Jira Software Reviews

“great reporting and planning”

Pros

This software has been amazing for developers and support teams especially when it comes to reporting and putting together development plans.

Cons

I still prefer the older UI because the status changes were clearer and more user-friendly. The new interface just doesn't feel as comfortable to use.

“helpful workflows with frequent crashes”

Pros

One thing I appreciated was being able to track change requests and test scenarios in one place. The workflow setup was also useful especially for moving issues through the different stages of resolution.

Cons

Using it was pretty challenging overall and it crashed fairly often. The interface didn't feel simple and the search was slow which was also the area where it tended to crash.

“project planning toolkit”

Pros

There's a huge amount you can do with this for software development project management. It covers resource capacity and availability, sprint, defect and task management, profitability tracking with burnup charts and detailed progress tracking down to tasks and sub-tasks. It also helps with scheduling and carrying out deployments and releases. On top of that, as a PM, the Big Picture plugin is a really valuable addition because it makes it much easier to build project plans, create Gantt charts and manage timelines compared with many other project management tools.

Cons

It's not really a major downside but new users may need a bit of time to fully understand and make use of all the features available.

“feature-packed project hub”

Pros

It has been an excellent project management tool for us, with plenty of features laid out in a logical way. The integration with Confluence for documentation and Fisheye/Crucible for code reviews is especially useful and makes the whole workflow feel well connected.

Cons

One area that could use some improvement is the upgrade process, along with backup and restore. I don't mind using the CLI but when it comes to backups, I'd really prefer having attachment management available through the GUI instead of handling it from the backend command line.

“customization options”

Pros

There's an impressive range of customization available so it covers just about every need. The JQL-based customization and the API are especially useful and they make it a strong choice for power users who want to get the most out of their productivity.

Cons

Default configuration options could be improved especially for organizations that want to choose from a set of commonly used setups across different project types.

“tracking and team sharing”

Pros

Being able to track work hour by hour is easily the strongest part of this tool and sharing that information with teams, clients and others is really useful. It helps keep a good balance between the work assigned and the work actually completed. It also lets you customize story points based on your own requirements. The platform is highly customizable overall so you can adjust things as needed and it also supports dynamic changes well.

Cons

Sometimes it gets a little slow when multiple people are accessing the same page. It can also take some time for a new user to understand and get comfortable with it.

“scrum toolkit”

Pros

It's easy to use and can be tailored to match the team's needs. It covers everything required to run scrum effectively, including boards, sprint management, backlog handling, task sizing and more.

Cons

Pricing becomes quite expensive even for a relatively small team. On top of that, subtask management and customization don't feel as complete or powerful compared with some other tools.

“boards and story views”

Pros

There's a lot of freedom to customize the boards, project stories and the way everything is displayed which makes it easier to present work in a way that fits the team's needs.

Cons

Performance in the environment we used could be inconsistent. The permission settings also felt a bit confusing at times and on several occasions we had to ask for access to items we believed we already had.

“performance tracking tools”

Pros

Keeping tabs on our Information Technology team's performance is very easy with this system. It not only helps us monitor the completion of different projects but also lets management or IT assign priorities as needed. The metrics are especially useful because they give managers measurable data they can rely on during performance reviews.

Cons

At times, the system seems to slow down especially when updates are rolling out or when a lot of employees are using it at the same time.

“agile sprint tracking”

Pros

It fits really well into the Agile workflow we use with our client. Team members can clearly see the tasks assigned to them and keep track of progress throughout each sprint.

Cons

New update has been a letdown for me because it makes the Kanban board harder to read and no longer lets you see the whole project at a glance as easily.

“task tracking and reports”

Pros

Keeping track of tasks and subtasks is easy and collaborating on them works really well. It also lets you create your own filters for reports which makes it useful for checking progress and seeing each person's workload clearly.

Cons

There are times when it freezes a bit or takes a while to load but overall it's still a good tool.

