NeillWalker - PeerSpot reviewer
Agile Consultant at MSOLdigi
Consultant
Top 10
Integrates well with other applications and adapts to different kinds of projects
Pros and Cons
  • "We can integrate a lot of tools with the solution."
  • "Adding applications is very expensive."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is used for project management and agile software development. It is also used for general business planning. We can use it for any small or large project. The tool is designed to do sprints and Kanban. It was built for Agile. It works well for any Agile-style project.

What is most valuable?

There are various versions of Jira. Help desk process, using ITIL, planning a new product from scratch, marketing, task management, and team management can be done in Jira. We use automatic print preview settings and visualization of the progress. We can link all of our information in Jira into Confluence to do live meetings with live data. We have a lot of templates in Confluence for any business or team meeting we need.

The reporting and analytics features make it easy to calculate team velocity. We can track time and effort. It's very easy to generate burn-down and burn-up charts for Agile teams. It also has many useful automatic charts for help desk services. I haven’t used it much, though. We can integrate a lot of tools with the solution.

What needs improvement?

A lot of companies use a mix of Waterfall and Agile methodologies. They often need more individual metrics for time and cost tracking. Many larger companies would like to have more resource management within Jira. The model for adding features is by application. If we add an application to Jira, we must pay for the licenses for everybody on our contract when only a few people need to use the application. Adding applications is very expensive. We cannot make it for only the few users that need it. We must buy the application for the entire workforce that's using Jira, so it's not very flexible.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for three or four years.

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Jira
May 2024
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Overall, the product is stable, but it has had some security problems and a major outage in the last couple of years. It's something to be aware of, but I don't worry about it that much.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product’s scalability is pretty amazing. I've seen customers with over 10,000 users, and it works well. I don't have a lot of scaling needs. However, it's super easy to onboard new people. And I've never had to worry about running into performance problems. We just add the people, and it works.

How was the initial setup?

If we are starting a project with a small team from scratch, we can have Jira up and running in about ten minutes. The deployment process is logging on, adding the users, and hitting the start button. It's very easy. The tool is deployed on the cloud. I recommend the cloud. It is usually better and the easiest.

What was our ROI?

The ROI is excellent for the cost of the basic product. It has so many features and integrates with so many things. There are a lot of useful free apps available. We can really improve our project management and task management at a low price compared to buying a bunch of other products. It's very flexible. We can adapt it to different kinds of projects. We can adapt it to the way the teams need to do the work instead of having to learn the rules of the software itself.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I use a monthly subscription. We can opt for an annual subscription if we go through a reseller.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I tried Asana and Trello. I chose Jira because it integrates with many other applications and easily expands with its own apps. The integration within the Jira, Confluence, and Atlassian products is automatic. We don't have to spend time linking information and data. We just need to install it, and it will be ready to go.

What other advice do I have?

I haven't used a lot of direct integration with Jira. I've seen it used with code repositories for continuous integration and continuous deployment. It's really fast. Everything is automated and very easy to set up. I haven't used all of the features. I would definitely recommend Jira. My advice is to use the online resources on the Jira home page. There are a lot of people who will help you set it up for free. We can avoid making a lot of mistakes by using the community advice. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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AnupKumar4 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior QA Automation Engineer at Xoriant
MSP
Top 10
Facilitates bug tracking in our projects, easy to collaborate but communication features could be enhanced
Pros and Cons
  • "Jira is great for story management."
  • "Test case management could be more user-friendly. When we add or update test cases, there should be a better way to organize them within the dashboard."

What is our primary use case?

I use Jira for maintaining our user stories, creating defects, and tracking progress. It's a part of my daily workflow. We have a dashboard where we manage stories within sprints, see backlog items, and keep track of both open and closed defects.

How has it helped my organization?

Jira facilitates bug tracking in our projects. When we find a defect, we log it in Jira and assign it to a developer. Once the developer fixes it, the defect moves into verification or the QA stage. The QA team validates the fix, and if everything is good, they close the defect. If needed, they can re-assign it back to me with comments.

