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JIRA Agile Essentials
JIRA Agile Essentials

JIRA Agile Essentials: Bring the power of Agile to Atlassian JIRA and run your projects efficiently with Scrum and Kanban

By Patrick Li
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Book Jun 2015 132 pages 1st Edition
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Product Details

Publication date : Jun 25, 2015
Length 132 pages
Edition : 1st Edition
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781784394912
Category :
Business & Other
Concepts :
Agile
Tools :
JIRA (Intermediate)
Table of content icon View table of contents Preview book icon Preview Book

JIRA Agile Essentials

Chapter 1. JIRA Agile Basics

Agile software development has been gaining momentum over the years as more and more people start to see problems with the traditional model, and the benefits agile methodologies bring. In agile, development happens in iterative cycles and improvements are made in each iteration. Feedback is gathered as early as possible, improving customer engagement and team collaboration. All of these actions help development teams to better anticipate and manage changes.

Atlassian, the maker of popular issue tracking software JIRA, recognizes the values agile can bring. It has become a leader in agile software development by coming out with JIRA Agile, a product that adds agile support to JIRA. In this chapter, we will introduce the basics of JIRA Agile.

By the end of the chapter, you will have learned:

  • What JIRA Agile is

  • The different options to install JIRA Agile

  • The key concepts and terminologies

  • Creating new agile projects with project templates

Introducing JIRA Agile

JIRA Agile, formerly known as GreenHopper, is a JIRA add-on that enables agile capabilities in JIRA. This does not mean you need to choose between JIRA and JIRA Agile. As we will see later in this chapter, JIRA Agile simply takes the data stored in JIRA, transforms and presents it in a way that makes it easier for you to visualize, plan, and manage your issues with agile methodologies such as Scrum. JIRA Agile supports two agile methodologies:

  • Scrum: This is an agile methodology where the development team works iteratively to complete the project. Each iteration or sprint has a defined timeframe and scope. Scrum is most suitable for software development projects. You can find out more about Scrum at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrum_(software_development).

  • Kanban: This is an agile methodology that emphasizes on just-in-time delivery by visualizing the workflow and tasks in progress. Kanban is most suitable for operation teams. You can find out more about Kanban at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban.

In short, the following list summarizes what JIRA Agile is and is not:

  • JIRA Agile is an add-on for JIRA

  • JIRA Agile is powered by new features and data stored in JIRA

  • JIRA Agile is not a separate, standalone application

  • JIRA Agile does not require you to be a seasoned JIRA user to use it

  • As an end user, you can use JIRA Agile, almost independently, from JIRA if you choose to

Installing JIRA Agile

Before we can install JIRA Agile, we first need to make sure we have everything we need. Firstly, you will need to have an account on the my Atlassian website (http://my.atlassian.com). You should have an account when installing JIRA and the account should have your JIRA license. If you wish to try the product, you can sign up and create an account for an evaluation purpose.

The easiest way to get JIRA Agile is to install it directly from JIRA, via the Universal Plugin Manager (UPM). To do this, you will need to have an account with JIRA System Administrator global permission, and perform the following steps:

  1. Click on the cog icon from the top right-hand corner of the screen and select the Add-ons option.

  2. Type in JIRA Agile in the search box and hit the Enter key on your keyboard. This will search Atlassian Marketplace and automatically find the latest version of JIRA Agile that is compatible with your version of JIRA, this is shown in the following screenshot:

  3. Click on the Free trial button for JIRA Agile in the search result list.

  4. Review and accept the end user agreement from Atlassian Marketplace. Once you have accepted the agreement, JIRA will automatically download and install JIRA Agile for you.

