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Writer's pictureAkhila Rao

Jira and it’s usage in our projects

We are constantly on the lookout for improving and streamlining our tasks on a day to day basis, one of the methodologies we can use in software development is AGILE.

 

Jira was launched in the year 2002 by Atlassian, as  a project management tool which would help in Bug tracking ,Sprint planning etc.

Jira is an intuitive and agile project management platform that enables teams to dynamically plan, track and manage their workflows and projects. Jira offers numerous features like sprints for Scrum management and other agile boards like Kanban.

 

Scrum based approach:

Streamlining a process in projects within teams often reflects the readiness and proactive approach in problem solving any unseen hurdles ,for such a approach SCRUM is used which includes dividing the projects in phases known a sprint.

 

Sprint Planning:

 

A sprint is an iteration in the development cycle of a project, and is one of the fundamental principles of agile project management methodologies. The sprint is defined by a small amount of planned work that the team has to complete and ready for review.

 

Ideally each sprint can be divided by time period of 2 weeks based on how vast the project is and what all tasks need be finished in the first phase , deciding each task based on the initiation of the project i.e, the most important tasks without which the foundation phase will be vulnerably affected should be decided in the first  sprint.

 

Big tasks can be broken  down in stories, which kind of helps in not missing any important part of the task, each story can be assigned to the team member who is allocated that work.

 

Stories can have points which in turn defines how important that particular task is.

 

Ideally each day the whole meets for a SCRUM meeting which discusses the progress, issues faced, and discussion of next steps to be taken.

 







How does the sprint planning help in the project:

There are two charts that help you understand the flow of the sprints in a more systematic manner:




Burndown Chart:

In the Daily Scrum the Development Team updates the Sprint Burn Down and plots the remaining work of the day. A burndown chart is almost a “must” have tool for a Scrum






Burnup chart:

A burn-up chart is a graph. The vertical Y-axis represents scope—in story points, issues, estimates, etc. The horizontal X-axis represents time, usually in days. The point of this chart is to show how much work has been completed against the team’s total work or scope






Each of the charts have different significances each interpreting the project progress ,difference between them is written down below:





Overview of Scrum



Scrum is an Agile framework that helps teams, people, and organizations work together to address complex problems while efficiently and productively delivering high-value results. Scrum encourages teams to organize tasks while working on projects, reflect on their losses and wins, and keep improving and learning through their experiences.


Scrum focuses on team collaboration and decision-making, with projects that are broken down into timeboxed sprints. The team meets at the beginning of each sprint to assess what they want to accomplish in the next one, and continue to meet frequently throughout each sprint.


Scrum best practices


Scrum meetings are designed to add value and help teams be more productive. To interest team members in Scrum meetings, be sure to follow these tips for maximum efficiency and productivity:



Set clear objectives



Scrum meetings can lose their purpose when there are no clear objectives attached to it. To keep the meeting focused and productive, it's essential to add clear objectives and set the purpose before the meeting. Unplanned meetings can create dread for your team, so specify how long the meeting will take, and the type of Scrum they are attending before the intended time. This will ensure that every team member comes well prepared and that the meeting stays productive for everyone.



Define sprint goals

Every Scrum meeting should be aligned with the goals that team members are working towards. If the objectives and the sprint goals are not aligned, the meeting loses its effectiveness and meaning. During sprints, everyone should share how they contribute toward the ultimate goal. This ensures that the sprint goal is kept at the center and that practical ways of achieving it are defined.



Have an agenda

Typically, having a clear meeting agenda helps people focus and increase the effectiveness of a meeting. So prepare a Scrum meeting agenda ahead of time and share it with the participants. This practice allows members to come well equipped with concerns, ideas, or questions for other attendees. It also helps them focus on only those elements relevant to the meeting, saving everyone time.


Types of Scrum meetings

Through each sprint, your team should have five types of Scrum meetings. Some of these meetings may only occur once each sprint, while others can occur both before and during the work depending on schedules and the needs of the team. Below are some examples of types of scrum meetings, and templates tp help guide your scrum meetings.


1. Sprint planning meeting

A sprint planning meeting is scheduled on the first day of a new sprint, just after the sprint review and retrospective from the last sprint. This ensures that any output from the two discussions is considered when planning a new sprint. It's worth noting that the sprint planning meeting doesn't necessarily need to be right after those two events; You can prioritize scheduling the meeting depending on the availability of the whole team.

During the meeting, the team should:

  • Set a sprint goal consisting of a plan summary for the next sprint.

  • Review a sprint product backlog that supports the set sprint goal and reviews the estimates.

The main advantage of sprint planning is that it gives teams the opportunity to start a new sprint with a better understanding of what tasks they will be handling for that sprint and the initial approach strategy.


Sprint Goal

Sprint Backlog

Epics to be Delivered

Scope of Work Clarification

Key Risks & Concerns

Notes and Takeaways

Take Action

Follow-Up


2. Daily Scrum meeting

Daily Scrums, also known as stand-up meetings, are short daily meetings that allow team members to review progress, share updates, and triage new issues briefly. Typically, they are held daily while the team is standing at the same time and place with a timeframe of no longer than 15 minutes to ensure the meeting stays relevant, light, and quick.

The goal of these meetings is to briefly discuss task statuses and ensure the goals of the Scrum team and the product owner stay aligned. The Scrum Master often facilitates the daily stand-up meetings by asking three significant questions:

  • What tasks did you manage yesterday?

  • What jobs are you handling today?

What hindrances are affecting your work?


3. Sprint review meeting

The sprint review event is one of the most vital meetings where teams come together to review accomplished projects and examine whether there's a need for additional changes. The meeting is usually led by the development team at the end of every sprint, where they present the tasks they completed during the sprint.

The purpose of the sprint review is not to give a status update but rather to explain what value the project adds to the company. Thus, the work team members present during the event must be fully demonstrable. This also helps the team get stakeholders' feedback on user stories in the sprint as an additional benefit.


4. Sprint retrospective meeting

The sprint retrospective is a Scrum timeboxed meeting held after the sprint review and before sprint planning. The fundamental purpose of these meetings is to review what went well and what could be improved during the sprint. It's an opportunity for the team to reflect on the projects and what changes are necessary going forward. This meeting covers everything that affects how products are developed and improved, including tools, processes, environment, artifacts, and more, which are all open to discussion.

Sprint retrospectives usually demand a minimum level of prep time since they are about lessons learned in the past with a deeper analysis of what changes are to be made in the future.

During sprint retrospective meetings, the team reviews:

  • What work was done well during the sprint

  • Which projects didn't go as planned

  • What should be improved for the next sprint



Hope the Blog gives you ample idea about Jira !!



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