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1. Jira Introduction

Jira is a software application used for issue tracking and project management. JIRA is based on the following three concepts – Project, Issue and Workflow.

Roles

User

  • Unlicensed internal or external requester who can send requests through the Customer Portal and view articles in the linked Knowlegde base (Confluence).

Agent

  • Licensed (Service Desk) users
  • Work on customer requests
  • Can view the Portal, queues, reports, SLA and other metrics in a Service Projects

Jira administrator 

  • Global administrator that Installs, configures, and manages the organization's instance of Jira

Project administrator

  • Administrator for a particular Jira-project ( Configures customer portal, workflows etc.) 

JIRA contains four packages

  1. Jira Core
  2. Jira Software
  3. Jira Service Desk
  4. Jira Ops

Inside JIRA scheme, everything can be configured, and it consists of:-

  1. Field Configuration
  2. Permissions
  3. Notification
  4. Screens
  5. Workflows
  6. Custom Fields
  7. Issue Types


2. Jira basics

Never worked with Jira before? No problem. In this chapter we cover some of the basics, so you know how to get started.

2.1 Projects

Data inside Jira is organized in 'projects'. A project is a collection of items (issues). that relate to the same topic.
A Jira project is a single place to manage work. Every project has a workflow (issues follow this workflow from creation to completion).

Teams use Jira projects to 

  • Manage software delivery (Jira Software)
  • Manage Helpdesk  (Jira Service management)
  • Manage HR operation HR (Jira core) (HR-employee onboarding, Finance managing procurement processes)

Jira Service Management (service (desk) projects) 

Jira helps teams plan, assign, track, report, and manage work.
It brings teams together for everything from agile software development, customer support, start-ups, and enterprises. 

Jira Service Management, also called Jira Service Desk includes:

  • Customizable customer portal
  • Prioritized and customizable queues
  • SLA (Service Level Agreement)
  • Automation for repetitive tasks
  • Connection to knowledge base (Confluence)


Jira Software (software projects) 

Information Systems

YME uses Jira mostly for IT work. As such, you can see that most projects relate to specific applications, for example for B2B or B2C.

Three projects are different, and relate to the future YME way of working:

  • Yamaha Applications Support Desk (SD) captures all requests from end-users, who experience difficulties with their day-to-day use of IT applications. These items are validated, then if valid resolved as soon as possible.
  • Yamaha IS Projects (YIS) captures all work of scrum teams in the Agile Transformation. These processes are being streamlined to support scrum processes, and make Jira a tool for collaboration more than administration.
  • Yamaha Portfolio Board (YPM) collects all ideas for IT initiatives, and validates the business case and expected rewards for implementing such initiatives before assigning work to development teams. It's very much about preparing work.
  • Other projects capture work for teams that have not yet joined the Agile Transformation.


2.2 Team board

The data within projects can be filtered and visualised per team, in specific team boards. You can see a team board as the coloured glasses through which we look at project data - we can customise a board to show the exact data you want to see.

There are two flavours available: Scrum boards and Kanban boards.

2.2.1 Scrum board

In the Agile Scrum framework, focus lies on short iterations of work: planning what can be done within (at YME) 2 weeks of time. 

  • As such, we see an active sprint with items in it (centre screen).
  • These items are organised into larger topics called Epics (left screen list, but also the coloured labels on centre screen items).
  • When one item is clicked, the details are shown (right screen sidebar).

Good to know: YIS project uses a template Scrum board, which has the same configuration across teams.

2.2.2 Kanban board

In the Agile Kanban framework, focus lies on limiting multi-tasking: by choosing fewer items to start, it's possible to complete each more quickly.

  • Here we see no epic list on the left.
  • In the centre we see all items progress through a workflow, with columns turning red if there are too many items in it.
  • When clicking one of the item cards, the details are shown on the right hand side.

Good to know: YIS project uses a template Kanban board, which has the same configuration across teams.

2.3 Issues

At the top of both Scrum and Kanban screens we see a big red "Create" button, which allows us to add new items. When doing so, the correct project and issue-type needs to be chosen.

There are different issue-types in Jira. Each issue-type has an icon that allows us to quickly recognise it.


These are the most often used ones, though available issue-types will differ per project.

The easiest way to look at issues is on a team board, but it's also possible to Search or use Dashboards. 


2.4 Search

Sometimes you may want to look for data that is not shown on a team board. For example, tickets that are done no longer show up for the team, allowing them to focus on remaining work. 

To search, choose "Issues" in the top menu, and then "Search for issues":


The basic search allows you to choose values, filtering down until you see the data you want. If you want to add more criteria, click the "more" button and add a field to filter on.

By saving the search, you create a Filter that can be used as basis for a Team Board or Dashboard.


The "advanced" search allows more features, but requires understanding of simple queries. Jira offers search help to build these queries.

You can choose which details are shown about the results, by choosing the Columns that should be displayed.

2.5 Dashboard

If you are not part of a development team, but wish to understand more about how tickets are processed or other processes, it's possible to build a custom Dashboard that shows you all you require.

Dashboards can collect visualisations of filtered data onto one page, letting you interpret data at a glance, or click on details to uncover the underlying data.

2.5.1 How to setup/use the Dashboard

Login to Jira (As an Agent)  https://support.yamnet.com/
Same credentials can be used as Windows (Computer login)

 

Dashboard setup (only needed for first time or for new dashboard)

    1. Go to Dashboards and select Manage Dashboards
    2. Select Search
    3. Type P&A in the Search field
    4. Click on the Search button
    5. Click on the star to add your department Dashboard as a favorite (You can select multiple favorite Dashboards)
    6. Click on the Dashboard Name to open the Dashboard
  2. From now onwards the selected Dashboard is set as your Jira Home page. If you are working on a ticket or anywhere else in Jira, click on the button to return to your Dashboard.
    1. In case your Dashboard is not set as homepage this can be changed in your profile settings via:
      Click on your Avatar (Main navigation bar at the top Right), Under MY JIRA HOME select Dashboard.

2.6 Recommended learning

Jira fundamentals (free, self-paced, 90 minutes, certification option)


3. Tips & tricks

3.1 Quick keys

When you have an item selected and press "a" on the keyboard, the pop-up to assign the item appears. This is usually faster than navigating to the field for Assignee.

When you have an item selected and press "." on the keyboard, the 'more' menu pops-up, allowing you to quickly change (for example) the item status.

3.2 Quick filters

At the top of a team board you usually find Quick Filters. These are specifically designed for your team board.

By clicking one of these Quick Filters, you narrow the board filter, hiding some or many items to fit the Quick Filter criterion. Deactivate it by clicking it a second time.

It's possible to select multiple Quick Filters, narrowing your selection of items on the board further and further.


Your team board admin can maintain Quick Filters for you: change them, or add new ones.

3.3 Team Board admin

How can you find out who your team board admin is?


Go to Board (right hand side) > Configure.


Under General (left hand menu) > Administrators you can find the name(s) of your Team Board administrator(s). They are your first point of contact if you want anything changed on your Team Board.

3.4 Status Time Free

This Jira addon was implemented to allow easy reporting on how long an issue has remained in a specific status.

You can use the addon in two ways. The first method is to go into the addon and fill in search criteria for the items you wish to investigate:

For example:


The second method is to look at the sidebar (on the right side of the screen). For each issue the facts regarding Time in Status are shown:

Because we use the Free version of this addon, it is possible that no data is shown. If this occurs, simply refresh the screen after a few minutes:

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