JIRA Workflow

Whenever you are working on a big project you always need a tool that keeps track of the task. This is where Jira comes in the role, Jira has lots of features that make the work easy. In this article, we will talk about Jira Workflows and learn how Jira will make teamwork easy.

What is Jira Workflow?

During the life cycle of a project, Jira workflow is defined as a sequence of steps that an issue undergoes within the Jira Project management. This workflow helps the team to manage, organize, and track work. In a workflow, each process has a different life of transition that allows us to know how the issue can move from one step to the next. In Jira, workflow can be customized according to need which has the specific purpose and process of the team.

Why are JIRA workflows important?

Jira Workflow is vital for teams in a different scenario. Here, let’s discuss why they matter in simple words:

1. Organization: Workflow helps in keeping all the things in order. It helps to tell which things are to do and when they need to be done.
2. Teamwork: It helps teams to check what’s happening within a task and helps the team to enhance collaboration among them.
3. Efficiency: Workflow prevents the thing from getting overlapped. It helps in the proper assigning of the task such that no two people get the same task.
4. Customization: The team can make their workflow which suits their project i.e., they can easily change the workflow according to their need.

Benefits of using a Jira workflow

There are several benefits of using Jira workflow. Here are some of the key benefits:

1. Efficiency: Jira workflow helps the process to be smooth by clearly defining the steps and also, automating the repeating task.
2. Transparency: Workflow helps in the clear representation of the work in process and this transparency helps the team member to understand the task.
3. Consistency: Workflow helps in reducing error and maintaining consistency it reduces the risk of having errors and also helps in following best practices.
4. Reporting and Metrics: It helps collect data to know the analysis of performance and process involvement.
5. Audit Trails: Based on the performance the organization can make data-driven decisions that ensure accountability.
6. Scalability: Jira workflow can manage the work of small as well as large organizations. It can adapt to the complexity of the project.

Key Concepts

Jira project cycle

A Jira workflow has different phases, statuses, transitions and various elements that are essential during the Project Lifecycle. Here are details of some phases:

1. To Do (Initial Phase)

• Status: Open
• Description: This is when an issue is identified, and it is added to the backlog. It represents that the task is yet to be started.

2. In Progress

• Status: In Progress
• Description: This phase indicates that work has started on a task. Team members are working on it and taking the process towards completion.

3. Review

• Status: In Review
• Description: Issues are moved to the review phase once the work is completed. In this stage, the quality, testing checks happen.

4. Approved

• Status: Approved
• Description: In this phase, the issue is reviewed, and it is considered for deployment, publication, or finalization.

5. Published

• Status: Published
• Description: From the approved phase the issue is moved to the published phase, which means that the work has been completed and is available to users.

6. Archived(Final Phase)

• Status: Archived
• Description: In this phase, the issues are no longer relevant and are kept for work experience purposes.

Best Practices for Designing JIRA Workflows

Following an effective JIRA workflow is important for the project and issue management. Some of the best practices are stated below:

1. Involve Stakeholders: Make a good collaboration with team members and end users to ensure workflow shows the actual process.
2. Keep it Simple: Workflow aim for simplicity; a complex workflow can be confusing. Only use that many statuses and transitions that are necessary.
3. Map the Real-World Process: Workflow should reflect the way your team works, avoid making rigid or cosmetic processes.
4. Define Clear Statuses: Use the self-explanatory labels. Some of the common status names like “To Do,” “In Progress,” “Testing,” and “Done”.
5. Use Descriptive Transitions: The name of the Transition should be clear and to the point. It should indicate its work by its name.
6. Add Comments and Documentation: For each status define the purpose of the document and use relevant comments to help the new team understand the process.
7. Automate Repetitive Tasks: Use the function to automate regular tasks such as sending notifications, updating fields, or setting due dates.
8. Implement Validators and Conditions: Make sure that transition only occurs when the specific condition is met. Use validators and conditions that prevent correct state changes.
9. Consider Workflow Schemes: Use workflow schemes to incorporate workflow with different projects and individual projects.
10. Design for Efficiency: Optimize workflow to reduce barriers and delay time. ensure tasks are done smoothly through the process.

Example JIRA Workflows

Jira workflows are designed to meet the specific demand of the projects. Here some common Jira Workflow Examples are listed below:

Basic Software Development Workflow

This process can be used for simple project development.

1. To Do: Create new issue here.
2. In Progress: Issue on which work started.
3. In Review: Peers review done here.
4. Testing: Here Testing performed
5. Done: Issue is completed and ready for deployment.

Transitions:

1. From “To Do” to “In Progress”
2. From “In Progress” to “In Review”
3. From “In Review” to “Testing” or back to “In Progress”
4. From “Testing” to “Done”

IT Support Workflow

This workflow can be used in managing IT support work.

1. Open: New tickets are created.
2. In Progress: Team working on tickets.
3. On Hold: Ticket are temporally closed.
4. Resolved: Ticket is resolved.
5. Closed: Ticket is considered as closed.

Transitions:

1. From “Open” to “In Progress”
2. From “In Progress” to “On Hold” or “Resolved”
3. From “On Hold” to “In Progress” or “Resolved”
4. From “Resolved” to “Closed”

Conclusion

Jira Workflow is a structured and systematic process that helps the team to manage their work efficiently. It helps as a backbone for managing the work and making the project work efficient. Workflow phases help in optimizing the team spirit helping in increased collaboration, improved productivity and ensuring that everyone in the team understands how to move this project towards completion.