What Is JIRA Software? Understanding Atlassian’s Agile Tool

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December 26, 2025

What Is JIRA Software? Understanding Atlassian’s Agile Tool

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In today’s software-driven landscape, more and more enterprises rely on specialized software development tools for project management and issue tracking. Among these solutions, JIRA Software stands out as one of the most powerful and flexible options for teams that need structure, transparency, and scalability. If your business is currently searching for a software development tool that can support complex projects and cross-functional collaboration, this article is a must-read. We will break down what is JIRA Software, its key features, pros and cons, setup guide, and practical use cases so you can decide whether it is the right tool for your software development process.

What is the JIRA Software tool?

JIRA Software is an advanced issue-tracking and Agile project management tool developed by Atlassian. The tool is designed to help software development teams, DevOps groups, IT operations, and cross-functional departments manage tasks, bugs, features, and releases in a unified environment.

By offering customizable workflows, support for Scrum and Kanban boards, and comprehensive tracking capabilities, JIRA enables organizations to streamline delivery, enforce discipline in project execution, and improve operational transparency.

Example:

Spotify utilizes JIRA Software as its central Agile project management platform to track feature development, bug fixes, and sprint planning across hundreds of engineering teams collaborating on music streaming infrastructure. This implementation streamlines workflow visibility, accelerates release cycles from code commit to production deployment, and reduces time-to-market for new features by maintaining real-time alignment across distributed teams globally.

Workflow of JIRA Software

Here is a simplified explanation of how JIRA typically operates in a software-development workflow:

Issue creation: A team member (developer, QA, product manager, etc.) creates an “issue” in JIRA to register a bug, a new feature, a task, or any work item.
State transitions: The issue moves through predefined states (e.g., “To Do” → “In Progress” → “In Review” → “Done”) reflecting its status in the development lifecycle.
Workflow automation: JIRA allows configuration of automated rules to trigger actions such as assigning tasks, sending notifications, or changing statuses when certain conditions are met.
Approval paths: For larger teams or regulated projects, JIRA workflows can include approval steps — for example, code review, QA sign-off, or managerial approval — before an issue moves forward.
Status mapping and tracking: Every issue remains traceable with metadata such as assignee, priority, component, labels, and progress history, which supports transparency and auditability.

This workflow mechanism helps enterprises formalize work processes, avoid bottlenecks, and ensure consistent traceability from planning through release.

What is JIRA Software Used For?

JIRA provides a centralized platform for managing tasks, bugs, and other types of issues, and it helps teams organize and prioritize their work. JIRA is designed for agile software development teams, and it supports multiple methodologies such as Scrum, Kanban, and custom workflows.

Main tasks that many companies commonly use JIRA for include:

Project management of software development projects, including planning, tracking progress, and coordinating tasks across teams.
Issue tracking for bugs, defects, and technical debt, ensuring that problems are logged, assigned, and resolved systematically.
Sprint planning and management via Scrum or Kanban boards, enabling teams to organize work into sprints or continuous flow.
Release and version tracking to manage deployment cycles, version history, and release notes in a structured manner.
Cross-team collaboration and task coordination beyond engineering — for example, IT operations, business services, or even marketing and support projects.
Reporting and analytics to monitor team performance, track throughput, analyze bottlenecks, and drive continuous improvement.

Key Features of JIRA Software

Agile Boards (Scrum & Kanban): JIRA offers built-in Scrum and Kanban boards that visually represent tasks and workflow stages, helping teams manage backlog, sprints, and task status. This feature supports both sprint-based and continuous-flow agile methodologies.
Customizable Workflows: JIRA allows organizations to design workflows to match their specific processes, including custom issue types, transitions, statuses, and permission schemes — ensuring flexibility and process alignment.
Issue and Project Tracking: JIRA provides robust issue tracking capabilities with metadata (priority, assignee, labels, components), enabling detailed project management and traceability from issue creation to resolution.
Automation Rules: The tool supports automation of repetitive tasks (e.g., auto-assigning, status updates, notifications), which helps reduce manual overhead and ensure consistent workflow execution.
Reporting & Analytics Dashboards: JIRA supplies built-in charts and reports (e.g., burndown charts, velocity charts, cumulative flow diagrams) that help teams and stakeholders monitor progress and performance.
Integrations & Ecosystem Support: JIRA integrates with many development, collaboration, and CI/CD tools (e.g., code repositories, CI pipelines, documentation platforms), which makes it a central hub within enterprise toolchains.
Scalability for Enterprise Use: JIRA supports small teams as well as large organizations, with enterprise-grade configuration options, permissions control, and adaptability to complex project structures.

