Dashboards

Jira dashboards are powerful tools that allow you to centralize and visualize critical project information in one place. This functionality is essential for teams that need to make quick decisions based on concrete data, allowing them to monitor progress, identify bottlenecks and maintain an overview of the status of their projects. Learning how to create and customize effective dashboards can radically transform your project management in Jira.

How to create an effective dashboard in Jira?

A dashboard in Jira is a customizable panel that allows you to visualize information about your projects in real time. This tool is essential to keep your team informed and aligned with the project's objectives. To create an effective dashboard, it is important to understand the relationship between JQL queries, filters and the dashboards themselves.

The process starts with creating a filter based on a specific JQL query. For example, if we want to monitor high priority tasks in a project, we can follow these steps:

1. Go to "Filters" and select "View all filters".
2. Click on "Create a new filter".
3. Delete the default query in the search bar.
4. Write our custom JQL query.

For a case study, let's imagine that we need to identify all the high priority tasks in the "Easy Delivery" project, which are assigned but not yet completed. The JQL query would be:

project = "Easy Delivery" AND priority = High AND status != Solved AND status != Done AND assignee IS NOT EMPTY .

Once the query is executed and verified that it shows the expected results, we save the filter with a descriptive name such as "Top Tasks", configuring read and edit permissions as needed.

How to configure and customize your dashboard?

To create a dashboard, follow these steps:

1. Select "Dashboards" at the top and click "Create Dashboard".
2. Assign a descriptive name such as "Easy Delivery Project".
3. Set read and edit permissions.
4. Save the changes.

Once the dashboard is created, you will see an initial interface that allows you to add different widgets or gadgets. In the right panel you will find all the available reports, such as the pending work graph or the speed graph.

Customization is key to an effective dashboard. You can add widgets by simply selecting them and configuring them according to your needs. Some widgets require additional configuration, such as selecting a specific filter to display relevant information.

What types of widgets can you include in your dashboard?

Widgets are visual components that display specific information on your dashboard. Some useful examples are:

1. Bar chart: Shows the distribution of incidents per day, filtered according to your criteria.

   • To configure it, select the previously created filter (e.g. "Most important tasks").
   • Define the update interval (e.g. 15 minutes).

2. Pie chart: Display the distribution of incidents according to a specific criterion.

   • You can configure it to show the distribution per assigned person.
   • This allows you to quickly identify the workload of each team member.

3. Days remaining in the sprint: Displays the time remaining to complete the current sprint.

   • Select your dashboard and configure it to display the dashboard and sprint name.

These are just a few examples, but Jira offers a wide variety of widgets that you can explore and add according to the specific needs of your project and team.

How to integrate external tools to power your dashboards?

One of the advantages of Jira is its ability to integrate with external tools. This allows you to expand the functionality of your dashboards beyond what Jira offers by default.

You can integrate applications such as eazyBI to create more advanced and customizable reports and graphs. These integrations allow you to:

1. Visualize data in a more sophisticated way.
2. Create customized reports that fit your exact needs.
3. Combine data from different sources for a more complete analysis.

The recommendation is to explore the different applications available in the Atlassian marketplace that can help you customize your dashboards at a deeper level, and test them to determine which ones best suit your specific needs.

Well-designed dashboards are powerful tools that transform the way you manage your projects in Jira. We invite you to create your own dashboard, experiment with different widgets and customize it to your team's specific needs, and share your experiences and discoveries in the comments section so we can all learn together!