Configuring Jira Projects

Managing projects in Jira doesn’t stop after completing the initial setup. There are many ways you can further optimize Jira for project management.

Components

If issues within a project are becoming difficult to manage, you can group some together by using components. While components shouldn’t be overused, as they add additional complexity to your project, they provide a quick way to organize issues and allow you to define different default assignees for issues in the same project. For example, a project for creating a new product might involve issues related to design, manufacturing, and marketing, and you could create components for each.

To add a component, click on Components when viewing your project and choose Create Component.

Fields

Fields are the pieces of information displayed on an issue screen. Paying close attention to what information should be shown to users, and how to display it, is a critical part of project management in Jira. For example, you can display important images in a field using rich text format or define whether filling out fields when creating, transitioning, or deleting an issue is optional or required.You can add new fields to issue types used in your project as well, but any custom fields should be planned and discussed before inclusion to avoid confusion or redundancy. You can also delete fields other than those containing certain basic information like issue names.You can configure fields by choosing Fields from the menu and then selecting Issues > Field Configurations.

Screens

Screens in Jira allow you to create a collection of fields that will display at certain times. For instance, you could define different screens for issue creation and issue transitions. Screens are a key part of project management in Jira, as they allow you to tailor the information shown to team members at different stages of a process so they can keep relevant details in front of them without being overwhelmed.

To create a screen scheme or associate existing schemes with parts of an issue, select Screens from the menu, then choose Issues > Screen Schemes.

Adding Workflows

Workflows may be the most critical part of setting up your project. They define the flow of completed tasks and dependencies for a frequently performed, repeatable business process. Jira makes it easy to design custom workflows, and it also provides some default workflows to choose from.You can connect workflows to projects by using workflow schemes. To create a workflow scheme, select Workflow Schemes from the menu and click on Issues. You can freely associate workflow schemes with individual projects.One of the best ways to increase Jira’s positive impact on your team is to customize the behavior of transitions from one step of the process — called a “status” in Jira — to another. You can do so in several ways:

Conditions must be met before a transition can occur.
Validators require users to input specific information before transitioning.
Post functions define other processes that must be completed before the transition occurs.
Triggers automatically transition an issue when specific events occur.

Remember to follow general best practices for workflows when using them in Jira. They should be as streamlined as possible, describe a business process which is performed repeatedly, and reflect how the process is actually performed — or how it will be performed in the future.

User Management and Roles

To get your team members working into your new project, you need to add them to Jira as users. You can add team members by email in both Jira Cloud and DataCenter. Keep in mind that the cost of Jira is dependent on the number of users in your instance. In addition to adding users, you’ll also want to assign them roles within the project. Jira has several default roles, such as Administrator, Project Manager, and Developer, that you can use. You can also create custom roles if needed.By following these steps to configure your Jira projects, you’ll be well on your way to optimizing Jira for your team’s specific needs and processes

For more detailed steps on how to create a project in Jira please check this post