Jira Software Reviews

“mobile-friendly boards”

Pros

Across just about every operating system, this software performs really well and fits nicely with Kanban, Scrum and other workflows too. The mobile apps have been especially useful when our developers are traveling for work and do not have their computers with them. On top of that, it is very user-friendly and comes with customizable dashboards which makes it even more practical to use.

Cons

Pricing is the biggest downside. As well as it works, the cost can add up quickly if you run a large company or have a lot of users on the platform. Since it charges a monthly fee for each individual user, it can become expensive fast. That makes it harder for smaller companies to justify using it which is unfortunate because the product itself is really strong.

“project tracking support”

Pros

While I was doing my internship, I got to use this tool and it worked well for agile project management. It makes it simple to spot bugs in the project, assign specific tasks and user stories to individual developers and keep track of ongoing updates and development issues. It's been really useful for keeping the whole project organized and making progress easier to monitor.

Cons

The downside is that people need to understand how to use the tool before they can really work with it. The interface is not very user-friendly and someone new to it can easily feel confused by the available features and overall navigation.

“organized ticket details”

Pros

One of the strongest things about this software is the level of detail it offers, along with how well the information is organized within each ticket that gets created.

Cons

There are really only two downsides that come to mind. First, there is a bit of a learning curve for brand-new users. The platform includes a lot of tools so it can take some time to understand what each one does. After getting past that stage though, the depth and detail in the features become much more valuable. The second issue is that the site can occasionally glitch. For example, when I enter something in the search bar to look up a specific company ticket and hit enter, it sometimes changes something on the ticket page I'm currently viewing instead which is annoying. That said, it happens very rarely and it's nothing too serious.

“practical tracking tool”

Pros

The tool is easy to use and comes with a great interface. It's especially helpful when working on large projects and it does a good job of keeping tasks and time management under control.

Cons

A command line interface would be a welcome addition. For power users, that would make it possible to work faster and speed things up.

“visual workflow boost”

Pros

It's excellent for visual organization and makes getting work done much more efficient.

Cons

At first, the interface can feel a little visually overwhelming but that gets easier to handle once you become familiar with it.

“Convenient usability”

Pros

Getting started with it was very easy and it works well with a wide range of third-party solutions.

Cons

The notification system still has room for improvement.

“reporting flexibility”

Pros

After working with PPM tools since 1999, this has been the best software I've used for managing work. It stays flexible enough to fit different needs while still doing a great job of covering the core requirements shared by all kinds of work groups. The reporting is excellent and the support articles are very helpful when it comes to getting the most out of the platform.

Cons

Kanban reporting still needs improvement and the portfolio management features could be better as well.

“agile control suite”

Pros

Over time, this has grown into a fully developed Agile platform with several effective ways to present each team with the right approach for managing projects. The workflow can be tailored extensively and the versioning for software components is excellent. It also offers incredibly detailed control settings, plus great plugins for paying contractors and tracking time.

Cons

This really isn't suited for anyone inexperienced or uncomfortable with serious Project Management Office work.

“plugins improve teamwork”

Pros

There are lots of plugins available and they really add to the experience especially when working with a team. It makes collaboration more enjoyable and flexible.

Cons

At times, the software takes too long to load or update which can slow things down.

“cost-effective customization”

Pros

For teams with fewer than 10 developers, this has been a very cost-effective solution. We've been using it for more than 10 years and have been really happy with it the whole time. It lets us customize bug categories by client and assign issues to developers, testers and project managers without any trouble.

Cons

Honestly, there's not much to complain about since the whole experience is very simple to customize.

“helpful notifications”

Pros

One feature that's been really helpful is being able to assign tasks back and forth and get notifications. It does a good job of keeping track of what still needs to be done on a job or task so things are less likely to be missed.

Cons

The newer version is quite hard to use and feels a bit confusing overall. It's not especially user-friendly and you pretty much need some tutorials to figure out how to use it properly.

“task handling powerhouse”

Pros

There are plenty of features and it does a really good job of helping manage tasks effectively.

Cons

It tends to be slow in larger organizations and story creation can't be customized separately for each project.

“great for large projects”

Pros

One of the biggest strengths is how extensible it is. It includes all the functionality we need to handle large software projects and it works well with different project management approaches. The user experience has also improved a lot over the last few years which makes it much better to work with than it used to be.

Cons

The tradeoff is that it can be pretty complex. You really need someone on the team to become the go-to expert for it. Things like custom workflows, issue types and permissions take time and effort to learn properly and there are still occasional rough edges. Also some genuinely useful capabilities are only available through marketplace plugins and those can get expensive. The base pricing is comparable to similar tools like Pivotal Tracker but once you start adding Confluence or other products, the overall cost climbs quite a bit.

“Great for team hub”

Pros

Our distributed team would struggle to stay aligned without it. It gives everyone a shared space to handle stories, issues and tasks in a really effective way. The plugin ecosystem is excellent and the level of customization is impressive so it can be shaped into almost anything your team needs.

Cons

It does take some time to learn and you need to put in effort to customize the workflows so they fit the way your team works. I also wish there were better parity between the server and cloud versions.

“fast service rollout”

Pros

Within just a few hours, we had a service desk up and running for our team instead of spending weeks or even months getting it set up. The platform is easy to navigate, has a great user interface and removes a lot of the manual work that usually comes with running a service desk. We're also able to handle IT service requests from more than 30,000 employees without any problems.

Cons

There was a bit of a learning curve at the beginning especially when it came to understanding their terminology but once that clicked, using it became quick and simple. It would also be helpful to have more integrations with other products.

“essential for teams”

Pros

Right away, the biggest advantage is how user-friendly it feels. The interface is simple so it doesn't take much effort to get comfortable with it and the email notifications do a really good job of keeping projects moving while making sure everyone on the team stays updated. On top of that, it connects with a wide range of other tools social platforms and source control systems which has made it a key part of every team I've used it with.

Cons

I honestly can't think of any downsides at the moment.

“customizable boards”

Pros

A properly configured IT board feels organized and efficient to work with. There's a wide range of customization available, from tailored workflows and restricted transition rules to custom screens during status changes. After everything is in place, it can often run for a long time without much admin work which gives the team more time to focus on higher-value tasks. There are also plenty of third-party tools available even for very specific use cases.

Cons

Setting up the first board the right way can take some effort. The required settings, along with the sequence they need to be updated in, aren't always very simple and can be frustrating to figure out. It also doesn't provide many extra built-in solutions, usually pointing users toward the marketplace and third-party add-ons instead.

“tracking and team chat”

Pros

Keeping track of issues is very easy and it also works well as a platform for the team to stay in touch and communicate.

Cons

At this point, I don't really have any complaints. It's been good overall.

“rich integration support”

Pros

It's a very flexible platform and feels like a de facto standard or at least one of the top three bug and task tracking tools out there. It may even be the only real option when you need to host several projects with different workflows inside one bug tracker. On top of that, the ecosystem of plugins and integrations is extensive which adds a lot of value.

Cons

That same flexibility can also work against you. Once a complex workflow is set up, simplifying it again later is quite difficult. The pricing is also on the expensive side.

“custom issue tracking”

Pros

One of the best parts is how customizable it is. It can adapt to the way your team already works, whether that's waterfall, agile or something else entirely. Keeping track of issues is very easy and the system can also generate reports for you which is really helpful. The only catch is that you do need to invest real time and effort to learn the tool properly.

Cons

Learning curve is definitely steep but aside from that, I really don't have any other complaints.