We mainly use Jira software, including Jira Issue Manager, for bug tracking and project management, and have done so for over a decade. Then in the last six years we have also used Jira Agile in a lot of our project management work. We use the enterprise version of Jira.
Manager at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Simple, extensible, and requires minimal training to get started
Pros and Cons
- "There are a couple of things that I find valuable about Jira, the first being its architecture. For instance, I like that you can create dashboards easily, which makes it very user-friendly. You don't need much training on that. You can just get right to it and people are able to use almost all of Jira's features with little training."
- "In terms of improvement, I think Jira (Jira Agile, specifically) can be made more user-friendly. Most of the time, when people are somewhat used to the process, they find it easy to work with. But the thing is, if I want to create a sprint, I'd like the ability for it to come out like a kind of board or something like that. For example, they could offer something like a wizard for users who want to quickly create a sprint on the spot with a few clicks. I think that could be useful."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
There are a couple of things that I find valuable about Jira, the first being its architecture. For instance, I like that you can create dashboards easily, which makes it very user-friendly. You don't need much training on that. You can just get right to it and people are able to use almost all of Jira's features with little training.
The simplicity of Jira is the part that I like the most, as well as the way in which it can be extended. For example, I like that you can send data to and from Jira easily, and it integrates well with lots of third-party plugins.
What needs improvement?
In terms of improvement, I think Jira (Jira Agile, specifically) can be made more user-friendly. Most of the time, when people are somewhat used to the process, they find it easy to work with. But the thing is, if I want to create a sprint, I'd like the ability for it to come out like a kind of board or something like that. For example, they could offer something like a wizard for users who want to quickly create a sprint on the spot with a few clicks. I think that could be useful.
When I first started using Jira and we were in the middle of coming up with a solution, I found that there could be better separation of tasks when it comes to user stories and epics. For example, right now we can take users and sub-task them, but the developer is not able to easily ask for or request a task as a separate thing to work on.
Other than that, I would definitely appreciate more kinds of features in general. But we have already requested these from Jira ourselves with their voting system. These requests are in their backlog now and we hope to see them in future soon.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Jira for more than ten years.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I feel it is quite stable, not least because it has been around for a long time. For the last few years, we have never see any issues from our location or any other location that our people use it from.
How are customer service and support?
We have never had to use Jira's support as far as I know.
How was the initial setup?
I wasn't fully involved in the initial enterprise setup of Jira, but I remember first trying out some of the plugins on my laptop and I found it all rather easy. And for the people in charge of the main setup, they were able to install it and set it up quite fast.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are using the enterprise license which is nice because it ensures that we always have the latest versions of Jira software.
What other advice do I have?
I would definitely recommend Jira for project management and similar uses, as well as other products from Atlassian like Bamboo.
Jira isn't what you would call a "coded solution" for scrum or anything like that, but it's able to do a lot of different things for people who are looking for that kind of thing. If you are looking for a custom-made solution specifically for agile or scrum, then you can go try other products like Valley or others. But if you want a good general-purpose project management system with solid integration solutions like Bamboo, then I think Jira is the product for you.
I would rate Jira an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Corporate Performance Lead at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Flexible and scalable with good add-ons available
Pros and Cons
- "The workflows are very easy to handle as far as scalability goes."
- "The user interface is very detailed right now. It could be simplified if they consider targeting the user experience."
What is our primary use case?
We use Jira product in the organization to automate the software development life cycle.
What is most valuable?
It's a very flexible product.
We can change the workflows as much as we need and we've done that already.
The workflows are very easy to handle as far as scalability goes.
If there is a feature or a workflow feature, that is required and it's not available out of the box from Jira, from Atlassian, we have the marketplace buy from. There are a number of add-ons that we use. We have maybe 20 to 25 that fill in any gaps in the system itself.
What needs improvement?
The user interface is very detailed right now. It could be simplified if they consider targeting the user experience. Right now, on the screen pre-design, the amount of information on the screen is very high. The distribution is good, however, the presentation itself looks very technical. They should work to streamline the UI to make it better for users to digest the information.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been dealing with the solution for two years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable. We haven't had issues with bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze on us. It's quite good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable in terms of the number of users and the number of features. The features we are using are mostly out of the box, however, we have added product management features and code delivered with the integration features. We also have added test management tools or add-ons to it including reporting and dashboarding as well. You can really grow it out and add as many plug-in apps and features as you want.
