Search
Close this search box.
Search
Close this search box.
Search
Close this search box.

5 pitfalls when using Atlassian Jira

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
WhatsApp

Jira Atlassian is a great ALM tool for managing your Agile environment. It provides a friendly workspace for Agile teams and has some informative out-of-the-box reports that allow teams to easily apply root cause analysis.

At the program level, there are several easy ways to achieve aggregated data reports and epic progress boards. The relatively new Jira portfolio also has some interesting features that enable larger organizations to manage their program, including shared planning, shared releases, progress, and mitigation plans.

Visiting many organizations that use Jira as their main tool for their Agile environment, I decided to summarize 5 common pitfalls it is best to avoid.

  1. Less is more, avoid heavy configuration
    Agile is about teams that work together with trust and a common mission. Therefore the workflow configured should be as simple and as short as possible to reflect lean value stream rather than handoffs.
  2. Don’t work for Jira, let it work for you
    Avoid complex issue cards that are full of information. Always ask why you need this data and retrospect its benefit over time. Otherwise, it’s just another field the team needs to add and the daily overhead is bigger than the value.
  3. Work in a trusting environment, don’t limit the work to a specific role
    Some organizations set restrictions in the workflow for specific roles. For example – only QA/PO can move a story to do. Such configuration usually is a manifestation of mistrust from management and annoys the team on a daily basis when trying to keep Jira up to date.
  4. Focus on team deliveries, not on personal tasks
    Sub-tasks should help the team align about the work to be done towards the delivery of an end-to-end story. It is not meant for leaders to micromanage individual utilization. Teams should avoid estimating sub-tasks and log work on task progress. The burndown chart that leans on “log work” is misleading and shifts the team’s focus from the actual deliveries.
  5. Use the tool wisely to gain its benefits
    Jira has some great out-of-the-box reports that are based on data the team should update. It would be a shame not to use them due to inattentiveness.
    For example:
    – Estimate all stories and drag them into the sprint container before starting the sprint to create a reliable velocity and sprint report
    – Update the story status in addition to the sub-tasks to gain real visibility on WIP and progress

So use Jira wisely and keep it simple to serve your organizational needs without over-configuration and with keeping personal interaction as first priority.
Work iteratively, start with a simple configuration, let your teams see the value, and improve with time.

Subscribe for Email Updates:

Categories:

Tags:

Implementing SAFe
Accelerate Value Delivery At Scale
DevOps
Change Management
System Team
Business Agility
Nexus and SAFe
QA
ATDD
Kaizen Workshop
Program Increment
Professional Scrum with Kanban
Kanban
Advanced Roadmaps
Agile Israel Events
Scrum and XP
Atlaassian
Entrepreneurial Operating System®
Scrum.org
RSA
Agile Games
Operational Value Stream
RTE
SAFe Release Planning
EOS®
Releases Using Lean
Limiting Work in Progress
speed at scale
Agile Marketing
AgileSparks
Agile Program
Tips
Lean Startup
What Is Kanban
Managing Projects
lean agile change management
ScrumMaster Tales
LAB
Introduction to ATDD
Development Value Streams
System Integration Environments
Lean Agile Basics
Nexus vs SAFe
Lean-Agile Software Development
Agile Mindset
Reading List
Professional Scrum Master
Agile Testing Practices
Sprint Iteration
Agile Israel
Legacy Code
IT Operations
Manage Budget Creation
speed @ scale
ALM Tools
Scrum Master Role
Scrum With Kanban
Applying Agile Methodology
Agile Outsourcing
Agile Techniques
Built-In Quality
LPM
Lean Software Development
Agile Project
Achieve Business Agility
Continuous Delivery
Risk Management on Agile Projects
Value Streams
BDD
Jira admin
Lean Agile
Artificial Intelligence
Product Management
Principles of Lean-Agile Leadership
Agile in the Enterprise
Pomodoro Technique
Agile Risk Management
Kanban Kickstart Example
Jira
SA
Covid19
A Kanban System for Software Engineering
Engineering Practices
Continuous Integration
Enterprise DevOps
AI
Hybrid Work
Scrum Primer
AI Artificial Intelligence
Kanban Basics
Sprint Retrospectives
Managing Risk on Agile Projects
Legacy Enterprise
Process Improvement
Nexus and Kanban
Agile for Embedded Systems
Scrum Master
Risk Management in Kanban
TDD
Jira Plans
System Archetypes
Lean-Agile Budgeting
ART Success
Spotify
Story Slicing
Jira Cloud
SPC
Perfection Game
Lean and Agile Techniques
Introduction to Test Driven Development
Acceptance Test-Driven Development
Games and Exercises
Agile and DevOps Journey
POPM
Agile Assembly Architecture
ARTs
RTE Role
Iterative Incremental Development
Tools
Agile Exercises
ATDD vs. BDD
Frameworks
GanttBan
Self-organization
Continuous Planning
Kaizen
Agile Product Ownership
Kanban 101
ROI
Elastic Leadership
Quality Assurance
SAFe DevOps
Agile Delivery
Software Development Estimation
WIP
Agile Release Management
The Kanban Method
Kanban Game
Nexus Integration Team
Risk-aware Product Development
Code
Lean Agile Management
predictability
Software Development
Agile Development
agileisrael
PI Planning
Agile Product Development
Presentation
Large Scale Scrum
Slides
Lean Budgeting
SAFe
User stories
An Appreciative Retrospective
Scaled Agile Framework
Certification
Agile
The Agile Coach
Agile India
Continuous Deployment
Agility
chatgpt
Implementation of Lean and Agile
Scrum
Amdocs
Systems Thinking
Continuous Improvement
Agile Community
Lean Risk Management
PI Objectives
Scrum Guide
Professional Scrum Product Owner
Agile Games and Exercises
Webinar
NIT
Agile Project Management
Daily Scrum
Agile Contracts Best Practices
Certified SAFe
Effective Agile Retrospectives
Nexus
Scrum Values
Test Driven Development
Video
Agile Release Planning
LeSS
Atlassian
Product Ownership
Sprint Planning
Portfolio for Jira
Agile Basics
Release Train Engineer
Coaching Agile Teams
Planning
Rapid RTC
Lean Agile Leadership
Lean and Agile Principles and Practices
AgileSparks
Logo
Enable registration in settings - general

Contact Us

Request for additional information and prices

AgileSparks Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter, and stay updated on the latest Agile news and events

This website uses Cookies to provide a better experience
Shopping cart