JIRA Tutorial
JIRA Tutorial
JIRA is a project management tool used for issues and bugs tracking system. It is widely used as an
issue-tracking tool for all types of testing. This tutorial introduces the readers to the fundamental
features, usage, and advantages of JIRA. This tutorial will guide the users on how to utilize this tool
to track and report bugs in different applications.
JIRA is an Incident Management Tool used for Project Management, Bug Tracking, Issue
Tracking and Workflow. JIRA is based on the following three concepts – Project, Issue and
Workflow.
Task Details
3 Tasks can be defined at the individual level to track the progress.
Status of every task, comment, attachment and due dates are stored in one place.
Notifications
An email can be sent for a particular task to the users.
4 Voting and watching features to keep an eye on the progress for the stakeholders.
Use @mention to get the attention of a specific team member at Comments/Description.
User will instantly notify if something is assigned or if any feedback is required.
Power Search
JIRA supports a powerful search functionality with Basic, Quick and Advanced features.
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Use the search tool to find answers like due date, when a task was last updated, what items a tea
member still needs to finish.
Project information at one place, search within a project.
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Reports
JIRA supports more than a dozen reports to track progress over a specific timeframe, deadlin
individual’s contribution, etc.
Easy to understand and generate different reports those help to analyze how the team is going on.
Easy to configure these reports and display the matrices to the stakeholders.
Add -Ins
8 JIRA supports more than 100 add-ins to connect with different software to make work easy.
Wide range of add-ins makes it as universal across the globe.
Multilingual
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JIRA supports more than 10 languages those are widely used as English (US, UK, India), Frenc
German, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Japanese and Russian.
Mobile App
JIRA is available as a Mobile Application as well.
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It is available on Google Play Store and App Store (iTunes) of Apple.
Easy to stay connected with the team while moving anywhere with notification, comments a
project activity.
A Project contains issues; a JIRA project can be called as a collection of issues. A JIRA
Project can be of several types. For example −
Once the type of project is selected, click on Next. The user will see the flow of the project
based on the selection. Here, we have selected Basic Software development.
The following screenshot displays the available issue types and the workflow for the chosen
project in the step mentioned above −
Click on the Select button, enter the name of the project and confirm the Key that the user
wants to display as a reference in all the issues. Once this is done, click on the Submit button.
The following screenshot displays the fields to provide details before the creation of a
project.
The page having issues will display. The following screenshot displays whether any issues
are linked with a new created project.
In JIRA, workflow is used to track the lifecycle of an Issue. Workflow is a record of
statuses and transitions of an issue during its lifecycle. A status represents the stage of an
issue at a particular point. An issue can be in only one status at a given point of time like
Opened, To Do, Done, Closed, Assigned, etc.
A transition is a link between two statuses when an issue moves from one status to another.
For an issue to move between two statuses, a transition must exist. In a simple way, a
transition is some kind of work done on the issue, while status is the impact of work on that
issue.
Example
As of now, an issue is created and opened. When the assignee starts working on the issue, the
issue moves to the In Progress status. Here, the transition is starting the work, while the
status of the issue is now progressive.
JIRA workflow has the following stages to track as soon as an issue is created −
Open Issue − After creation, the issue is open and can be assigned to the
assignee to start working on it.
In Progress Issue − The assignee has actively started to work on the issue.
Resolved Issue − All sub-tasks and works of that Issue are completed. Now,
the issue is waiting to be verified by the reporter. If verification is successful, it
will be closed or re-opened, if any further changes are required.
Reopened Issue − This issue was resolved previously, but the resolution was
either incorrect or missed a few things or some modifications are required.
From Reopened stage, issues are marked either as assigned or resolved.
Close Issue − The issue is considered as finished, resolution is correct as of
now. Closed issues can be re-opened later based on the requirement.
JIRA Workflow can be referred as a Defect Lifecycle. It follows the same concepts; the only
difference is that it is generic for all issues rather than limited to Defects only.
The following diagram shows a standard workflow −
A transition is a one-way link, if an issue moves back and forth between two statuses; two
transitions should be created.