Currently, we have 500 users that interact with Jira within our organization.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have good internal technical support for Jira in the organization and we use the Atlassian technical support only when needed. Thus far, we are quite satisfied with the level of support we receive.
How was the initial setup?
I cannot give too much information about the installation, as we're similar to a consultant, and I don't want to get into too many details. As the installation engine, we took two days straight to deploy it and that is with the implementation.
For deployment, you don't need a huge team. We did it with two technical personnel. They are consultant level system administrators.
What other advice do I have?
We're just a customer. We don't have a business relationship with Jira.
We're using the latest version minus one, due to the fact that it was installed year. That upgrade was last year and it is my understanding that there is another version coming up.
I'd recommend this solution to other companies.
The product is very scalable and it's very flexible to match any organization, however, the trick to using Jira effectively is that there should be a business process documented in place before using it straight. The mistake that many people do is they consider the tool as the base and they configure their processes according to this. If they work the other way around and have a great process between all cycles, and then implement that process on Jira, it's very beneficial.
Overall, I would rate the solution eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Jira
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Jira. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
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Software Developer at DataStax
It is a platform that gives the user the option to customize its interface
What is our primary use case?
This software is implemented in the different departments of the company since it allows us to plan, organize and verify or monitor the different projects we develop day by day, thus improving communication and workflow.
How has it helped my organization?
The implementation of JIRA in the different business departments has allowed us to increase labor productivity since the teams work much more efficiently thanks to the tools provided by this powerful platform, which has made the communication much more specific and better. And when planning any task, the whole team is aware of every detail.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features or functions that I have found in this software are several but mainly that it is a platform that gives the user the option to customize its interface to the point that it can be fully adapted to the team that implements it. This generates a great advantage since it is much easier for users to adapt to it and be able to work in a much more comfortable and highly effective way, in addition to providing tools that can be followed up on tasks or projects and give priority to them. It is really useful because in this way the team can focus on those who need a much closer delivery date.
What needs improvement?
This product or software still requires improvements, especially in its interface since its learning curve is somewhat high because it offers so many features that the user tends to get confused, or the software adaptation time is much longer than it should be. Besides, its configuration is not very simple, and its support team sometimes does not respond immediately, so it is often necessary to solve problems on their own.
For how long have I used the solution?
Less than one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Although it still requires many improvements, it is a software that is kept updated to ensure that its users can be much more pleased when using it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Its scalability is somewhat limited since it is based on the number of users, and when wanting to obtain a greater number of users, the prices are somewhat high.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their customer service sometimes tends to fail because problems are not attended to immediately, but it is something that is not consecutive. But nevertheless, I believe that in an emergency this could bring problems.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have not used another solution previously.
How was the initial setup?
The initial configuration was complex because it is not simple, and that's because the software does not provide enough information to understand it.
What about the implementation team?
It was initially implemented by the suppliers since it is somewhat complex and the team was not yet ready to perform it, but they had a really positive performance.
What was our ROI?
The investment has been fair since we have obtained advantages from its implementation, mainly because productivity has increased.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It should be very clear about the plan that you want to implement and what number of users will use it. In this way, you will pay for what you really need and will cover your needs since this software is based on the number of users implementing the same plan.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did not evaluate other solutions.
What other advice do I have?
This software is ideal for tracking problems, managing, planning and carrying out real-time monitoring of the tasks or projects you want to develop in a much simpler way and in the shortest possible time. So I think that if you are looking for a solution that is based on more than the management, this is the indicated choice.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Sr. Test Analyst at a insurance company with 51-200 employees
JIRA can be used as a Test Management tool but there are a few areas which need to be improved as compared with HP ALM.
What is most valuable?
As a Test Analyst my first requirement is to have a tool where I can create a repository for all my test activities like test cases, test execution, defects and reports. Zephyr is an add-on which provides facility to use JIRA as a test management tool. We can write test cases, add versions, create test cycles and execute cases. To make life easy JIRA comes with a dashboard where I can add different gadgets to generate reports on different criteria.
How has it helped my organization?
My organization uses Wiki and JIRA both for requirement gathering, but very few know the capability of JIRA as a test management solution. People in the past used to write and execute test cases in WIKI and also log the defects from there. This not only made it difficult to manage the test cases and defect, but also there are no reports which can be extracted out of it. It becomes very difficult to fetch efficiency in each test cycles. Also, we were not able to track test coverage because we couldn't link requirement with test cases in Wiki. But after JIRA provided us a feature to use it as test management we are managing all these very effectively.