What is most valuable?

I like how easy it is to collaborate. We can add comments and tag specific people, which is useful for both onshore and offshore teams. Here, we can tag the person easily, and Jira updates. The commenting feature keeps everyone updated on what work has been done. Jira has a lot of versatility, which makes it a handy tool.

Within Jira, we can tag stories by the current sprint and associate them with the developer working on them. We also use Jira to track story points and progress based on status. Once a story is ready for QA, the QA team can create sub-tasks directly in Jira and start their work. 

So, Jira is great for story management, but I'd like to see better tracking of employees' daily status for improved visibility for higher-level stakeholders.

What needs improvement?

The communication features could be enhanced. While Jira sends email notifications when comments are added, it would be great to have a more real-time chat function directly within the Jira dashboard. This would streamline communication when we need to clarify defects.

Also, test case management could be more user-friendly. When we add or update test cases, there should be a better way to organize them within the dashboard.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Jira for over seven, maybe eight years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I haven't experienced any stability problems myself, but there's always room for improvement. So, I would rate the stability an eight out of ten. I have not faced any major issues with Jira's stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten.

Everyone uses Jira. If something isn't working, that person likely isn't working either.

How are customer service and support?


Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I've always worked with Jira since the beginning. It is a tool 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Jira is relatively straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?


What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten.

I would recommend using it. It's the only tool where everyone can work within a single system, and we can track each other's records. That's a tool that helps people stay aligned.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Jira
May 2024
Learn what your peers think about Jira. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2024.
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Senior Manager, Connected Home Product Management and Strategy at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
An affordable solution. for communication with easy maintenance
Pros and Cons
  • "Everything is tracked in one place."
  • "There could be an improvement in loading files and images for more than 50 MB. It would be good if it allowed more than 100 MB."

What is our primary use case?

We maintain all space-related information in Jira. We track all stories and add tasks to identify specific services. We pull the relevant functions onto the screen. We follow a two-week sprint cycle, completing sprints accordingly. We proceed to make a release. We conduct testing activities, whether manual or automated. If bugs are identified, we fix them. The customer story remains in the loop until we move to the release cycle. Upon release, developers can automatically deploy the code. After deployment, we proceed with user acceptance testing and move to the front end.

What is most valuable?

Everything is tracked in one place.

What needs improvement?

There could be an improvement in loading files and images for more than 50 MB. It would be good if it allowed more than 100 MB.

Additionally, Jira analytics needs further development to analyze code, but we should keep the queries. This will allow us to delve into the details of completed tasks, work in progress, and pending items. However, more information regarding graphical representation is still required. Considering the number of test cases, it's crucial to have comprehensive data on completion status, logs, and retesting. Jira excels in providing such detailed information.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Jira for 6 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is stable.

I rate the solution’s stability a nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution’s scalability is good.

55 users are using this solution every day.

I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

We receive technical support. Some challenges may arise, particularly in labels, but we receive assistance.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have used ALM before. It has high pricing, considering the maintenance and shipping costs. Although the features are new, if we compare them to Jira, ALM still lags.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy and takes a few hours to complete.

I rate the initial setup a nine out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

What about the implementation team?

A third-party vendor handles deployment. They will automatically execute the small instructions. Based on that, they will create a charge code, seek approval from management, and then proceed to deploy the particular feature. While auto-deployment is happening, we'll validate it once it's done. If everything is good, we'll release it. If there are any challenges, we'll roll it back.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The product is cheap.

I rate the product’s pricing one out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

Jira is easy to use and maintain; everything is in one place. Minimal maintenance is also required. 

We have our developers to maintain Jira. They will develop whatever we require for labels and provide them to us.