“workflow powerhouse”

Pros

The standout benefit here is just how customizable the app is. We're constantly adjusting the way our development workflows are set up and I haven't really hit a point where something we wanted to do wasn't possible. The workflow editor is fairly easy once you understand how to map everything to the right projects and features. It also connects with a huge range of apps which makes it really useful for simplifying an organization's overall stack. We rely on several integrations with it, including Slack and Git. The mobile app works well and is simpler to navigate and there's also a newer iOS app you can run on a Mac that feels a bit faster and more user-friendly. I still haven't fully figured out how to customize the notifications though. The search function is extremely powerful.

Cons

One frustrating part is how slowly pages load and how long it can take to move between stories. When you're using it every day, that starts to wear on you. On top of that, whenever we need to update a setting, it can be surprisingly difficult to figure out where to go. I honestly haven't used another app that spreads very similar settings across so many different places. Another issue is that if someone creates a ticket with the wrong type, the only fix is to move the ticket. I also can't seem to update the status at the same time so an Open bug ticket often turns into an Open feature ticket when it really should be marked as Draft.

“dashboards and workflows”

Pros

One thing that really works well is how everything is organized by project, report, story and other items. They use a distinct way of categorizing certain user stories and that can help product owners identify issues and start addressing them. The dashboard is another strong point. It's easy and very useful when you need to keep an eye on something. The part I appreciate most is that it lets teams keep using their own tools and templates which a lot of software companies usually don't permit. On top of that, it works well for basic workflow tickets and you can customize the ticket views to show the exact information you need.

Cons

Okay so one downside is that you sometimes can't close a ticket unless you're the person who created it. If you want to close one, you may need to create it yourself first which can be annoying. Pricing is also a downside. It feels like each upgrade costs more than the original purchase did. The layout can be fairly complex too so finding what you're looking for sometimes takes longer than it should and ends up wasting time. It also seems like having some prior experience in this area helps a lot when it comes to using the platform effectively.

“team planning toolkit”

Pros

Managing teams with this has been a really positive experience. The interface looks excellent, updates come out regularly and the analytics charts are genuinely useful for tracking team velocity and planning sprints more effectively.

Cons

There are no major issues overall although there was one occasion when Bitbucket was unavailable for quite a while, around four hours. It seemed to be related to a server update and it ended up forcing us to delay our sprint planning.

“connected teamwork”

Pros

It works like a Facebook-style hub for our program, giving us real-time access to information, updates and comments. It also makes cross-functional work much easier since we can collaborate with other business units, complete tasks and assign work in one place. Having Power BI built in is a really nice bonus.

Cons

JQL coding can feel restrictive at times and the dashboard layouts don't offer much flexibility in terms of variation. The calendar view also comes across as a bit awkward and limited.

“project management tools”

Pros

Project management works really well here. It's also convenient to update multiple tasks at the same time especially when preparing a version release.

Cons

New UI navigation still feels very unfriendly. Switching between My Work and Reports with the Tempo plugin makes it harder to work efficiently. I often have to reset the view and go back to the main menu because the interface remains confusing. The Tempo integration also doesn't feel well optimized, overlaps awkwardly with the built-in reporting and doesn't offer good value for the cost.

“slow menus and clutter”

Pros

Honestly, there is not much about this product that I enjoy. It runs slowly and feels weighed down by too many unnecessary drop-downs and selection steps.

Cons

That pretty much sums it up here as well. I use this product every day and it feels like there are other options out there that would suit my needs better.

“handy daily features”

Pros

Attaching images is easy, assigning tasks is convenient and the time tracking feature is very useful to have during the workday.

Cons

System crashes quite often, creating a project takes too long and the mobile app is not very user-friendly.

“project control made easy”

Pros

Being able to handle different projects, teams and workflows with their own unique characteristics all within the same environment is a big advantage.

Cons

They've been making progress with the UX but there are still areas that could be improved and at times the interface can feel a bit overwhelming.

“tracking and team alerts”

Pros

Keeping up with updates is easy and being able to tag teammates and manage tickets in one place has been really useful. We use it for both contract exceptions and development-related tickets and it helps us stay on top of statuses while making sure the right teams get notified. It also integrates well with other systems which adds a lot of value.

Cons

Setup and configuration can be a bit challenging if you are not very technical. That said, after using it for more than five years, I still consider it fairly simple to work with overall.