Example − There are two-way transitions between closed and re-opened statuses. A closed
issue can be reopened if any modifications are required at any time until the project
completes, while a re-opened issue can be closed directly if additional work is taken care in
another issue and no specific work has been done on the re-opened issue.
In this chapter, we will learn how to install JIRA on your system.
Run the .exe file to run the installation wizard. The following screenshot shows the
downloaded .exe file.
After clicking the .exe file, the Run confirmation pop-up displays, click on RUN. The
following screenshot shows the RUN confirmation pop-up.
The installation summary is displayed with the Destination Directory, Home Directory, TCP
Ports, etc., as shown in the following screenshot.
Click on Install. JIRA will start installing as displayed in following screenshot. It takes a
couple of minutes to finish the installation.
After installation, JIRA will be started automatically if the check box to “Start JIRA Software
7.3.4 now” is checked. Then click on Next, if not, it can be accessed using the appropriate
Windows Start Menu shortcut.
Click the Finish button.
The installer will create the following shortcuts on the start menu −
Access JIRA
Start JIRA Server
Stop JIRA server
Uninstall JIRA
The following screenshot shows the above-mentioned shortcuts −
Select the license type and enter organization name as shown in following screenshot −
Click on Generate License
A confirmation pop-up will display as shown in the following screenshot. Click on Yes.
Set up the administration account as displayed in the following screenshot.
To create an issue in JIRA, the user should have Create Issue permission in the project.
Admin can add/remove the permission.
Steps to Follow
Click on the Create button in the navigation bar to open the create issue dialogue box.
To complete the process of creating an issue, we should follow the pointers given below.
Select the Project where the issue is.
Select the type of issue, whether it is a bug/new feature/story, etc.
Write a one-line summary to provide the overall idea about the issue.
Write the details of the issue in the Description field. Explain the issue, so that
stockholders can understand every detail of the issue.
To create a similar type of issue in the same project and issue type, check the
checkbox of “Create another” otherwise keep it as unchecked.
After entering all the details, click on the Create button.
The following screenshot shows how to create an issue by providing the required and
optional details.
If the “Create another” checkbox is not checked, after clicking on the Create button, the user
will have to navigate to the Dashboard and a pop-up will display on the right side with
an issue id and summary.
The following screenshot shows how to know whether the issue is successfully created or
not.
If the “Create another” checkbox is checked while clicking on the Create button, the user will
get a new create issue page along with the issue id.
The following screenshot shows the page, if the user has checked the “Create another” box.
Configure Fields
To add other fields in the Create Issue form, click on “Configure fields” at the top right hand
side of the page. The following screenshot shows how to configure the fields in the Create
Issue page.
After clicking on the Configure fields button, a drop down box will be displayed, click on
Custom. The following screenshot shows the available fields under the Custom tab.
By checking and unchecking the checkboxes to show and hide, fields will be added or cleared
from the form. The following screenshot shows the available fields under the All tab.
Now navigate to Create Issue, all fields based on choices will be displayed in the form that
shows up. The following screenshot shows the configured fields in the Create Issue page.
JIRA has powerful and very efficient search functionalities. A user can search issues across
Projects, Versions and Components using various search types. JIRA allows saving the
search criteria to utilize next time as filters; even these filters can be shared by others as well.
Basic Search
Quick Search
Let us now understand both of these search types in detail.
Basic Search
Basic Search in JIRA is a user-friendly interface that can be used easily to find out the issues.
It uses the JQL queries in the backend. To do a basic search in JIRA, the user has to follow
the steps given below.
Step 1 − Navigate to issues → Search Issues. The following screenshot shows how to access
the Search for Issues feature −
Step 2 − A search page displays. If it has any existing Search criteria, then click on the New
Filter to reset it. The following screenshot shows how to define a new search criteria.
Step 3 − Set the search criteria against different fields like Project, Type, Status and
Assigned. Then click on More and select any field to search with additional fields. The
following screenshot shows what all criteria’s can be set to search issues.
Step 4 − If the user wants to search against any specific text, keywords, start typing in
the Contains text box. The following screenshot shows how to search specific text in issues.