If you want to inform me about the adaptations for scaling Jira, it will be convenient to use Jira, but most of the reports will be easy to generate. We integrate with Git, making the process a bit easier.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Mitch Tolson - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of Robotics at Fresh Consulting
Real User
Great for managing backlogs, moving around tasks, and bringing structure to projects
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution provides users with clarity in terms of the scope of work in a given timeframe."
  • "There's a really steep learning curve for configuration."

What is our primary use case?

We basically use the solution for trying to develop a product end-to-end. It's assisting us in having hardware and software come together.

How has it helped my organization?

The solution provides users with clarity in terms of the scope of work in a given timeframe.

What is most valuable?

Managing the backlog and being able to move work around and drag it around in order to replan it to certain sprints is the solution's most valuable aspect.

What needs improvement?

There are many areas where improvements can be focused.

There's a really steep learning curve for configuration. I'd like them to simplify all of their configurability yet not remove the configuration options.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We haven't had any noticeable stability issues. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. it's reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

There are some issues with scaling. It's difficult to consistently configure multiple teams within a single product.

We have about 150 and they're robotics engineers, software engineers, firmware engineers, PMs, and product people. Anyone that would be on a product development team uses it.

We will maintain usage and intend to continue using it for this deployment. I cannot speak to if there are plans for expansion.

How are customer service and support?

We've never reached out to technical support. I can't speak to how helpful they are. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I'm also familiar with Azure DevOps, which is easier to set up. However, this company has always used Jira.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup has a moderate amount of difficulty. It's more complex than, for example, Azure DevOps. I'd rate the process at a three out of five.

The deployment took about three months. 

I'm not sure how many staff are needed for deployment or maintenance tasks. 

What about the implementation team?

We handled the implementation process in-house with our own team. We didn't have any consultants or integrators to assist us in the process. 

What was our ROI?

It's hard to put a number to the ROI we're seeing. It's more qualitative around the structure it provides than any kind of cost savings. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The cost is about $10 per user, per month. 

There is a perception with Jira that they try to nickel and dime you quite a bit.

For example, they'll often say "Oh, you want this little feature? We'll charge you $3 per month per user." Whoever's signed up to your account they will charge you, even though you might only need five people to sue it from a 150 person team. That's excessive.

Compare that to Azure DevOps where withAzure DevOps, you just pay $20, and then you deploy that extension to your instance or tenant. With Jira, they charge you a dollar or $2 per active account in your tendency even if not everyone in my tenancy needs to have that extra feature set.

What other advice do I have?

Since we use the cloud, we are using whichever version is currently deployed there. It's updated automatically.

I would recommend Azure DevOps over Jira.

I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
StuartBarker - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director at Corecom Quality Engineering
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
A flexible and customizable solution that supports remote collaboration
Pros and Cons
  • "In our organization, we use Jira for project management and usually use the Scrum project type. We might adjust the workflows and stages to better suit our needs, but we mostly use the default functionalities it offers to manage our projects."
  • "Jira could be easier to use, especially for administrative tasks. It's quite complex, so it's important to understand it well. While the reporting and dashboards are good, there's room for improvement in some areas where extra features would be helpful."

What is most valuable?

In our organization, we use Jira for project management and usually use the Scrum project type. We might adjust the workflows and stages to better suit our needs, but we mostly use the default functionalities it offers to manage our projects.

It's flexible and customizable, and we frequently use it with customized workflows and dashboards to track defects. Jira works well with tools like TestRail and Clarity, which help with test management. It has various APIs.

Jira's reporting and analytics features support project management by providing useful out-of-the-box reports. These include burn-down charts for Agile project management and various other reports. These default reports typically cover around 60 percent of users' needs. Users can customize their reports and dashboards for the remaining needs, which usually fulfill about 80-85 percent of requirements. Add-ons can be used for the remaining small gap.

The tool mainly supports remote or distributed team collaboration through its cloud version, accessible from anywhere. Within Jira, you can communicate effectively with team members by assigning issues, leaving comments, and referencing people for notifications. While direct communication features within the tool are decent but not outstanding, integration with tools like Slack or Teams can enhance collaboration further.

