Do you want to learn about Jira? But, what is Jira? If you’re looking for a software project management tool, then you’re in the right place. As a beginner, it can be daunting to use a management tool.

However, in this guide, we’ll take you through everything you need to know about Jira. We will look at what is Jira, how to use it, and reasons why you should use the tool.

So, let’s get started.

Table of Contents

What Is Jira?

Jira is a project management and issue tracking tool developed by an Australian company, Atlassian. When it was first launched in 2002, it was an issue tracking tool.

The software is available for use by businesses, IT, and developers. It’s for anyone looking to manage their projects online. If you have a team, Jira makes it possible to plan, assign, track, report, and manage your teams.

Therefore, whether you’re a startup, agile software developer, customer support, or enterprise, Jira is your go-to software for project management, bug tracking, and issue tracking.

Jira Software Pricing

Jira has different pricing plans. So, how big is your team? That is, how many users do you have?

With Jira, you can make a monthly or annual payment. The available pricing plans are Free, Standard, Premium, and Enterprise. Each of the pricing plans comes with different features.

For example, the free plan allows up to 10 users, while the rest of the pricing plans allow up to 20,000 users.

It’s worth noting that Jira has two types of hosting. That is cloud hosting and data center. Cloud hosting has different pricing plans, while the data center starts at USD 42,000 annually.

The number of users who can use the plan is from 500 users. It allows you to use it for free for 30 days. Therefore, before you start using the Jira software, you need to compare the two prici n g plans and proceed with the one that best fits your needs.

How To Use Jira

To Get started on Jira, you need to know what is Jira login credentials. Since it’s a software program, you can choose to host it on a data center or cloud.

So, here’s how to go about it. Click on create to start a new project. You can also click on the create project button and give your project a name. From the library, select a template to use for your work.

Set up the number of columns you will need from the board settings. Create an issue and invite your team to work.

Terminologies Used In Jira

As a beginner, it can be tough to use the Jira software. The terminologies about what is Jira can make it hard to use the software.

Here’s a list of terms you’re likely to come across:

Issues

In Jira, you can also refer to an issue as a task or ticket. It represents a work item of any size or type. An example is a task that is to be done by a marketing team.

For an organization, using issues makes it easy to keep track of tasks. You can create a Jira issue from a project.

Workflow

A workflow in Jira software represents the various steps an issue follows from creation to completion. The stages are – open, in progress, under review, final approval, and done.

The purpose of a workflow is to show the work process for your business. A workflow can either be complex or simple.

Projects

A collection of issues in Jira is referred to as a project. You’re free to customize a project to the needs of your team. For example, you can set the visibility restrictions for your team or set the workflow for a task.

The benefit of working with Jira is that you have specific keys for each issue. That is, each Jira issue within a project has a unique key and issue number.

Board

A board displays the issues within a project, making it easy for Jira teams to view, manage and create a report about a task. It represents a workflow within a project.

Jira boards have one or more projects. For example, you can have a workflow for a project on your board. A tip to using a Jira software board is to help you manage your projects and teams.

Jira Project Templates

The benefit of using templates is that they make it easy to work on a project. A Jira project template helps you create a project using inbuilt properties and settings. You can use the templates to create a Jira project faster or design it from scratch.

Jira Products

Jira has different products. If you’re planning to use a project management software, it is paramount for you to understand the various products from Jira.

So, let’s dive deeper into it:

Jira service management

The product makes it easy to deliver quality services to customers. Jira service management works for all teams in your organization from HR, legal, IT operations, and public relations.

It is easier to track work and link issues by having a visible workspace. You can also connect the IT operators and developers to improve the customer experience and service delivery.

Jira service management makes it easy for customers to ask for a service and your team is able to deliver fast and on time.

Jira Software

The purpose of Jira software is to help teams plan, track, release, and create reports. You can create a workflow, connect with a Jira team and integrate with other tools to improve a workflow.

Jira software is available for download on Android and Apple mobile devices. That way, you can keep track of everything in real-time and use it anywhere without any restrictions.

The software has different pricing plans. You can choose from free and premium plans. Jira software is used by project managers, product designers, QA and testing, program managers, etc.

Jira Work management

Another product by Jira is the Jira Work management. It is used by HR, legal, finance, IT, marketing, operations, etc. You can create a list, timeline, calendar, and boards to monitor and manage a team in your organization.