What needs improvement?
Though JIRA can be used as a Test Management tool, it is not complete by itself. There are still a few niggles in it as compared to other products like HP ALM. We can export the reports in xls or pdf. Also whenever we fail any test steps, the test does not fail by itself, we need to manually select fail from status drop down. JIRA does not provide any lock feature for a test case if any person is working on that case. In fact, both people can assess the same case at the same time.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using JIRA for the past 2 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I found JIRA to be a stable product and didn't have any issues with the response time as compared with HP ALM. Only a couple of times during last 2 years it was down for few hours.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I worked on HP QC 9 & 10 before JIRA. There were no issues with these tools to switch to JIRA, but the tool used fora project always depends on management, user benefits and cost involved in it.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Sr. Project Analyst at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Jira has gone from being a simple bug tracker to a full development planning suite; so SO many areas could be improved.
What is most valuable?
For the most part the system is simple to use and simple to administer.
How has it helped my organization?
When I began I was part of a very small development team that did not have any formal bug tracking in place. Jira has gone from being a simple bug tracker to a full development planning suite, in addition to tracking our support and production tasks.
What needs improvement?
There are so, SO many areas that I couldn’t even begin to count. A cursory glance at fixes and improvements requested by users would speak volumes. The most basic of requests have been allowed to languish for years, many over a decade. (really) The most basic improvement would be to offer WYSIWYG text editing. There are open source packages that could easily be integrated, but Atlassian wants people to buy Confluence. Bulk editing multi-value fields should not be limited to overwriting what is already there. There should be an append mode offered.
For how long have I used the solution?
We’ve had Jira in place for 6 ½ years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
I have not had any issues.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
None to date.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
None to date, though we did need to move to a new server to meet our growing needs.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
Atlassian’s customer service used to be wonderful. There was phone support that was always accessible. Support is absolutely terrible now. All support is performed via email and the response time is long. Often multiple messages need to be exchanged before a point is made and understood.
Technical Support:Not the worst but definitely no longer the best.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
No solution was in place prior to Jira.
How was the initial setup?
Our initial setup was fairly straightforward, though all we run on the server is the bare minimum needed to get Jira up and running.
What about the implementation team?
IT put the server together for me and I took care of the rest.
What was our ROI?
In the beginning it was fantastic. The annual license renewal was definitely worth it for phone support and significant improvements in Jira. Nowadays the “improvements” are lackluster at best, and phone support is gone. The annual renewal would be worth it to stay current with the latest releases, but Atlassian’s plugin support is lacking; lack of plugin support has stopped us from upgrading, and continues to.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don’t recall the original start up cost. The initial license fee was considerably lower than it is today, and had no limits on the number of users. Today, apart from the general costs of maintaining the server, we have the annual license renewal fee.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I looked at Trac, Bugzilla, Test Track.
What other advice do I have?
Before making a decision have a look at the requested features and bug fixes – see what has not been addressed and what the plans are to address the features of greatest interest to you.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Executive, IT Developer at a insurance company with 51-200 employees
Our development team and it's functional staff have gained a better overview of the issues that are being worked on
What is most valuable?
<ul>
<li>Ability to search old issues.</li>
<li>Ability to create your own tags and fields, ie customization.</li>
<li>Easy of use. I have trained several non-it people in its usage and they all say it's really easy software to use.</li>
</ul>
How has it helped my organization?
Our development team and it's functional staff have gained a better overview of the issues that are being worked on and what issued are getting delivered in a patch.
What needs improvement?
Perhaps a built in "Jira-Capture"
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used it at 3-4 different companies over the last 8 years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
None
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
None
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Current company, only a small userbase of about 25 users. Previous company perhaps 150-200 users - no issues whatsoever. (We're in Norway, not many people here.)
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previous solutions ... did not work - to put it mildly.
How was the initial setup?
Straightforward setup.
What about the implementation team?
In House
What was our ROI?
Previous product cost us about 100.000 NOK/yearly (USD 15,000/year). JIRA costs us perhaps around 25.000NOK (USD 3,800) on time setup cost with all the plugins we've purchased.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Time spent setting things up. Perhaps one or two hours a week on average for one developer.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
No, did not evaluate other options, as JIRA fulfilled our need.
What other advice do I have?
Go for it!
