Jira Software Reviews

“organized integrations”

Pros

One thing that's been really useful is having our processes documented and kept well organized in one place. It also connects nicely with tools we already use, like Slack and various CRM platforms.

Cons

The pricing makes it a bit harder to recommend across the board since I think it has to be a carefully weighed decision based on specific needs versus the overall cost.

“strong reporting tools”

Pros

The presentation and reporting features are really strong and the support for Agile development methodologies is a big plus.

Cons

Configuration can be quite complex and even small changes usually require someone with expert-level knowledge.

“great for agile planning”

Pros

Working with this tool has fit really well into an agile development setup. Whether the team is following Kanban or a more traditional sprint planning workflow, it handles both without any trouble. It is especially helpful for project planning and writing user stories since everything gets saved into the backlog and can be reviewed later with estimates, weight and priority all visible. Creating bug tickets is also fast which makes tracking issues much more manageable. Sprint planning is another strong point because you can pull tasks and stories directly from the backlog, set a target for the sprint and the system automatically adds up the story points so you do not overload the team. On top of that, the reporting tools are very useful for analyzing project progress and the burndown charts make retrospective review much clearer for the whole team.

Cons

One downside is that the platform can feel a bit overly complex because of how many flexible features it offers so there is definitely a learning curve at the beginning. That said, the time spent learning it does pay off. The other drawback is the cost. I am not the one handling the billing as a developer but for larger development teams it is not cheap and the expenses can climb pretty quickly.

“helpful project dashboards”

Pros

Right away, the dashboard setup stands out with clear views for users, projects, teams, sprints and PI management. It makes it simple to follow an issue's status and lifecycle from backlog to assignment, then through resolve and close. Checking the number of issues and story points in a sprint is also very convenient. Another strong point is the support for many plugins, sw built-in or custom which helps connect with other products and gives complete information for an IT ticket.

Cons

One limitation is that work logs on a ticket can't be modified. The interface also feels fairly complex for new users and the permission settings are not detailed enough when assigning access for users within a project or team.

“slow cloud experience”

Pros

There's a lot of room to customize it and having the option to choose between a self-hosted setup and a cloud-hosted one is definitely a plus.

Cons

Cloud-hosted version is extremely slow and overpriced compared with other tools. Even in the most basic setup, it still isn't workable for non-technical people. If the whole team doesn't consistently use the ticket system, everything ends up falling on one unlucky technical person who already has plenty else to handle or the tickets stop reflecting what's actually going on. On top of that, the agile workflow and time tracking are a complete mess and not useful in any meaningful way when trying to get a proper overview.

“Perfect tracking and test flow”

Pros

We originally rolled it out and managed everything using just its built-in functionality and it worked really well. It's excellent for tracking issues, tasks, defects and similar work items. We now use it alongside a plugin called Zephyr for test management which makes it simple to connect testing and defect workflows with user stories, releases and related processes. Setting up test cycles is fast and creating test cases is quick and easy too.

Cons

I don't have any real complaints about it. It has consistently felt like a very easy tool to work with and there's plenty of flexibility to customize workflows as well as control what different users are allowed to do.

“custom dashboards that help”

Pros

One thing that really works well is the graphical view of project progress and tracking. All the important project details are available right on the dashboard which makes everything easier to monitor. I can also build custom dashboards and add the features or fields I need so it fits the way I want to manage projects.

Cons

It has been working really well for me and has been very helpful when it comes to tracking progress. At this point, I haven't come across anything I would consider a downside.

“Great for software delivery workflows”

Pros

It comes with a full suite of tools that really helps support our SDLC and our roadmap toward CI/CD.

Cons

The downside is that the mobile app appears to work only with cloud instances and there are major differences between the federated version and the cloud version.

“great for customization and control”

Pros

One of the biggest strengths is how customizable it is especially with the plugin support. It gives you great visibility into your projects and offers very detailed access control for different users. Admins can define project roles, link those roles to specific activities and then assign them to individual users as needed. It also works well for organizing tickets into sprints and releases while helping you keep track of workload and task distribution across the team during sprints or any other delivery approach you decide to use.

Cons

The pricing structure is the part that needs the most consideration. Right now, you're basically choosing between a server and cloud setup. If your team is capable of maintaining a server instance, I'd suggest the server option because it supports more plugins and gives you far more freedom to configure things the way you want. Another advantage is that the licenses are a one-time purchase instead of the lower but ongoing monthly costs that come with the cloud version. One other detail to keep in mind is plugin licensing by user tier. If your setup falls in the 101-250 user range, then the plugins also need to be licensed for that same 101-250 range. That's definitely something to factor in if you're planning a move to it.

