…that is the question.

Here at Freedom Information Systems, we’ve been using JIRA for about three years.  It is an amazing tool.  As I have spoken to our customers about using JIRA, I repeatedly get the same questions asked of me.  One of the most common is “What classifies as a JIRA project?”

Well, that’s a good question.  And, unfortunately, it is not a question that has a black-or-white answer.  The correct answer is….it depends.  But perhaps I can give you a little guidance to help you answer the question yourself.  Consider these questions…

Does your project consist of a single deliverable? If so, then you probably have a case for a single project.  I have heard of instances in which software development teams built a single JIRA project to track all issues and tasks for an entire program (which consisted of many deliverables).  They would then use the components function to identify the individual deliverables within the program.  This is not necessarily the most efficient way of using JIRA.  I would recommend breaking this up into multiple JIRA projects.  Assign one JIRA project for each deliverable.

The rationale behind having a single large JIRA project is usually because they want to make information easily retrievable for Program Managers.  However, in doing this, they make it difficult for Project Managers and the developers to get to the information that they need.

Break the projects up.  Then, use specialized JQL queries and dashboards to give all of the managers (regardless of their level) the information that they need to make the important decisions that they are responsible for making.

Does your project consist of a single team of individuals that are working on it? If so, then you probably have a case for a single project.  JIRA projects should be set up so that a group of team members will see only what they are interested in seeing at the time.  If JIRA projects are too broad (see the first question above), then there will be information in the project that does not apply to all team members using the project.  This can lead to confusion and uncertainty of the status of a deliverable.

Finally, does it make sense? I realize that is a bit ambiguous.  But, sometimes it is just that simple.  Does the project that you are about to create make sense?  Is it handling the data for a single deliverable?  Is it working with the right group of people?  Once it is set up, can those people get to the right information in order for them to perform their job?  Is there a nice correlation between the JIRA project and the job that needs to get done?

As I said in the beginning, this is not a clear-cut answer.  And, there are other things that you might have to consider.  Like, does your organization work smoother if everything in it (including JIRA projects) are mapped to a specific work-breakdown structure?  These are organizational questions and might not apply to everyone using JIRA.  But, they are important to you.

If all else fails, think about this:  It’s very easy to create a JIRA project that tries to cover too much, so do everything you can to not let that happen.

Questions?  Feel free to contact me.

Barry Britnell has over 20 years of software development experience with special emphasis in web-based applications.  He is currently writing software using Java, ColdFusion and PHP as well as conducting training classes in the Atlassian software applications.  You can follow Barry on Twitter at @britnellfreedom.

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