JIRA outside of bug tracking
August 13, 2014

JIRA outside of bug tracking

Andrew Meyer | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

v6.2.7#6265

Modules Used

  • Tempo
  • Zephyr

Overall Satisfaction with Atlassian JIRA

We use JIRA for Project Management, Operations Management, Issue Tracking, and as a Support Desk. Currently only our Systems Operations and our Helpdesk use JIRA, but we will be going company-wide shortly.

Pros

  • Linking issues to Stash repositories. This is critical for any technology development project. It also allows us to see how much work is being performed on each issue.
  • Highly Flexible. The nature of JIRA is one of flexibility. I have the same program servicing our Technology Development teams, help desk, Systems Administration team, and our project managers. We have several distinct project types and I have been able to make issue-type schemes for each of them to better organize the work needed to be done.
  • Cross-platform integration. While I am not a huge fan of Java applications, it does mean that it can be readily deployed on multiple systems and architectures. Since JIRA is almost exclusively website oriented, there is also no need for deploying client side applications onto workstations. This will ease the burden on Admins operating mixed-system networks.

Cons

  • Two layers of depth. Currently there are only issues, and sub issues. This causes problems when importing project schedules. We have found a creative solution, but the functionality of having multiple layers of issues is missed.
  • Programmed in Java. One of JIRA's strengths is also its greatest weakness in my mind. The fact that it is written in Java means it is tricky to deploy in cloud based solutions. Java requires multiple threads and a large chunk of memory, making it expensive to deploy in the cloud. Personally I would love to see a compiled version of Atlassian projects that have been optimized for different architectures. This will greatly improve performance and decrease the impact on CPU and memory resources.
  • More effective scheduled backup system. Atlassian recommends creating your own backup solution for Jira and other projects. While this does encourage people to tailor their solution to their needs, it does burn smaller companies and Admins that are less familiar with the system.
  • Significantly increased productivity. Moving onto a ticket-based workflow has significantly increased personnel productivity
  • Better time tracking. The Tempo module is very good at keeping track of time and using this information in several ways.
JIRA is quickly becoming an integral part of our workflow. It will take some time to train non IT personnel how to work in a ticket-based system, but it will be worth it in the long run. As our company expands, so does our need for structure and organization. On top of this, the Atlassian team is incredibly helpful and very friendly in person. I have been able to get questions answered face to face and they even followed up to make sure the solution they recommended worked.
Like I said, it can be tricky to make JIRA think like a project management tool out of the box, but it can be done. I highly recommend it for technology projects though.

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