What needs improvement?

Jira could be easier to use, especially for administrative tasks. It's quite complex, so it's important to understand it well. While the reporting and dashboards are good, there's room for improvement in some areas where extra features would be helpful.

Sometimes, we need add-ons in the product, especially for reporting. While you can get these through add-ons, they can be pricey. The licensing system for add-ons might also seem unfair because you often have to pay for all users, even if only a few use the add-on. So, maybe the licensing model could be adjusted.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with the product for ten years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the tool's stability a nine out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We've never had any issues, even with up to 2000 users. However, scalability can be limited by the license type. I'd rate Jira's scalability as a ten out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

The tool's support is helpful. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

For deployment, setting up the tool takes minutes. Implementing additional configurations like SSO or integrations might take half a day to a day. The time spent configuring and customizing screens and workflows depends on your specific needs. I usually take about three or four days to complete everything.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The licensing cost for Jira is typically around seven dollars per user, though it may vary depending on regional variations. This cost is for a subscription-based model rather than a one-time purchase. I rate its pricing a seven out of ten. 

What other advice do I have?

I work across multiple projects, so people might approach me for support when needed. I would recommend Jira to other organizations. For inexperienced users, I would advise seeking help from experts if there's something you can't do in the tool. They can customize it to fit your needs. Overall, I'd rate the product an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Osama Shatarah - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Owner at Algoriza
Real User
Excellent for writing user stories and adjusting metrics but expensive
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of Jira for sprint planning is the timeline feature, which allows for better visualization and planning of releases."
  • "Jira lacks easy capacity calculation compared to TFS, making it harder to know how much work to allocate to each specialist."

What is our primary use case?

I have managed various projects using Jira, including tasks for the government, the environmental sector, education, and donation applications. I have also worked on multiple websites for marketing and search engine optimization.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of Jira for sprint planning is the timeline feature, which allows for better visualization and planning of releases. However, there are limitations compared to other tools like TFS, which offer more flexibility with features like user stories, epics, and initiatives without extra fees. Despite this, Jira's ease of adding user stories to sprints and connecting them to releases is very good.

What needs improvement?

Jira lacks easy capacity calculation compared to TFS, making it harder to know how much work to allocate to each specialist. In TFS, it is simpler to manage capacity and reassign tasks when necessary. Additionally, a feature in TFS automatically creates relevant tasks based on a code snippet linked to a user story, saving time and effort in task creation. This feature isn't available in Jira, which makes task management less streamlined.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Jira for almost two years.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?


What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Jira is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend Jira for its usability, especially for writing user stories and adjusting metrics, though it is expensive.

Jira has improved our team's productivity mainly through integrations, particularly with Slack. This integration helps keep track of changes made to user stories, providing alerts for any updates. 

I would recommend Jira for managing projects in agile environments, but certain features are necessary for better functionality, like improved capacity calculation and streamlined task creation. Additionally, Jira can be expensive, so essential tools like test planning should ideally be included in the standard subscription rather than requiring costly third-party plugins.

Overall, I would rate Jira as a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Yogesh Kapse - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Sales Manager at ESDS Software Solution Pvt Ltd.
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Easy to implement, easy to use, and suitable for smaller projects
Pros and Cons
  • "The burndown charts help track projects."
  • "Scripts should be more readily available for implementing projects."

What is our primary use case?

We are using the solution for project management.

How has it helped my organization?

The solution helps to track issues related to project management. It helps with different activities like assigning tasks and reacting to issues.

What is most valuable?

Linking the issues to members in the team and outside the team has been valuable. Jira's reporting and analytics features are very important for analyzing the entire sprint activity at the end or middle of the sprint. The tool helps track the capacity, velocity, assignments, and different team members’ activities. We can track the entire sprint speed. The burndown charts help track projects. Over time, the tool has completely adapted to our project's scanning needs. We use it however we want and change the settings as we want. So it's quite adaptive.