  5. Enter your Atlassian ID (your Mac account) when prompted and click on the Log in button, as shown in the following screenshot. This will automatically generate for you a 30 day trial license for JIRA Agile:

  6. After the 30 day trial license has been generated and automatically applied, you will get a confirmation message similar to the following screenshot, indicating the version of JIRA Agile installed:

  7. Click on the Get started button to take you to the Getting Started with JIRA Agile page as shown in the following screenshot:

Manually installing JIRA Agile

As you can see, installing JIRA Agile is simple and straightforward. However, there might be times when you cannot use the Universal Plugin Manager (UPM). In these cases, you will need to manually download JIRA Agile from https://marketplace.atlassian.com/plugins/com.pyxis.greenhopper.jira onto your local computer first, then upload and install it via the UPM.

You might want to do a manual installation if you need to install a specific version of JIRA Agile due to version compatibility issues or other bugs with the latest release. Another reason would be if your JIRA does not have access to Atlassian Marketplace due to network or firewall settings. To manually install JIRA Agile:

  1. Go to the preceding link and click on the Download link to get the add-on file.

  2. Go back to JIRA and click on the cog icon in the top right-hand corner and select the Add-ons option.

  3. Select the Manage add-ons option from the left-hand panel.

  4. Click on the Upload add-on link:

  5. Select the downloaded add-on file, and click on the Upload button.

  6. After you have uploaded the add-on, you will need to generate an evaluation license. You can do this by either going to https://my.atlassian.com or the Marketplace page and clicking on the Try it free button.

Understanding JIRA and JIRA Agile

If you have used JIRA before, it is useful to understand how JIRA and JIRA Agile work together as a whole. Firstly, as we have mentioned earlier, JIRA Agile is an add-on for JIRA, so it leverages many of JIRA's features. It also introduces some new features and concepts

The agile board

The agile board, or simply board, is a new user interface introduced in JIRA Agile. It is the main interface you, as the end user, will be using most of the time. If we use a real life comparison, the agile board will be your white board where you will place your user stories as post-it notes, which will be represented as cards. Essentially, you get the advantages of being able to visualize your backlog, as well as the added benefits of keeping track of changes and the progress of your tasks, along with reporting capabilities. For many teams, to keep using a white board is still very valuable, and we will look at ways we can combine both the white board and the JIRA Agile board in Chapter 5, JIRA Agile – Advanced.

In JIRA Agile, there are two different types of boards, one for Scrum and the other for Kanban, each with their own features. There is also a classic board, which is no longer under active development, so we will not be covering it. The following screenshot shows a sample Scrum board in the work mode:

Card

A card is like a post-it note you would have on your white board. It captures the user story and represents the requirement or feature that is to be implemented. In JIRA Agile, each card is an issue in JIRA. The following screenshot shows what a card looks like in JIRA Agile:

Issues and issue types

Every unit of work in JIRA Agile, such as a story or an epic, is an issue in JIRA. They are simply new issue types created by JIRA Agile when it is installed. The following new issue types will be added:

  • Epic: This represents a big user story that has not been broken down into finer-grained requirements. In JIRA Agile, epics are usually used to define the "theme" for several stories that will be part of it, as well as modules or major components in a big development project.

  • Story: This represents a single feature to be implemented. It is usually used to capture requirements from the end user's perspective. For this reason, stories are often written in non-technical language while focusing on the desired results of the feature.

  • Technical task: This is a subtask issue type that represents the actual technical work that needs to be done in order to implement the story.

Filters and JQL

JIRA Agile is able to work on either one specific project, or multiple projects at once. When you want to have multiple projects, you will need to use filters to define what issues will be included. For this reason, understanding and being able to use JIRA Query Language (JQL) effectively can be very handy. You can find more information on JQL at https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/JIRA/Advanced+Searching.

Workflows

Workflow is the heart of JIRA and is what powers JIRA Agile in the background. As we will see in later chapters, JIRA Agile is able to integrate with your existing workflows, or adapt to and model after your development process. When you are just getting started, you don't have to know much about workflow as JIRA Agile will take care of it for you.