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Sr. Devops Architect Manager at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Stable and scalable but needs to integrate with other DevOps tools
Pros and Cons
- "We have around 2000 plus users, so scale wise, there are no issues. We can easily scale up with multiple users."
- "Jira is a project management tracking tool, and it would be great to see integration with the source front or Azure DevOps, etc."
What needs improvement?
Jira is a project management tracking tool, and it would be great to see integration with the source front or Azure DevOps, etc. The history of tasks, such as check-in and checkout, is not maintained under the particular Jira ticket. For example, in Azure DevOps management for a work item you can find out any chain set and dependency.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Jira for more than two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have around 2000 plus users, so scale wise, there are no issues. We can easily scale up with multiple users.
What other advice do I have?
I'm coming from an Azure DevOps background, and we use the integration board. It is very easy because the source code is there under one umbrella; however, Jira is not under the Azure DevOps umbrella. If your company is using Azure DevOps or Git as a repository, I recommend using the Azure DevOps board rather than Jira.
I would rate Jira at seven on a scale from one to ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT Service Manager at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
A useful and easy-to-use solution for handling tickets and tasks and managing processes
Pros and Cons
- "I'm working in the IT department, and the ticketing system is the most important service for us. We are also using some automation add-ons. It a very good product for handling tickets and tasks and managing processes. It is also very useful and easy to use."
- "It would be very practical if you can more freely reach the information that is already inside the system. Currently, we have to buy add-ons for it. There is a lot of information in the Jira system that you can handle only through add-ons. You cannot reach such information on your own. If you want to use this information, which is already in the system, you have to buy some add-on to use. For example, information about how much time an assignee is spending on a ticket is there in the system, but you cannot access it without an add-on. JQL is a very good way to reach the data inside Jira. If we can reach more objects, even through JQL, it would be great."
What is our primary use case?
We are basically using it to support the UAT tasks. We are also using it for IT support task handling and working together as a team in our company.
At my workplace, we are using its most updated version.
What is most valuable?
I'm working in the IT department, and the ticketing system is the most important service for us. We are also using some automation add-ons. It a very good product for handling tickets and tasks and managing processes. It is also very useful and easy to use.
What needs improvement?
It would be very practical if you can more freely reach the information that is already inside the system. Currently, we have to buy add-ons for it. There is a lot of information in the Jira system that you can handle only through add-ons. You cannot reach such information on your own. If you want to use this information, which is already in the system, you have to buy some add-on to use. For example, information about how much time an assignee is spending on a ticket is there in the system, but you cannot access it without an add-on. JQL is a very good way to reach the data inside Jira. If we can reach more objects, even through JQL, it would be great.
There are a few small functions that we are missing in it. For example, you cannot rate a ticket. If you would like to use a rating for a ticket, you cannot give stars or something like that.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We rarely come across any issues. Sometimes, it slows down a little bit, and then usually, we just have to rebuild the index. That's all. It needs lots of resources and CPU memory. If the resources are okay, we don't feel any problem with it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is probably easier to scale on the cloud. The on-premise is not so scalable, but if you can define the resources, it works well.
In terms of the number of users, we have around 750 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
We do not directly contact Atlassian. We have a support company that helps us with any situation.
How was the initial setup?
It is simple to initiate or install the product. It is easy and simple, but if you make some designs inside and build some projects with some automatization, it can be more complex.
We first tried to build the system inside the Docker environment, but it was not a success. So, we switched to the normal installation mode. Installing the product and making it work took just a few days. It included building servers and a database.
What about the implementation team?
We do it on our own, but we have some strong support. We have outside support in case of any problem with it.
In terms of maintenance, you have to do the updates. You have to upgrade the system and handle the add-ons versions. If you build the inside environment in the Jira, you always have to fast forward to the project.
We have two teams to handle the maintenance. For standard maintenance, where you are upgrading the versions, we have an IT professional team for it. For the inside environment of the Jira projects and automation functions, we have a service management team.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
If you are using just Jira, it is cheap, but if you start to use it and you feel you need some more services or more functions, then you have to buy add-ons, which can make it expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution. I would rate Jira an eight out of 10. It is definitely not perfect, but it is almost perfect.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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@Sachin Well this can be true for JIRA, but ZEPHYR for JIRA is an Addon helps us to use JIRA as test management tool. We can create, plan, execute test from JIRA and also there are various other features. And also I never mentioned that JIRA is a test management tool but can be used as one.