Why Enterprises Use JIRA Software?

In today’s fast-paced business landscape, where rapid product delivery, superior quality, and seamless collaboration are paramount, enterprises turn to JIRA Software for its proven strengths in Agile project management and issue tracking. Here are the key reasons why many companies and corporations choose JIRA to develop their own software:

Support for Complex Workflows: Enterprises select JIRA because it excels at managing intricate workflows and large-scale Agile development, enabling distributed and cross-functional teams to collaborate effectively on high-stakes projects.
Customizable Process Enforcement: Organizations leverage JIRA’s highly adaptable workflows to standardize processes, ensure governance, and maintain consistency across diverse departments and initiatives.
Robust Tracking and Reporting: Businesses gain transparency, accountability, and full audit trails through JIRA’s advanced issue tracking and comprehensive reporting tools, which provide real-time insights into project health.
Seamless Tool Integrations: Companies value JIRA’s extensive integration ecosystem with source control, CI/CD pipelines, documentation platforms, and communication apps, creating frictionless DevOps workflows and accelerated delivery.
Enterprise-Grade Scalability: Large teams rely on JIRA’s ability to scale effortlessly for hundreds or thousands of users, offering granular permission controls, project isolation, and modular setups without performance degradation.
Versatile Workflow Flexibility: Enterprises appreciate JIRA’s adaptability beyond software development, supporting IT operations, general project management, service desks, and even non-technical processes with equal efficiency.

Pros & Cons of JIRA Software

Pros	Cons
Workflow customization	Steep learning curve for new users
Agile-board support (Scrum & Kanban)	Slower performance on large projects or heavy data sets
Robust issue & project tracking	Complexity may overwhelm small or non-technical teams
Rich reporting & analytics dashboards	Missing built-in timeline/roadmap visualization (requires plugins)
Extensive integration ecosystem (CI/CD, repos, collaboration tools)	Licensing costs can be high for large teams
Scalability for enterprise-level usage	Interface and configuration complexity can lead to administrative overhead
Real-time status visibility and transparency	Limited “idea-management” or creative planning functionality

How to set up and use JIRA Software?

Here is a clear, step-by-step guide to get started with JIRA Software — from installation to active project usage. This can serve as your basic JIRA Software tutorial for later usage within your software development project.

Step 1: Download JIRA Software and Create a Project

First, download JIRA Software from the official Atlassian site or install it on your server if using a self-hosted version (this is the “download Jira software” step). Once installed, open JIRA and choose “Create a project.” In this step, you define the project name, type (e.g., Software, Business, Service), and basic settings. It is important to pick the correct project type according to your workflow needs because it determines default issue types, boards (Scrum/Kanban), and permissions.

Step 2: Set Up Workflows

After creating a project, configure custom workflows to match your team’s process. Define issue statuses (e.g., To Do, In Progress, In Review, Done), transitions between statuses, and any special conditions or approvals. Pay careful attention to permission settings and transitions, especially in larger teams — proper configuration ensures that only authorized roles can move issues through critical stages.

Step 3: Create Issues and Assign Tasks

Begin creating issues in the project: bugs, feature requests, tasks, or any work items. For each issue, fill in metadata like priority, description, assignee, labels/components. Then assign tasks to team members and set due dates if needed. Accurate issue creation and assignment help keep workloads clear and traceability high.

Step 4: Start a Sprint

If you are using Agile methodology (Scrum), configure the sprint duration, select backlog items (issues) for the sprint, and start the sprint. For teams using Kanban or continuous flow, you can skip sprint steps and move issues directly through the board. During the sprint, you should encourage daily updates and status changes to keep transparency. This step helps your team commit to defined deliverables and work within timeboxed periods.

Step 5: Monitor Progress

Use JIRA’s built-in boards, status tracking, and dashboards to monitor progress. Track how many issues are in each status, see who is assigned to what, and watch for bottlenecks. Regular monitoring ensures you spot delays early, balance workload, and keep the project on schedule. This stage is critical for maintaining visibility and accountability across the team.

Step 6: Generate Reports

At the end of a sprint or periodically, generate reports and analytics — such as burndown charts, velocity charts, cumulative flow diagrams, or custom dashboards. These reports help assess team performance, identify inefficiencies, and inform planning for future sprints. Consistent reporting supports data-driven decisions and continuous improvement.

Top 4 JIRA Software Alternatives

JIRA is not the only software development tool on the market. Currently, several other tools strongly compete with JIRA in terms of pricing, features, ease of use, and user experience. Below are some popular alternative options if you consider solutions beyond JIRA, or want JIRA Software training options elsewhere.