“flexible workflow setup”

Pros

It works well across a lot of different scenarios, whether that's project management, issue tracking, roadmaps or other workflows. Compared with other general project management platforms, the configuration is also more flexible and relatively simpler to handle.

Cons

One thing that gets confusing is the shift between the old interface and the new one. The experience feels inconsistent especially when opening links from email notifications and landing on different-looking pages. Even though it's simpler to configure than many generic tools, the setup still isn't easy and can take several days to tailor properly to specific needs. Having some boilerplate templates available would make that process much better.

“workflows and integrations”

Pros

One of the biggest advantages is being able to define fields per project and then search or filter using those fields. The workflow setup and automation help move work along toward completion and JQL is really useful for building custom queries. The dashboards and widgets also connect well with other tools like Confluence and integrations with technical products such as GitHub make it convenient to link tickets and pull requests.

Cons

There are times when it simply won't behave the way you expect. Certain customizations in one project can end up overriding or interfering with changes in another which is frustrating. Workflows can also feel restrictive at times. On top of that some features that seem like they should come built in require paid plugins instead. A lot of changes also need administrator access although that's probably not entirely a bad thing.

“GOOD for our team”

Pros

Being able to create new issue types and workflows that match how my company actually operates has been a huge plus. Nearly every part of the platform can be customized which gives my team everything they need to handle daily tasks in a way that fits our routine.

Cons

Some settings are a bit difficult to locate and a few sections still rely on the older user interface which can feel inconsistent.

“sprint and bug tracking”

Pros

Having one place to manage our sprints and bugs made a big difference. It gave us a central hub to track priority feature requests alongside system issues that needed attention. Cross-team communication was much better too. Whenever a developer had a question or resolved something, the update was logged there and the product manager or support team could check it, add comments and share extra context.

Cons

There was a bit of a learning curve before it felt comfortable to use. The interface also isn't the nicest-looking out there. Even with that, it still gets the job done efficiently.

“best for agile teams”

Pros

When it comes to Agile, Kanban boards and overall development or project management, this still feels like the product to beat. I really haven't come across another option or replacement that does the job better.

Cons

Updating it and troubleshooting problems can be frustrating at times. Most of the time you can just set it up and leave it alone but once you need to customize things, it can become a hassle. There are plenty of plugins available to add the features you want but it also feels like the product would be far less useful without them. On top of that, the price starts climbing once you begin adding even simple plugins.

“valuable scrum planning”

Pros

It's been really useful for agile scrum teams. Beyond serving as a ticket backlog, it also helps a lot when planning around sprints and releases.

Cons

Interface can feel pretty cluttered at times and the filtering isn't always very simple to work with. Other than that, I've enjoyed using it.

“team insights that help”

Pros

This tool does a really good job of improving team efficiency and collaboration. It also gives strong visibility into burndown progress, along with plenty of other useful metrics and insights.

Cons

Because it's extremely flexible, it can occasionally be tricky to work out how to set up something specific the way you want.

“fits every team”

Pros

Right away, the biggest plus is how user-friendly it is and just as important, it's built to work well for everyone involved. Our developers, project managers, engineers and managers all use it which makes project management much more flexible and supports an agile way of working.

Cons

There was definitely a bit of a learning curve at the beginning while getting familiar with it but once that adjustment period passed, it became part of the daily routine.

“agile teamwork boost”

Pros

This is an excellent option for Agile and software development projects. It gives teams the flexibility to work with frameworks and tools like Scrum and Kanban boards which fits well with different Agile workflows. It also helps improve collaboration and makes teams more effective overall.

Cons

One downside is that the data can be eventually consistent so updates and newly added information may show up with some delay especially in the cloud version.

“reliable bug tracking”

Pros

Despite being in a Microsoft-based environment, we still rely heavily on it across the organization as a bug tracking tool because it integrates well with tools like TFS.

Cons

It still falls short on some advanced capabilities you get in products like Microsoft Test Manager and HP Quality Center especially around reporting and graphs.

“strong team features”

Pros

Works really well for teams and it comes packed with a lot of built-in functionality.

Cons

There's almost so much functionality that it can feel a bit overwhelming at times though it's not really a downside. It mostly just means there's a slight learning curve at the beginning.