Using JIRA Agile project templates

To help you get started quickly, JIRA Agile comes with two new project templates, one for Scrum and one for Kanban. If you are familiar with JIRA, project templates let you create new projects based on pre-defined templates. So, when the project is created, it will have all the necessary configurations set for you, including:

  • Issue type scheme: An issue type scheme that contains only agile-related issue types, such as story and epic.

  • Workflow: A specially designed workflow to work with JIRA Agile that lets you easily move tasks on your board.

  • Screens: A set of screens that contain necessary fields for working with agile, such as epic link to link stories to epics, and sprint for when tasks are added to Scrum sprints.

  • Agile board: An agile board that is dedicated to the new project.

The agile board is a handy tool if you want to create a new agile project and get running straight away. To use these new templates, perform the following steps:

  1. Select the Create Project option from the Projects drop-down menu.

  2. From the Select Project Type dialog, select either the Agile Scrum or Agile Kanban template and click on the Next button:

  3. Enter your project's name and description, and click on the Submit button to create the new project.

    Note

    The Agile Scrum and Agile Kanban templates are present when you first install JIRA, but they are only usable after JIRA Agile is installed.

As we will see in later chapters, to use JIRA Agile, you do not have to use these templates. You can enable JIRA Agile and create agile boards for any existing projects. These templates are simply tools to help you get started quickly.

Summary

In this chapter, we looked at some of the basics of JIRA Agile, what it is, and what it is not. JIRA Agile is an add-on that lets you visualize your issues in a different way, and by leveraging many of the core features of JIRA, it keeps the learning curve low, especially for seasoned JIRA users.

Now that we have laid out the basics of JIRA Agile, we will start to explore how we can use it to run agile projects, starting with the Scrum methodology in the next chapter.

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Key benefits

What you will learn

What do you get with eBook?

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Product feature icon Access this title in our online reader with advanced features
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Product Details

Publication date : Jun 25, 2015
Length 132 pages
Edition : 1st Edition
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781784394912
Category :
Business & Other
Concepts :
Agile
Tools :
JIRA (Intermediate)

Table of Contents

12 Chapters
JIRA Agile Essentials Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
JIRA Agile Essentials
Credits Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Credits
About the Author Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
About the Author
About the Reviewers Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
www.PacktPub.com
Preface Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Preface
JIRA Agile Basics Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
JIRA Agile Basics
Introducing JIRA Agile
Installing JIRA Agile
Understanding JIRA and JIRA Agile
Using JIRA Agile project templates
Summary
JIRA Agile for Scrum Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
JIRA Agile for Scrum
Scrum
Creating a new Scrum board
Summary
Customizing the Scrum Board Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Customizing the Scrum Board
Managing your board
The active sprint mode
Working with columns
Working with swimlanes
Using quick filters
Summary
JIRA Agile for Kanban Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
JIRA Agile for Kanban
Kanban
Understanding the Kanban board
Customizing your Kanban board
Releasing a version in Kanban
Improving your team's performance
Improving the process with charts and reports
Summary
JIRA Agile – Advanced Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
JIRA Agile – Advanced
Customizing Agile Cards
Running parallel sprints with Scrum
Displaying JIRA Agile reports
Integrating JIRA Agile with Confluence
Working with JIRA Agile offline
Summary
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index

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Authors (1)

Profile icon Mr. Patrick Li
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Patrick Li is the cofounder of AppFusions and works there as a senior engineer. AppFusions is one of the leading Atlassian experts, specializing in integration solutions with many enterprise applications and platforms, including IBM Connections, Jive, Google Apps, and more. He has worked in the Atlassian ecosystem for over 9 years, developing products and solutions for the Atlassian platform and providing expert consulting services. He has authored many books and video courses covering Jira 4 to 8. He has extensive experience in designing and deploying Atlassian solutions from the ground up, and customizing existing deployments for clients across verticals such as healthcare, software engineering, financial services, and government agencies.
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