Project Management is an essential task in any organization. The organization will always have different types of projects in progress. A good example of a project is a software development project. When working on such a project, multiple developers will need to collaborate on it and steer it towards completion. This will involve numerous activities that need to be performed during the development of the project. Some of these activities include communication between the team members, tracking bugs and issues, assigning roles, tracking the amount of work done, tracking the remaining work, etc.
The process of managing all these activities can be cumbersome if done manually. The teams find it much easier if the process is automated by leveraging tools like Jira, a Project Management software developed by Atlassian. Companies can use the Jira software to manage all projects they’re working on. This article will help you understand how you can set up impeccable Jira Dashboards & Reports, allowing you to analyze the performance of your employees.
Table of Contents
Introduction to Jira
Image Source: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira
Jira is a software tool that was developed by an Australian company named Atlassian and is now used by teams to perform various Project Management tasks such as issue tracking, bug tracking, project development, etc. Jira was originally developed to be used only as a bug and issue tracker. However, today Jira is a powerful work management tool for all types of use cases, including Requirements Management, Test Case Management, and Agile Software Development. Jira also houses numerous internal products like Jira Core, Jira Software, and Jira Service Desk.
Jira Core is the primary Project Management tool for the platform, which was developed for non-technical teams. This makes it a good tool for departments such as Marketing, HR, Finance, Operations, etc. Jira Software is the version that was developed for use by Software Development Teams. It includes all the features of Jira Core plus Agile functionality. Jira Service Desk is an add-on that was developed for use by IT teams.
More information about Jira can be found here.
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Setting Up Impeccable Jira Dashboards & Reports
Jira Dashboards usually display data in the form of various gadgets to help users track the progress of issues and tasks collectively on a single page. If the teams are distributed, Jira Dashboards can give the team members important information about expected and unexpected project developments. It can also help in reminding team members about any pending tasks.
After a successful login into Jira, you will first see the Jira Dashboards. The Jira Admin has the permission to customize how the Jira Dashboards look and the elements that can be shown on them. Typical Jira Dashboards house numerous applications and gadgets that give different types of information to help team members track the project’s progress. Users can set up and maintain Jira Dashboards by implementing the following steps:
Step 1: Creating a New Dashboard
The following steps can help you to create new Jira Dashboards:
- Click the Dashboards option from the Menu bar and select Create Dashboard.
Image Source: atlassian.net
- The Create dashboard window now open. This is where you can enter the details of the dashboard. Enter a suitable name for the dashboard in the Name field. If you wish to, enter a description for the dashboard in the Description field.
Image Source: atlassian.net
- Click the drop-down button under Access and choose an option based on your requirements. This will control the access of your Jira Dashboards across your organization.
Image Source: atlassian.net
- Click the Save button.
- A blank Jira Dashboard will now open.
Image Source: atlassian.net
Step 2: Adding Gadgets to Jira Dashboards
Gadgets are the most important tools on the Jira Dashboards. The reason is that they are the ones used to display information. You can add different types of gadgets to your Jira Dashboards by implementing the following steps:
- Open the dashboard on which the gadget is to be added.
- Click the Add gadget button located on the top-right corner of the screen.
Image Source: atlassian.net
- A new window will pop up from which you can select or search for the gadget that you need to add to the dashboard.
Image Source: atlassian.net
- Identify the gadget that you need to add and click the Add gadget button located on the right side of its name.
- Do the same for other gadgets that you need to add to the dashboard. Once done, click the Close button located at the bottom-right corner of the window.
Step 3: Customizing Added Gadgets
Each gadget comes with its own settings and these settings can be changed. This can change the way the gadget displays information. When you click the ellipsis (the three buttons) on the top-right corner of each gadget, you will see the options for editing the gadget.
Image Source: atlassian.net
- From the above image, you can see that it’s possible to change the highlight color for the gadget, rename, delete, configure, etc. Anytime you need to change the settings for the gadget, click the Configure option. Make the necessary changes and click the Save button to save the changes.
Image Source: atlassian.net
Step 4: Changing the Layout of Jira Dashboards
You can change the layout of your Jira Dashboards to the layout of choice by performing the following steps:
- Click the Change Layout button located on the top-right corner of the Jira Dashboards.
Image Source: atlassian.net
- The five types of layouts that you can use for your dashboard will be shown. Choose the layout that you like.
Image Source: atlassian.net
- The dashboard will then change to reflect the type of layout that you have chosen.
Step 5: Sharing Jira Dashboards
After creating your Jira Dashboards, you will definitely want to share them with others. This can be done by implementing the following steps:
- Simply click the ellipsis on the top-right corner of the dashboard and choose the Edit and share option.
Image Source: atlassian.net
- Select the people you wish to share the dashboard with from the drop-down arrow located under Access, whether project members, group, or your organization.
Image Source: atlassian.net
Limitations of Using Jira Dashboards
The following are the limitations of using Jira Dashboards:
- Complex Integration and Migration: Users who need to integrate or migrate from other systems experience a lot of challenges with Jira.
- Limitations on File Upload Size: Jira users experience many problems when uploading files and images with a size of more than 10MB.
- Confusing User Interface: Jira’s User Interface is not very beginner-friendly and hence, some users find it difficult to work with.
Conclusion
This article provided you with an in-depth understanding of how you can create Jira Dashboards, add gadgets to them, and customize them as per your business use case and data requirements.
There are, however, certain limitations associated with creating dashboards on Jira. These limitations include a complex User Interface and Data Integration process, limits on file size, etc. If these limitations are not a concern to your requirements, creating dashboards on Jira would be the best option for you. But if they are, you should consider using existing automated No-code platforms like Hevo.
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