What Is Jira?

Jira is a project management tool specifically designed for software development teams. It is a product created by its parent company, Atlassian. Atlassian was founded by Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar in 2002. In that same year, they released Jira as their flagship product. 

The main use of Jira is as an issue and project management tool. It is an advanced tool that can be used by software development teams who operate using the agile methodology, which is the opposite of the more traditional waterfall project management approach.

Although Jira is mainly used by software developers, its customizable nature means that it can be used to manage just about any project you might have. However, Jira is loaded with features and is famous for being a complicated tool to learn and use. If you’re using for a simpler project management tool from the list of products that Atlassian offers, Trello should be one of the alternatives you consider.

What Features Does Jira Have?

Tasks, Sprints and Epics

Jira is loaded with features that make it a powerful project management tool if used correctly. Being a tool that was created for agile teams, Jira makes it easy for your team to plan sprints on the software. 

You can assign multiple tasks to your teammates on Jira and allow them the flexibility to focus on multiple issues during the sprint. It’s best to assign tasks that are related to each other so that your teammate can work on similar tasks during each sprint.

Being an issue management tool as well, tasks in Jira are also known as Issues. Think of issues as the steps needed to complete sprints and epic projects. 

While sprints are common practice, bigger projects would demand more of a marathon mindset instead of working in short bursts. Jira categorizes these bigger projects into Epics, which consist of multiple tasks and issues. In each Epic, a team will have to go through a few sprints to complete all of the given tasks and issues.

In Jira, issues that don’t have subtasks are known as Tasks. Tasks in this case will refer to straightforward tasks that can be completed in a single step.

Project Views

Jira offers multiple project views that aid with agile project management. It has a Kanban Board view that is commonly seen in modern project managers such as Trello and MeisterTask. Kanban boards help you and your team visualize your projects by displaying task cards on a board. On Jira, teams can drag and drop tasks into other columns, making it easy to use.

A software that caters to agile project management wouldn’t be complete without a Scrum board view. Jira’s scrum board allows you and your team to plan your sprints and ensure that everyone has a manageable workload during the sprint. Keeping your projects and sprints organized helps the development process flow easier, and prevents hiccups on your project timeline.

Reporting

Jira’s reports feature gives you access to real-time project and progress insights. This gives you the ability to make decisions based on real-time data so that you can optimize your sprints and make changes along the way. Having access to agile reports gives you and your team the confidence to ensure that the product is delivered on time.

Some of the reports that are available include a user workload report which shows the workload for your team members, and also a report which shows the rate at which bugs reports are being created.

Customizable Workflows

The customizability of Jira means that you can use it to many projects regardless of complexity or scale. The only caveat to this is that you must be familiar with the software or else it will be too overwhelming for you. Once you’ve mastered the ins and outs of Jira, you’ll be able to create custom workflows to manage your projects. Additionally, you can also make use of templates from Atlassian to help you get a headstart when managing projects with Jira.

What Is Jira Good For?

Jira is best used for software development teams that operate using the agile methodology. Even though non software developers can also use the tool for normal projects, Jira is too complicated to use for simple and more straightforward projects. 

There’s a large opportunity cost when it comes to smaller teams learning how to use Jira. This is because you could use the time spent learning Jira to instead manage projects and get work done on other simpler project management tools.

In fact, here’s a list of the best project management tools for you to choose from if you’re looking for a simpler alternative to Jira. 

What Are Some Limitations of Jira?

Although Jira is a powerful issue tracking and task management tool, there are a few limitations that come with it.

• Can be a nightmare to use without proper onboarding
• Proper training needed to use Jira to its full potential
• Jira is complicated and can make task management hard
• There is a lack of communication features within Jira
• It is built for engineers, and not necessarily the wider population

How Much Does Jira Cost?

Jira has 4 different price points which include the Free, Standard, Premium, and Enterprise plan.

Jira Free

• Up to 10 users per site
• 1 Site
• Single project automation
• Basic roadmaps

Jira Standard ($7.50 per user/month)

• 20,000 users per site
• 1 Site
• Single project automation
• Basic roadmaps

Jira Premium ($14.50 per user/month)

• 20,000 users per site
• 1 Site
• Multi-project automation
• Advanced roadmaps

Jira Enterprise (Custom pricing)

• 20,000 users
• Unlimited Sites
• Multi-project automation
• Advanced roadmaps

What Is Taskade?

Taskade is an online productivity and collaboration tool that was founded by John Xie, Dionis Loire, and Stan Chang in 2017. The Y Combinator-backed startup aims to help remote teams and individuals get work done faster and smarter.

With Taskade, you can organize and break down your projects into smaller actionable steps. Change between multiple project views, automate repetitive workflows, collaborate via built-in video chat with your team, and more, via an all-in-one unified workspace. 

Invite your teammates and stakeholders into your projects, folders, and workspaces with a unique link and collaborate to get work done together. 

Get a headstart on your projects and find a suitable structure for your notes via Taskade’s versatile collection of templates. Simply choose from a wide variety of templates and add them to your projects to get started instantly!

Taskade is a supercharged productivity app that both individuals and teams can use to collaborate on projects in real-time.

Taskade is the best free Jira alternative. Get started instantly for free today.

Key Features of Taskade

• Project Views. Visualize your projects in several different ways. Cycle between the List, Mind Map, Org Chart, and Board views to work the way you want. 

  • List View. This is the default view on Taskade. Create new lists here.
  • Board View. This view lets you work horizontally like a Kanban board. Visualize your workflow and tasks in this full-width view.
  • Mind Map View. This view lets you work in a horizontal tree-structured manner and map out what you have in mind.
  • Action View. Work in table view and stay organized with your task due dates, and more.
  • Org Chart View. Break down larger tasks into smaller ones to help you get things done.

• Zoom In, Zoom Out. Get a bird’s-eye view of the workflow by zooming out on all project views, or zoom in to focus on a specific area.
• Fold/Unfold. Fold (collapse) a parent task/bullet element to hide its subtasks. Indent outline elements with ⌨️ Tab and unfold lists with ⌨️ Shift+Tab.
• Real-time Communication. Chat and video conference with your team while collaborating in real-time on the same page. 
• 500+ Templates. Choose from 500+ templates across 26 categories to improve your productivity and workflows. Customize existing templates or create new ones across your workspaces.
• Multi-Select. Select and format multiple blocks or bulk assign them as tasks to other team members. You can also copy, paste, or indent selected blocks.

• Customize Sub-Tasks. Customize the format of your sub-tasks at individual levels. Choose from headings, numbered lists, shapes, and more.
• Recurring Tasks. Add due dates with start and end times to tasks within your project and set them to repeat daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly.
• Move Tasks. Move and copy selected tasks to other projects across any workspace. You’ll receive a pop-up notification on completion.
• User Roles & Permissions. Manage collaborators and assign user roles/editing privileges (Owner, Admin, Editor, Checker, Viewer).

• Sort Tasks. Sort sub-tasks/children elements by completed/uncompleted stats or the due date. Task sorting can be accessed from a convenient pop-up menu.
• Search. Search within projects or globally across workspaces and subspaces. Instantly browse and jump between projects anywhere in the Taskade.
• Keyboard Shortcuts. Navigate projects, create content blocks, reorder elements, and complete tasks using a set of handy keyboard shortcuts.

• Team Calendar. Aggregate all tasks and projects in a shared calendar. The Taskade calendar integrates with Google (two-way), Apple, and Outlook. 
• Reorder Tasks. Lists in Taskade aren’t set in stone. Reorder tasks and find them a new home with intuitive drag-and-drop mechanics.
• Project History. See all the changes made by you and other collaborators. Click on the entries to navigate to the edited items within the project.
• Version History. Taskade saves snapshots of your project so that you can restore a previous version of your project with a single click.

• Export and Print. You can export your projects as plain text or markdown files. Attach them to emails, presentations, or for print.

• Cloud File Upload. Share files directly from Google Drive, Dropbox, Instagram, and Box in your projects with our integrations.
• Breakdown Larger Tasks. Organize your thoughts with Taskade’s unlimited hierarchy to break down large projects into tasks.
• Quick Search. Use CMD / CTRL + K to jump between any projects within Taskade web and apps.

For an exhaustive list of Taskade’s features, click here.

Taskade Pros

• Free-forever plan is loaded with features
• Real-time collaboration within the same project 
• Free built-in video call and chat function in each project
• Customizable templates to give you a headstart
• Work and chat in the same window, in the same app
• Frequent updates based on user/your feedback and suggestions
• Tabbed workflow for working with multiple Projects

Taskade Cons

• No custom APIs (yet)

Taskade Pricing

Taskade Free Plan

• Unlimited Tasks & Projects
• Unlimited Members & Guests
• Unlimited Folders & Teams
• Templates, Calendar, Repeat Tasks
• Real-time Collaboration
• Built-in Free Chat and Video Call

Taskade Unlimited Plan - Starts from $5/month

• Everything in Free, plus:
• Version History
• Advanced Permission
• Cloud Upload Integration
• 2-Way Calendar Integration

Click here for more information.

Is Taskade Right for You?

Taskade can be used by individuals and teams working from anywhere. Use Taskade individually or collaborate with your team for weekly agendas, team meetings, note-taking, project management, product roadmaps, and more. 

Make use of customizable board views to visualize your projects into digestible smaller tasks. Multiple board views are available even on Taskade’s free plan, allowing you to get more work done the smarter way. 

Collaborate with your team in real-time with free and unlimited chat and video conferencing available on every project. Automatic syncing ensures that your data is always up to date across devices.

Our customizable templates are available even with our free plan. Choose from hundreds of templates to help you get started with your project, and customize it to create a workflow that fits your needs!

Taskade is the simplest way to create task lists, checklists, and workflows. Manage projects and get more work done the simple way with Taskade.

Taskade is the best free Jira alternative. Try Taskade for free today.