What needs improvement?

The product must provide more automation. Scripts should be more readily available for implementing projects. It should provide quick launch features to build projects.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the tool’s stability an eight to nine out of ten. It's quite stable. We haven't faced any issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The tool is quite scalable. It was quite useful for our projects. I rate the scalability eight out of ten. We have 30 to 40 users. We use the product daily.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have used Azure for some projects. We switched to Jira because it is easy to implement and use. It is good for smaller projects. It is easier to start using Jira than other products.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was quite easy. I rate the ease of setup an eight out of ten. The product is deployed on the cloud.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is quite competitive. I rate the pricing a seven to eight out of ten.

What other advice do I have?

I will recommend the product to others. It is easy to use and implement. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Senior Manager at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
Useful for requirements management and test management
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution's most valuable features revolve around the dashboard view, which has a burndown chart indicating progress."
  • "Some of the customizations are definitely a little challenging."

What is our primary use case?

My company uses the product for the user storage it provides. The tool is also useful for requirements management and test management processes. The product is also useful to track the hours people in the company have spent on testing and test logging.

What is most valuable?

The solution's most valuable features revolve around the dashboard view, which has a burndown chart indicating progress. I also like the tool's ability to provide details phase-wise, allowing users to see how many tickets are in development and how many are in the testing process. It also helps users see how many tickets are ready to move to the production phase. The aforementioned areas of the tool are pretty frequently used.

What needs improvement?

Some of the customizations are definitely a little challenging. I depend on Zephyr to manage certain reporting aspects and deal with the challenges of customization. More than a thousand records are something that our company cannot retrieve, but with the administrator's permission, the limit can be increased. Some of the functionalities to increase the limit of retrieval, in case there are more than a thousand records, could have been included as a default feature since it would be helpful if I wanted to do some analysis or if I wanted to extract all the details when my limit is only a thousand records and then I have to search for another way to find and extract the details. If the aforementioned details of the issues in the product are addressed, then it would be great.

If there is a provision to increase the number of records retrieved, it would be really helpful. In the tool, only a predefined reporting is there, and it helps with some of the more customized reporting, like Power BI Report Builder, so the area of reporting can be enhanced and it can be really helpful.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Jira for two years. I am a user of the tool.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten. The product is always up and running in my company, and we have not experienced too much downtime in Jira, making it a very efficient tool.

More than 50 people use the product in my company.

How are customer service and support?

I haven't had the opportunity to interact much with the product's technical support, but based on the inputs from the other members of my team, I can say that my company was able to get support from Jira whenever required. I rate the technical support a nine out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The product's initial setup phase was not very complex, as it is manageable.

The solution is deployed on the cloud.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Compared with Jira, I feel Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) is coming up pretty fast in the market since the features attached to the paid version work well. Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) can easily integrate with other Microsoft products without needing any customization. Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) is growing pretty fast in the market.

What other advice do I have?

My company uses the product for planning tasks.

The product has played a major role in helping my company in the area of bug tracking. During the testing phases, be it SIT or UAT testing, if there were any issues, our company used to log the bug using Jira, and then we connect with the respective users, so we have a track of which particular bug and check to see if the bug is related to which user storage.

Jira helped our company's project management, analytics, and reporting parts. If you look at the analytical part, my company used to get the hours we have availed each of the user storage. When it comes to the user storage part, my company would like to see whether the hours we consumed were optimal or if it was over-consumed, which is information that we track with Jira. The tool is useful for tracking progress and seeing where my company stands when it comes to tickets. Each ticket might have a certain due date, which the company gets to see using Jira. Altogether, the tool helps users eventually understand the team's progress, the current sprint details, and how much of the team's capacity has been used. With Jira, my company gets to see the aforementioned details, so we were able to track it with the product's dashboard.

I am not used to using the product's integration capabilities with other solutions.

The product's user interface is good.

I recommend the product to others who plan to use it.

I rate the tool a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Jira Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: May 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Jira Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.