Trello

Trello is a visual project management tool built around boards, lists, and cards. It offers a simple, drag-and-drop interface that makes task tracking intuitive and accessible for small teams or non-technical groups. Compared to JIRA, Trello is easier to adopt and requires minimal setup, but it lacks the advanced issue tracking, reporting, and customization that large software teams often need.

Asana

Asana is a flexible work management platform that supports tasks, projects, timelines, and team collaboration across departments. It works well for cross-functional teams (marketing, operations, product) and for companies that need structured task coordination without heavy technical overhead.

While Asana offers broader usability for non-engineering projects, it does not provide as deep bug-tracking, release management, or development-oriented Agile features as JIRA.

Linear

Linear is a newer project and issue-tracking tool aimed at teams that value speed, simplicity, and minimal friction. It focuses on efficient issue management, sleek UI, and fast workflows for small to mid-sized software teams.

Linear may offer smoother onboarding and a more streamlined experience compared with JIRA’s complexity — but it may lack the enterprise-grade scalability, customization, and extensive integrations that large organizations require.

Azure DevOps

Azure DevOps (from Microsoft) is a comprehensive development platform that includes project management, source control, CI/CD pipelines, testing, and release management. For enterprises deeply embedded in the Microsoft ecosystem, Azure DevOps provides a unified environment for development and operations.

Compared to JIRA, Azure DevOps offers stronger integration with CI/CD and full DevOps software development lifecycle tools — but teams looking for a dedicated Agile project management and issue-tracking tool might find JIRA more specialized and flexible.

Partner with Newwave Solutions for quality Software Development Services

Don’t think that mastering the JIRA tool is enough for the entire software development process, as there are still plenty of tasks, resources, and efforts to spend on it. For inexperienced or newbies, it is best to hire an IT outsourcing partner to carry out the entire software development process.

In choosing a software-development partner, enterprises gain far more than a tool — they gain a trusted collaborator capable of navigating full lifecycle delivery. Newwave Solutions offers comprehensive software development services that help companies not only implement project management tools like JIRA Software, but also transform their ideas into robust, market-ready applications.

With a team of 300+ certified professionals and over 14 years of experience, Newwave ensures scalable, secure, and efficient delivery through each phase of software creation.

What Newwave Solutions Can Provide?

End-to-end development lifecycle support: From initial concept and business analysis to architecture design, development, testing (QA), deployment, and post-launch maintenance.
MVP & prototype delivery: Rapid validation of product ideas through minimum viable product (MVP) development, enabling quicker time-to-market and early user feedback.
Custom web & mobile applications development solutions: Building scalable, secure, and responsive web apps or mobile apps tailored to your business needs — from enterprise platforms to consumer-facing products.
Flexible outsourcing and offshore models: Flexible cooperation models — dedicated teams, fixed-price, time-and-materials (T&M), or offshore outsourcing — helping you scale resources as needed while optimizing cost and speed.
Quality assurance & maintenance services: Ongoing QA/testing and maintenance support to ensure long-term stability, security, and performance of released products.
Integration of modern technologies: Capacity to implement advanced technologies such as blockchain, AI, cloud, or IoT to future-proof your solutions and support digital transformation initiatives.

Why Partnering With Newwave Makes a Difference?

By collaborating with Newwave Solutions, your enterprise benefits from a partner that already understands how to integrate tools like JIRA Software seamlessly into a robust development pipeline. Instead of only using JIRA for project tracking, you get full support for architecture, coding, QA, deployment, and maintenance.

This end-to-end approach helps reduce project risks, accelerate time-to-market, and maintain high standards of quality. Moreover, the flexible engagement models and experienced offshore teams give you scalability and cost efficiency without sacrificing control or transparency.

Conclusion

By now, you have gained a clear understanding of what is JIRA Software and how it supports Agile project management and issue tracking in real-world environments. This platform can be a strong choice for enterprises that need better visibility, standardized workflows, and data-driven control over their software projects. However, your team should carefully evaluate its advantages and limitations, as well as suitable alternatives, before making a final decision.

If you need a trusted partner to implement JIRA and other development tools effectively, Newwave Solutions can provide end-to-end software development services that help your business apply the right tools, optimize quality, and manage time and resources across the entire project lifecycle from idea to development and launch.

To Quang Duy is the CEO of Newwave Solutions, a leading Vietnamese software company. He is recognized as a standout technology consultant. Connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter.