How to Learn Scrum Using Jira Software
How do you learn scrum using Jira Software? We can show you.
Scrum is a popular framework in agile software development that enables organizations to manage complex projects by breaking them into manageable tasks. It enables delivering high-quality solutions in an iterative and incremental manner through collaboration between cross-functional scrum teams. JIRA Software is a great place to learn scrum. This JIRA scrum tutorial shows how to use JIRA for scrum software development by creating different scrum artifacts like product backlogs and sprint backlogs. It also explains how to use scrum artifacts in scrum events such as sprint reviews and retrospective meetings.
How to Start a Scrum Project in JIRA?
Let’s start by creating a scrum board in JIRA software.
- Select ‘Create Project’ from the global navigation bar in JIRA. JIRA provides three project templates: Kanban, Scrum, and Bug tracking. To create a scrum project, select the “Scrum” template.
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- Next, select the project type you want to create. If your team should set up and maintain the scrum project, select ‘Team-managed”. If your project requires collaboration with other teams across many projects, then select a “Company-managed” project type.
- Next, add your project details.
- You can then connect your project with connected tools, if necessary.
- Once you have created the scrum project, you get redirected to the JIRA Scrum board that shows the progress of backlog items.
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Create the Backlog
In scrum, the backlog shows the breakdown of work required to complete the project. You must define each work in user stories, tasks, or bugs. JIRA calls these work types ‘issues’. Once you have created the project, the next thing is to create those issues and fill the backlog. Now product owners can prioritize those items by re-ordering them.
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Create a Sprint
The scrum framework uses ‘sprints’ to complete a set of work defined in the backlog. A sprint is a fixed time duration that typically spans two to four weeks. You can create a sprint in JIRA software once you have created all the user stories. Click on “Create sprint” in the top-right corner of the backlog. It creates an empty sprint in which you drag and drop the issues in the backlog. Create the number of sprints based on your project duration.
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How to Plan your Sprint Using JIRA
Once you have created the sprints, the next step is to plan the sprint by holding the sprint planning meeting. The sprint planning meeting is a special event where the scrum team gets together and discusses what issues they should commit to in the next sprint.
The scrum team first estimates the user stores, tasks, and bugs and updates the estimation in the “Story points” field. In addition, the team enters the complete details of the issue by specifying the acceptance criteria, creating sub-tasks, setting the priority, etc. Next, drag and drop the planned issues into the sprint to create the sprint backlog.
Start the Sprint
Click on the “Start sprint” button, then add the sprint start and end dates. The sprint start and end dates depend on the team, project, or organization. For example, some teams start the sprint on a Monday and end on a Friday, but some teams prefer to start and end the sprints on the same weekday. Also, finish assigning every issue in the sprint backlog, define the sprint goal, and give a name to the sprint if it is mandatory for the project. After you finish the initial work, click on the ‘Start’ button, and you get redirected to the Scrum board that shows the progress of the active sprint.
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From this board, the team drags and drops the items into the ‘In Progress’ and ‘Done’ columns as they progress through them. Next, filter the issue in the board by its issue type if you want, search through the board, and add additional progress statuses. There is also the option to group the progress by the assignee and the sub-tasks.
How to Review Sprint Progress in JIRA?
Daily Scrum
Daily scrums are short meetings that span approximately 15 minutes where team members get together and provide an update on their progress. The scrum master leads the scrum, and uses the sprint board to see the progress. Each team member briefly describes what they are working on, what they previously worked on, and any issues they face.
The scrum master then helps to resolve team member issues. According to the teams’ actual progress, the scrum master updates the progress status of each task or requests the individuals to update them if they haven’t done so. Daily scrums help the team to know what others are working on. In addition, they help to resolve the roadblocks to project completion in advance.
Sprint Burndown Chart
A sprint burndown chart is a good way to understand the sprints’ progress. It shows the time on the x-axis and the story points on the y-axis. The sprint burndown chart enables you to monitor the total work estimated, the remaining work in the sprint, and the possibility of completing the sprint goal.
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Sprint Report
The sprint report provides a detailed view of the sprint progress, enabling your team to understand if they are overcommitting or under-committing the work. It shows a status report including the completed issues, issues not completed, issues completed outside the sprint, and issues removed from the sprint. The sprint report also highlights the issues added to the sprint after the sprint started.
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Sprint Review Meeting
On the last day of the sprint, teams get together to demonstrate their work and what they could not complete. Stakeholders sometimes attend and provide feedback. Teams use the sprint backlog active sprint to show the progress of their sprints. Stakeholders make changes according to their decisions. Overall, the team and the stakeholders get to know if they have met the sprint goals.
Sprint Retrospective Meeting
Once you hold the sprint review meeting, the team holds the sprint retrospective meeting where they discuss what went well, what didn’t, and any ways they can improve. The scrum master uses the sprint burndown chart and sprint report to highlight key issues. The retrospective meeting helps teams to focus on important areas to execute the project without any issues.
Complete the Sprint
The team completes the sprint by clicking on ‘Complete sprint.’ JIRA shows the completed and open issues remaining in the sprint backlog and allows us to move the open issue to the future sprint.
Credit: Atlassian
Credit: Atlassian
