: CHEAT SHEET
REFERENCES AND RESOURCES:
Introduction
Thank you for making use of this JIRA cheat sheet.
JIRA is a tool for incident and project management. Its
fundaments are in the Agile methodology. Agile, in
simplest terms, is a team-based project management
approach which is appreciated due to:
- Better visibility and prioritisation of tasks
- Less downtime between tasks
- Improved teamwork and better predictability
Agile methodology permits the use of one of two
approaches with the following characteristics:
Kanban approach
- Work is tracked on a board that everyone can see
- Work is ongoing, meaning there’s no sprints
- Useful for support and service teams
- There is no plan mode in Kanban projects, nor
sprints
- Work can be done from a prioritised list and as fast
as one can do it
Scrum approach
- Work is tracked on a board that everyone can see
- Work is broken up into sprints which is a prioritized
list of tasks
- Daily stand-ups can happen each morning
- Scrum approach is typically used by teams working
towards deadlines.
Projects and Boards
Projects are ‘buckets’ which contain issues related to
the project. Issues are not fixed to a project and can be
easily moved between them in JIRA.
Boards on the other hand ‘live’ within projects in JIRA.
They are a way to visualise the team’ progress within
the project. Boards can be freely configured, however
an example is shown in the next column.
For an extensive JIRA documentation and to search for an option you wish to read more about visit: jira-documentation-site
To read about Agile methodology visit: agile-aliance-site
For an introduction to JIRA watch the Udemy: jira-visual-reference-issue-administration-course
Sprints and Issues Filters Reporting
Burndown is the most common reporting tool in
JIRA. It has a form of a graph which appears after
In JIRA, every new ticket or a card is called ‘an issue’. all tasks have been put together in a sprint.
Issues can be divided into categories depending on Note that search commands used to find issues can be Burndown graphs can show the planned progress
the nature of the project: saved as filters. This search filter can be saved for against the actual progress within the sprint. Click
- Default issues: task or subtask future use through the option 'New Filter’. here to read more about burndown charts. An
- Software issues: story, bug, epic example is shown below:
- Service desk issues: incident, service request,
change, problem
To read more about working with issues see this link.
New issues can be added through the project ->
backlog screen by clicking on ‘+ Create Issue’ or by
pressing ‘c’ on keyboard. It is very important to
thoroughly populate new issue fields and estimate
time to complete as this will eventually lead to much
more accurate reporting and time tracking.
Versions and Releases
Sprints are fixed time periods in which a team
All current issues from the board view can be
intends to complete a set of issues. Prioritisation in printed n the ‘cards’ format. This allows users to
Agile Scrum projects is achieved by moving tasks
The use of versions is particularly useful in the present open issues to reviewers on paper or bring
from one sprint to another (we grab the most
development environment. Versions can be searched them to a meeting to take notes. This option is
important tasks and bucket them in the more urgent
for through the ‘Backlog’ -> ‘ Versions’ menu. This available by going to Boards - > ‘your project
tasks bucket).
option may be helpful if the output of the project will board’ -> Board -> Print cards. Read more here:
be done in stages such as Version 1.0, Version 2.0, etc.
2 weeks is a good starting point as a deadline for The tasks which are currently open can be dragged and
tasks within a single sprint. dropped into the version they should belong to. Reporting
tools
Navigation in JIRA can be faster with the use of shortcuts. For instance, using ‘c’ on the keyboard will automatically bring the user to the new issue window. For a full
description of the fours types of shortcuts shown below, click here:
JIRA AND JQL:
Due to a high volume of
issues which can be created
during a project, Jira uses JQL
commands for advanced issue
search. Examples include:
To find issues by user: Assignee =
currentUser()
To see updated issues =
updatedDate >=
To see more JQL commands
click here.
Keyboard
shortcuts
Key: JIRA commands and highlighted in red. Key concepts and options available in JIRA are highlighted in blue. JIRA Cheat Sheet June 2020