can have its own workflow, moving through various statuses (e.g., To Do, In Progress, Code Review, Done) and transitions, ensuring a consistent and controlled process;
• Version Control Integration: Jira integrates seamlessly with popular version control systems like Git, SVN, and Mercurial. This allows developers to link code commits, branches, and pull requests directly to Jira issues, providing a complete audit trail and context for each change;
• CI/CD Integration: By integrating with Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) tools such as Jenkins or Bamboo, Jira can automatically update issue statuses based on build and deployment events, streamlining the release process and improving transparency;
• Reporting and Analytics: Jira offers a wide array of reports and dashboards to provide insights into team performance, project progress, and potential roadblocks. Reports like burndown charts, velocity charts, and cumulative flow diagrams help teams understand their efficiency and make data-driven decisions;
• Collaboration Features: Teams can collaborate within Jira by commenting on issues, mentioning teammates, and attaching files. This centralises communication and ensures all relevant information is accessible to everyone involved;
• Automation: Jira’s automation engine allows teams to create rules that automate repetitive tasks, such as automatically assigning issues, sending notifications, or transitioning issues based on specific triggers. This reduces manual effort and improves efficiency.

By leveraging these features, software development and marketing teams can use Jira to enhance transparency, improve collaboration, and accelerate development cycles, and deliver high-quality software and products efficiently.

Getting Started with Jira

For those new to Jira, the initial setup can seem daunting due to its extensive customisation options. However, Atlassian provides ample documentation and tutorials to guide users through the process. A typical starting point involves:

• Choosing a Product: Select the Jira product that best fits your team’s needs (e.g., Jira Software for a dev team);
• Creating a Project: Define your project type (e.g., Scrum, Kanban, Basic) and give it a name;
• Configuring Workflows: Adjust or create workflows to reflect your team’s unique process;
• Creating Issues: Start populating your project with tasks, bugs, or user stories;
• Inviting Your Team: Bring your team members on board to collaborate.

Best Practices for Using Jira

To maximise the benefits of Jira, consider these best practices:

• Keep Workflows Simple: While customisable, overly complex workflows can hinder productivity;
• Define Clear Issue Types: Ensure everyone understands the purpose of each issue type (e.g., “Bug” vs. “Task”);
• Utilise Reporting: Regularly review reports and dashboards to identify trends and make informed decisions;
• Integrate Wisely: Leverage integrations to connect Jira with your existing tools, creating a unified workspace;
• Train Your Team: Provide adequate training to ensure all team members are comfortable using Jira effectively.

Conclusion

Jira has evolved into a powerhouse for project and issue management. Its adaptability, coupled with a rich set of features, makes it an invaluable asset for teams striving for efficiency and transparency.

Whether you’re tracking a software bug, managing a marketing campaign, or responding to IT incidents, Jira provides the framework to get work done, effectively and collaboratively.