Step 5 − A user can use wildcards or operators in all text based fields to search specific
strings. For example −
Step 2 − Type the filter name and click on Submit. The following screenshot shows how to
provide a name of new search criteria before saving.
Step 3 − A Filter will appear on the left side of the Search Page under the Favourite filters
and it will have a few options like – Rename, Delete, Copy and Remove from Favourites.
The following screenshot shows the saved search criteria and the available actions to
perform.
Quick Search
The quick search is the fastest way to define search criteria. It is a text box where the user
enters the key, text or anything and it starts searching for the exact matches in the current
project and provides the result.
The Quick Search box is available on the top right hand corner of the navigator. The
following screenshot shows how to access the Quick Search feature.
Smart Querying
The quick search option performs smart searches with minimal typing. It recognizes the
following word and gives out several options to the user to choose.
my − This word searches issues assigned to the logged-in user.
The following screenshot shows different smart querying in a quick search.
Some of the most commonly used smart querying options are as follows −
r:me − Finds issues reported by the logged-in user.
r:abc − Finds issues reported by user – abc.
r:none − Finds issues with no reporter.
<project name> or <project key> − Finds issues within the given project
name or finds issues having the same project key.
Overdue − Finds issues those are overdue before today.
Created:, updated:, due: − These smart searches finds issues with Created,
Updated, or Due Date using the prefixes created:, updated:, or due:,
respectively. For the date range, use today, tomorrow, yesterday, a single date
range (e.g. '-1w'), or two date ranges (e.g. '-1w,1w'). Date ranges cannot have
spaces between them. Valid date/time abbreviations are: 'w' (week), 'd' (day),
'h' (hour), 'm' (minute).
part from the type of searches explained in the previous chapter, JIRA also has a few
advanced search options, which can be performed using the following three ways.
Type the query using the Field, Operator and Values like issueKey = “WFT-107”.
There are other fields as well – Affected Version, Assignee, Attachments, Category,
Comment, Component, Created, Creator, Description, Due, Environment, etc. As soon as the
user starts typing, the auto-complete functionality helps to write in the defined format.
The following screenshot shows how to add Field Name criteria using advanced features.
Operator selection − The following screenshot shows how to select operators.
The next step is to enter the value and then click on the Search symbol. The following
screenshot shows how to add values and search.
The following screenshot shows the search result based on criteria set.
Click on the Search symbol and it will provide the search results. The following screenshot
shows the result based on a criteria set.
Using Operators Reference
Operators are used to compare values of the left side with the right side, such that only true
results display as the search result.
List of Operators
Equals: =
Not Equals: !=
Greater Than: >
Less Than: <
Greater Than Equals: =>
Less than equals: =<
IN
NOT IN
CONTAINS: ~
Does Not contain: ! ~
IS
IS NOT
WAS
WAS IN
WAS NOT IN
WAS NOT
CHANGED
Similar to the Field and the Keyword Reference, these operators can also be used to enhance
the search results.
IRA provides different types of reports within a project. It helps to analyze the Progress,
Issues, Showstoppers and Timeliness of any Project. It also helps to analyze the resource
utilization as well.
When the user clicks on Switch report, it will display the list of reports. The following
screenshot shows list of reports available for quick switch.
Type of Reports
JIRA has categorized reports in four levels, which are −
Agile
Issue Analysis
Forecast & Management
Others
Let us now discuss the features of the above-mentioned report categories in detail.
Agile
Following are the list of features of Agile Reports.
Burn down Chart − Track the total work remaining, also whether sprint is
achieving the project goal or not.
Sprint Chart − Track the work completed or pushed back to the backlog in
each sprint.
Velocity Chart − Track the amount of work completed from sprint to sprint.
Cumulative Flow Diagram − Shows the statuses of issues over time. It helps
to identify high-risk issues or unresolved important issues.
Version Report − Track the projected release date for a version.
Epic Report − Shows the progress towards completing an epic over a given
time.
Control Chart − Shows the cycle time for the product, its version or the
sprint. It helps to identify whether data from the current process can be used to
determine future performance.
Epic Burn Down − Track the projected number of sprints required to
complete the epic.
Release Burn Down − Track the projected release date for a version. It helps
to monitor whether the version will release on time, so mandatory action can
be taken if work is falling behind.
Issue Analysis
Following are the list of features of Issue Analysis.
Average Age Report − Displays the average age in days of unresolved issues.
Created Vs Resolved Issue Report − Display the number of issues created vs
the number of issues resolved in given period.
Pie chart Report − Shows a pie chart of issues for a project grouped by a
specified field.
Recently Created Issue Report − Shows the number of issues created over a
time-period for a project and how many of those were resolved.
Resolution Time Report − Displays the average time taken to resolve issues.
Single Level Group by Report − .It helps to group the search results by a
field and see the overall status of each group.
Time since Issues Report − It helps to track how many issues were created,
updated, resolved, etc., over a time-period.
Forecast & Management
Following are the list of features of Forecast and Management type of reports.
Time Tracking Report − Shows the original and current time estimates for
issues in the current project. It can help to determine whether work is on track
for those issues.
User Workload Report − Shows the time estimates for all unresolved issues
assigned to a user across projects. It helps to understand how much a user is
occupied, whether overburdened or has less work.
Version Workload Report − Displays how much outstanding work is
remaining per user and per issue. It helps to understand the remaining work of
a version.
In addition to these, there are other types of reports that generally have a pie chart in them,
which we
A workload pie chart displays a pie chart showing all the issues for a specific project. Let us
understand how to use it in JIRA.
Generate a Report
To generate a report, the user should follow the steps given below.
Step 1 − Go to Project → choose the Specific project. Click on the Report icon on the left
side of the menu. Go to ‘Others’ section and click on Workload Pie Chart Report as shown in
the following screenshot.
Step 2 − Select Project or issue filter for which to generate the report. In the Statistic Type,
select the field name on which the pie chart will be formed. Select the Time Field to report on
as Current Estimate, Original Estimate or Time Spent.
The following screenshot shows how to generate a report by providing details.
Step 3 − Click on Next to generate the report. The following screenshot shows how the
generated report looks like.
It displays the number of created issues versus resolved issues over a given time-period. It
helps to understand whether the overall backlog is moving towards resolution or not.
Generate a Report
To generate a report, the user should follow the steps given below.
Step 1 − Go to Project → choose a specific project. Click on the Report icon on the left side
of the menu. Go to Issue Analysis and click on Created Vs Resolved Issues Report. The
following screenshot shows how to access the Created Vs Resolved issues report −
Step 2 − Select the Project or the issue filter for which the report has to be generated. Select
the time-period to see reports like Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Annually, etc.,
available in the dropdown box. Enter the number of days in the Days Previously field to
show in the graph. Select Yes or No for Cumulative totals. Select Display Versions as All
Versions from the dropdown list.
The following screenshot shows how to generate report by selecting different available fields.
Step 3 − Click on Next to generate the reports. The following screenshot shows how the
generated report looks like.
The created issues are displayed in red, while the resolved issues are in green color.
It displays the total work remaining to achieve the sprint goal for a given time to sprint. It
helps the team to manage the progress and respond accordingly. This chart is an important
feature of Agile – Scrum methodology.
Generate a Report
To generate a report, the user should follow the steps given below.
Step 1 − Go to Project → choose a Specific project. Click on the Report icon on the left side
of the menu. Go to Agile and click on Burndown chart. The following screenshot shows how
to access a Burndown Chart.
Step 2 − It displays the Burndown chart of the sprint like how the team is progressing
towards a committed task. The red line displays how much work is remaining, while the grey
line shows the committed tasks. The team can see where they stand in terms of the progress
of sprint as compared to the commitment at the starting of that sprint. The user can change
the Sprint and Y-axis by selection from a dropdown.
The following screenshot shows how the Burndown chart looks like sprint wise.
Step 3 − In the second part of the report, it displays data like what is the sprint start date,
what all issues were added, day by day how many issues resolved, what story points of the
issues are, and day-by-day how many story points are remaining. This data is utilized to
create the chart. The following screenshot shows the data that is used to generate the chart.
Note − Quite similar to these reports, other reports can also be generated.