Jira review 2024: one of the best project management tool

Jira is an affordable project management tool aimed at software development teams. In this Jira review, we will help you figure out if it’s too niche for your team or if the price makes this tool worth slogging through all the jargon. Jira is one of the best-known project management tools out there, especially for Agile teams (it’s a great agile tool). Developed by Atlassian which is also the company behind one of our favorite other tools, Trello Jira has a wide range of features, especially aimed at developers. Jira will make your IT team one of the most productive in your industry.

Jira: Description

In addition to project management, Jira is also known for its bug tracking functionality. This is one of the many reasons why this tool is popular among software development teams. Recently, Jira has sought to make some of its products suitable for all types of teams and organizations. This includes project management solutions for marketing, operations, HR, finance, legal and other use cases. But project management and issue tracking solutions for software developers remain Jira’s top offerings. We recommend Jira for technical project teams.

Jira: Pros and Cons

Jira: Key Features Table

User-Friendliness

It is very easy for both new and experienced users to use. The interface is easy to understand, and you can move quickly from board to function to code. We especially like its tutorials, which should help people who are new to project management or working with software teams get started within minutes.

The bad news is that they use jargon. So. Much. Jargon. In our reviews of project management software here at Cloudwards, we’ve looked at a lot of software, but Jira is by far the worst. No other tool uses as many buzzwords as Jira does, and most of them don’t make sense.

It makes it hard to understand a lot of the documentation at first and is just annoying. Jira doesn’t call tasks “tasks,” though. Instead, it calls them “issues.” Even though it doesn’t take much to figure out that tasks and problems are the same thing, it can be annoying. Words like “goals” are also gone. They have been replaced by “epics,” which are then broken down into “user stories” and “story points.” We know that some of it is part of the Agile method, which has a lot of devoted followers (calling meetings “ceremonies” is just cultish), but sometimes you feel like Winston Smith trying to make sense of doublespeak. Here’s an example of a buzzword bingo game.

Jira: Features

Jira is a widely used project management tool that provides a range of features to support teams in effectively planning, tracking and managing their projects. One of the key features of Jira is its robust issue tracking system. Users can create and track different types of issues, such as tasks, bugs and user stories, providing a centralized view of project progress. With Jira, teams can assign issues, prioritize them and track their status throughout the project lifecycle.

Jira also provides customizable workflows that allow teams to define their own processes and adapt them to their specific needs. This allows teams to streamline their workflows, track progress and ensure transparency in project management. Workflows can be customized for different stages of development, testing and deployment, providing a clear overview of project status.

Collaboration is enhanced by Jira’s comment and notification features. Team members can communicate directly within issues, provide updates and share information. Users can also receive notifications for specific events or changes, keeping everyone informed of important updates and discussions.

It offers powerful reporting and visualization capabilities. It offers several built-in reports, including burndown graphs, velocity graphs and issue statistics, which allow teams to track progress, identify bottlenecks and make data-driven decisions. In addition, Jira’s dashboards and customizable gadgets provide stakeholders and team members with a consolidated view of project data and progress. Integration is another strength of Jira. It integrates seamlessly with other popular development and collaboration tools, such as Confluence, Bitbucket and Slack. This allows teams to link their tools and streamline their workflows, improving collaboration and productivity.

Jira: Software

This is the issue tracking and project management solution that makes managing projects easy. Most people who say “Jira” mean “Jira Software,” even though there are other products with the same name. Again, this solution is made for teams that build software in an agile way. It helps agile teams plan sprints, divide up tasks, and prioritize work so that everything is clear and everyone can see what’s going on.

The Kanban and scrum boards will be where most team members will spend most of their time. But the ability to track problems will likely be a close second. Jira Software makes it easy for development teams to plan, track, and manage software version releases. Project managers love that Jira is completely open and lets them make their own reports. The customized tools for workflow help teams improve their efficiency at every level.

Jira: Integrations

Another great thing about Jira Software is that it can connect to a huge number of other programs. Like its sibling Trello (we talk more about how the two work together in our Jira vs. Trello article), Jira’s strength comes from the number of plug-ins you can add. But keep in mind that some of them cost money.

You can find all kinds of useful extra apps in the Atlassian Marketplace, which is a one-stop shop for third-party integrations. Some examples are Gantt charts, extra views (charts and the like), a tool for tracking bugs, and other helpful tools for managing tasks. If Jira is what you need, but you need one more feature, you should be able to find it here. You can even connect Slack to Jira.

Jira: Performance

One aspect of Jira’s performance is its ability to handle and scale large amounts of data for growing projects and teams. Jira’s robust underlying infrastructure allows it to manage a large number of problems, users and projects without sacrificing performance. This ensures that teams can work seamlessly and efficiently, even with complex and extensive project portfolios. Jira’s speed and responsiveness contribute to overall performance. The interface is designed to provide a smooth user experience, allowing users to navigate through various projects, boards and issues without major delays. Fast load times and quick search capabilities help users find and access the information they need quickly.

In addition, it’s performance is optimized for collaboration. Team members can work on and update issues simultaneously, and changes are displayed in real-time, so everyone is working with the most up-to-date information. Comments and notifications features enable efficient communication and collaboration, increasing productivity and keeping team members on the same page. Jira’s performance is also supported by its robust reporting and analysis capabilities. Generating reports and visualizations, such as burndown charts and velocity diagrams, is efficient and enables teams to gain valuable insights into project progress and performance.

These reporting features enable data-driven decision-making and help teams quickly identify and address bottlenecks or issues. While Jira generally delivers reliable performance, it should be noted that the tool’s performance can be affected by factors such as network connectivity, server infrastructure and the size and complexity of the projects being managed. Teams with large-scale projects or extensive customizations may need to ensure adequate resources and properly configure their Jira instances to optimize performance.

Final Words

We really like Jira here at Cloudwards. The software has certainly improved since our last review, and it’s a sleek, user-friendly tool that competitors should take note of. If you develop software, it’s a great tool, and we encourage you to try it out before others, despite some of its weaknesses.

However, if you don’t develop software, you might want to leave Jira aside, as its shortcomings are a bit too much of a stretch. Its lack of built-in overview is a huge disability for most enterprises, and its jargon should not be handled by anyone not forced into the Agile environment.

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