The Most Powerful and Flexible Platform for Managing Corporate-level Projects (that is Jira)

After 10 years of searching in vain for an ideal PMS (project management system) in 2018, I came to an unambiguous conclusion that Jira (an Australian company Atlassian product) with a few additional applications* — the most powerful and flexible environment so far for automation of strategic, portfolio, program, project, and Agile-management for large enterprises.

In spite of common opinion, it is not only for help-desk, IT, or Agile, but it is also perfect for complicated cross-functional programs, projects, and processes. In doing so there are other successful software products such as Spider Project or Primavera which are helpful for managing some particular types of projects (for instance, construction ones).

Unfortunately, for fulfilling the management objectives of my clients in large or middle-sized businesses with a big number of IT, organizational, and product projects, Jira is almost the only possible solution with regards to functionality and flexibility.

It provides the tools for managing all categories of projects’ roles: top-management, functional and project managers, and team members. It automates projects with the same simplicity as processes (or workflows).

In fact, it is a kind of constructor from which experienced business architects can sculpt the tool automating an arbitrarily complex system of strategic, portfolio, project, and process company management. And all of this can be provided with a minimum or even without software customization.

Of course, will be considering not just vanilla Jira but a full Atlassian ecosystem that contains indispensable add-ons like RichFilters. BigPicture or Structure.

Here are significant pluses of using Jira (nowadays the majority of analogs have only a fraction of those and neither has them all):

The convenience of data analysis and retrieval

• Integrated flexible reporting (dynamic and multidimensional, so-called BI) can be adjusted for a couple of days or several weeks
• Handy representation of portfolio, program, and project properly filtered (milestone level, variances)
• The simplicity of KPI calculation (key performance indicators) of project activity (even complex) through the usage of calculated fields
• A rich system of checkboxes, indicators showing variances, and other features that allow focusing on key things
• A query (JQL — Jira query language) gives the capacity to make any samples of system objects for the reporting (milestones, different work package types like jobs, tasks, and so on) by any criteria (variances, project, author, etc.)
• Ease of reporting configuration of key project roles setting (PM — project manager, author, functional manager, and so on)
• The simplicity of necessary data export

The convenience of usage for a project manager

• Scheduling tool of high quality with a possibility of making baselines and variance calculation
• Sound two-way integration with MS Project
• Resource planning and managing tools synchronized with schedule
• The simplicity of schedule synchronization (road map) with Kanban-boards and single tasks
• Possibility of managing different aspects of a project — risks, business requirements, contracts, and so on by creating system objects with unique life cycles, its card, and any required fields (role, deadlines, estimated effort, etc.)
• Full integration with documents management system Confluence.

The convenience of a teamwork

• Kanban boards with configurable filters for a display of required objects (Milestones, tasks, etc.) according to deadlines, assignees, and so on, tracks in projects, units, etc.)
• The system of checkboxes allows highlighting the objects with required characteristics (blocked tasks, tasks with predecessors, blocking tasks, etc.)

Designing complicated models of project activity management

• Modeling of various management objects — initiative, project, program, portfolio, a strategic goal with any parameters and life cycles
• Possibility for establishing hierarchy from available objects and connecting them to each other (for example goal — portfolio — program — milestone). Hierarchies of objects allow making rollup calculations (% of performance, planned and actual budget values, figures).

Integration of business process management and project management

• A chance of organization company work in matrix mode with the help of Kaban-boards of projects and units as any object (task, milestone) is not connected to a specific board
• Modeling and automatization of processes (configurable fields, boxes, process shit conditions) as in modern BPMS-system (Business Process Management System).
• Automation of routine operations by special add-on

Mobile access to information

• Integration with mobile applications and messengers

The flexibility of approach (waterfall or Agile) to be used for managing projects

• Possibility of using the shared environment for management of Agile and waterfall projects

Decision support and interaction with IT-department

• Shared environment for managing the projects with IT stream (a lot of IT departments already use Jira)
• Single technology stack with IT departments (administrators of Jira are already there)
• Availability of the range of integrated development and test management tools for software

Independence in the development of functionality from a specific software vendor

• Integrators (solution partners) who can configure software exist in the market separately, software suppliers — individually, application for software suppliers again — separately. It means that you won’t fully depend on how much the vendor is interested to implement exactly what you need. Especially, if it is two cents worth but mega critical for you.
• Ecosystem (marketplace Atlassian) of easily integrated applications for solving the majority of typical management tasks, there are no expenses on integration
• Most settings of reports, presentations, and objects of the system can be done all by yourself without any programmers involved

Sure, Jira has its minuses

• Cost — it is higher than some analogs
• Besides, it is not a Plug-n-Play system to be fully integrated on the Enterprise level an experienced integrator and business architect is needed, who is competent in a subject area

Nevertheless, it is far superior to everything that I saw for solving relevant tasks for me and my clients of managing project activity at the enterprise level, so all the minuses can be forgiven.

If you have any questions about the possibilities of Jira for managing projects, send us a message at [email protected].

*Some recommended apps for Jira for project activity automatization.

• BigPicture (for structuring tasks, scheduling combining them into projects and programs, displaying them as a Gantt chart or roadmap)
• Structure (allows you to create and manage multi-level hierarchies of tasks or other objects)
• RichFilters (additional options for building dynamic reporting)
• EasyBi (integrated multidimensional analytical reporting)
• Automation (automation of typical work scenarios).

About the author

Andrey Malakhov — Prince2 Practitioner, PMLogix Managing Partner, leading expert in project offices and hybrid management methods with over 20 years of corporate and consulting experience.