Jira work management products integrate with other tools and extensions to have a smooth workflow.

Jira Align

Jira Align connects your business for technical execution. It is used by product delivery teams, executives, finance, transformation teams, etc.

Creating An Issue In Jira

In Jira, an issue is anything that you can create and track. It helps in tracking work within a project. But, how do you get started in creating one?

Log in to your Jira software and click on Create. Make sure you have selected the project from which you want to create an issue;
Select an issue type that you want to create; (Don’t stress out about issue types. We will have a look at each later.)
In the summary section, give your issue a headline or topic. Next, write a description of the issue. Once you’re done filling the fields, click on the Create button.

If you want to have several issues within the same project, click on the create another button. You can configure the issue fields to include other options like label, sprint, priority, assignee, etc.

To access this option, click on configure fields at the top right corner of the issue page. Click on it, then select custom. Make a selection based on your preference.

Jira Issue Types

By now, you already understand what is Jira issue, and how to create one. But how will you know which issue type to select? Here’s what you need to know:

Sub task: these are different tasks within an issue;
Story: a functionality based on the perspective of a user;
Bug: a problem that prevents proper functioning;
Tasks: activities that need to be done. For example, a marketing task or a project;
Epic: a big piece of work that should be broken down into smaller tasks;
New feature: as the name suggests, it is a new feature that is to be created;
Improvement: enhancement of an existing task.

Reasons Why You Should You Consider Using Jira

By now, you must have made a decision on whether to use Jira or not. So, if you’re still not sure about using it, check out the reasons for using Jira below:

Jira helps you allocate tasks and manage your team online. You can organize tasks and track progress in real-time;
Jira is cost-effective. For a business or organization, you can check a pricing plan that works best for you. If you’re a small team of about 10 people, you can use the free option;
Jira is customizable. You can customize issues and project templates. With the project template, you do not have to create a project from scratch;
If you do not want not to get involved in the technical side of hosting, Jira provides a hosting plan through the Jira cloud software option;
Jira integrates with other softwares and apps. Hence, you can manage and communicate with your team;
With Jira, you can track a project or issue from the software. Jira also makes it possible to track bugs.

Frequently Asked Questions

As a beginner, it can be daunting to use Jira. It can be tough to use the software without prior knowledge. In this section, we answer some of the most frequently asked questions about what is Jira. Let’s get down to it:

What is Jira used for?

Initially, Jira was used for project management, bug tracking, and issue tracking. As more users adopt to use it, it has evolved with time.

Jira users use it for project management, agile teams, software development, product management teams, task management, and bug tracking.

What are the available Jira hosting options?

Jira provides you with two hosting options for the project management software. That is cloud and data center.

With the Jira software cloud, you do not have to manage the hosting yourself. The Jira company does the hosting for you. The benefit of using Jira cloud is that you do not have to worry about maintenance, storage, or servers.

On the other hand, using the data center gives you the flexibility of controlling where you host the Jira software. For example, you can choose to use hosting platforms like AWS and Azure.

The Jira software data center is ideal for enterprise teams. You will have access to data insights, compliance and security, advanced user management, scale, performance and availability, and more.

Does Jira integrate with other tools and softwares?

Jira software allows integration with other tools and software to offer the best services to your customers. It integrates with scheduling tools like Trello. Others are Slack, Google, Github, Microsoft, Bitbucket, and confluence, among others.

What features does the Jira software offer?

Some of the features you should expect to find from the Jira software are:

Kanban boards – it allows you to limit work in progress. Besides, your team can view a workflow from the Kanban board;
Roadmaps- this is a visual representation of the work that a team is working on;
Scrum boards- it allows your team to control their backlog and focus on delivering value. The scrum board is customizable. A backlog is a feature on Jira software that has the issues that a team should work on;
Agile reporting- reports give actionable insights to measure the performance of your work.

Final Verdict

What is Jira? Is it worth using in your business? If you’re new to what is Jira, it is software used for project management, bug tracking, and issue tracking.

It is free to use for a team of upto 10 users. It has premium plans which you can choose to pay annually or monthly. The Jira software is worth using.

If you’re looking for a customizable, flexible, and cost-effective project management tool, consider using Jira. You will have an easy time managing your team and monitoring workflow.

If you are an enterprise, you can choose a preferable hosting option for Jira software. You can explore the various Jira features to get the best out of the software.

What Is Jira And How To Use It [Complete Review]