In today's fast-paced digital world, effective project management is the cornerstone of successful business operations. But how do you choose the right tool to manage your projects, streamline your workflows, and increase your team's productivity? Dive into the world of Jira - a set of powerful tools that will transform the way you work. In this comprehensive guide, we'll look in detail at the different products, Jira Software, Jira Service Management, and Jira Work Management. At the end of this article, you'll be able to make an informed decision about which Jira product is the best fit for your team.

Jira Software

Jira Software Board
Source: Atlassian

Have you ever wondered how software development teams manage complex projects, meet tight deadlines, and deliver high-quality software? The secret lies in Jira Software, a project management tool designed specifically for software teams.

Key features of Jira software

Designed to support agile methodologies, Jira software provides a flexible platform for planning, tracking, and releasing software. With Jira Software allows you to create user stories, plan sprints, and distribute tasks within your software team. It offers multiple boards (Kanban & Agile) to track work, swimlanes to streamline project view based on predefined filters, and Agile reports to track project progress and address issues.

What sets Jira software apart, however, is its deep integration with other development platforms. It connects seamlessly with popular platforms like Bitbucket and GitHub, allowing developers to view relevant Git commits, branches, and pull requests directly in the context of a Jira software story or bug.

The benefits of Jira software

The benefits of Jira software extend beyond the development team. By streamlining the software development process, Jira shortens time-to-market and helps your company stay competitive. It facilitates collaboration by allowing team members to share information, discuss tasks, and resolve issues quickly. This not only improves the quality of the software, but also increases team productivity.

In addition, agile reports provide valuable insights into your team's performance, helping you identify bottlenecks and make data-driven decisions. Whether you want to track sprint completion with a burndown chart or understand the team's velocity over time, Jira software gives you the data you need to optimize your processes.

Is Jira software right for your team?

If your team is in software development and uses agile methodologies like Scrum or Kanban, Jira is the ideal tool for you. It's designed to support the unique workflows of software teams, making it an excellent choice for developers, testers, and project managers in the technology industry. But remember, Jira's strength lies not only in its features, but also in how well it fits into your team's processes and workflows.

Bonus Tip: If you use Jira software, you can also use Jira Work Management projects.

Jira Service Management

Source: Atlassian

Next we turn to Jira Service Management a platform that optimizes interaction between departments or between the service support team and customers.

Key features of Jira Service Management

Jira Service Management is an IT service management (ITSM) solution that brings together IT support and project management. It has a user-friendly customer portal where users can submit requests, a powerful SLA tracking system, and a knowledge base for self-service support.

One of Jira Service Management's standout features is its built-in ITIL-certified processes. ITIL, or Information Technology Infrastructure Library, is a set of best practices for ITSM that focuses on aligning IT services with business needs. With Jira Service Management, you can leverage these best practices to deliver high-quality IT services.

The benefits of Jira Service Management

Implementing Jira Service Management can lead to significant improvements in your IT service delivery. By providing a centralized platform for request management, it ensures that no request falls through the cracks. The SLA tracking system helps maintain a high quality of service, while the knowledge base reduces the burden on your service desk by enabling users to resolve common issues themselves.

In addition, Jira Service Management facilitates cross-divisional collaboration between IT and other departments. This not only leads to faster problem resolution, but also promotes a culture of transparency and collaboration within the organization.

Another important advantage of Jira Service Management is the asset management (database). This can also be used well internally.

An example: A new employee needs work equipment

The employee fills out a form, whereupon a ticket is created. HR approves this ticket and the laptop is shipped. The laptop is then documented as an asset in JSM.

Link with Confluence

Jira Service Management can be directly linked to a Confluence Knowledgebase . When employees submit a service request and the requested topic already exists in the knowledge base, the system provides articles from the knowledge base that address the issue based on the request. This often allows service requests to be resolved in advance without having to open a new ticket or call in a service representative.

Is Jira Service Management right for your team?

If your team is responsible for delivering or supporting IT services, Jira Service Management is an indispensable tool. It's designed specifically to meet the needs of IT service teams, making it the ideal choice for IT managers, service desk agents, and anyone involved in delivering IT services. Whether you're a small business with a single IT support staff or a large enterprise with a dedicated IT department, Jira Service Management can transform the way you deliver IT services.

Jira Work Management

Source: Atlassian

Jira Software and Jira Service Management focuses primarily on software and IT teams. But then what tools should other teams in an organization use? This is where Jira Work Management into play.

Key Features of Jira Work Management

Jira Work Management is a project management tool designed for business and operations teams. It offers a number of features, such as a work tracking board, built-in calendar, forms, and pre-built project templates. Whether you're planning a marketing campaign, tracking HR tasks, or managing a finance project, Jira Work Management is the right tool for the job.

One of the unique features of Jira Work Management is the customizable workflows. You can customize the workflows to your team processes to ensure that the tool fits seamlessly into your existing processes.

The benefits of Jira Work Management

Jira Work Management can significantly increase your team's productivity. By providing a single platform for scheduling, tracking, and managing work, it eliminates the need for multiple tools, reduces complexity, and saves time. Customizable workflows ensure that the tool adapts to your team, not the other way around.

In addition, Jira Work Management promotes transparency and accountability in the team. Everyone has a clear overview of their tasks, deadlines and responsibilities, which leads to better coordination and collaboration.

Is Jira Work Management right for your team?

If your team works in business areas such as HR, Marketing, Finance or Design, Jira Work Management is the right tool for you.
Atlassian developed it to support the specific workflows of business teams. That's why it's a great option for project managers, team leaders, and anyone involved in managing business projects. Jira Service Management is also used by teams outside of IT, such as human resources and materials management.

In addition, Jira Work Management can be used without much configuration effort. However, the functional scope of JWM is significantly more limited compared to Jira, which is why many of our customers prefer to use Jira software.

Take action: Talk to our Atlassian consultants

Now that you've gained a comprehensive understanding of the various Jira products, it's time to act. Our Atlassian consultants are ready to help you choose the right Jira product for your team, assist you with setup and customization, and provide ongoing support to help you get the most out of your Jira tool. Don't hesitate - contact us today and revolutionize the way your team works!

A comparison: Jira Software vs Jira Service Management vs Jira Work Management

Finally, let's take a look at a comparison table that highlights the key features and benefits of each Jira product:

Jira SoftwareJira Service ManagementJira Work Management
Best forSoftware development teamsIT Service TeamsBusiness and operations teams
FeaturesAgile boards, user stories, sprints, Agile reports.Customer portal, queues, SLAs, formsWork tracking board, calendar, forms, project templates
Business AdvantagesEfficient software development, improved collaboration, data-driven decisionsStreamlined IT service delivery, improved customer satisfaction, improved operational efficiency.Effective project management, improved team collaboration, timely delivery of work
TeamsDeveloper, tester, project manager in the tech industryIT managers, service desk agents, IT service delivery teamsProject manager, team leader, HR, marketing, finance, design, legal, sales, and more.
A comparison of Jira, Jira Service Management and Jira Work Management

Remember, the right Jira product for your team depends on your specific needs and workflows. By choosing the right tool, you can empower your team, optimize your workflows, and drive business success.

Use Jira, Jira Service Management or Jira Work Management efficiently

You want to use Jira, Jira Service Management or Jira Work Management efficiently in your company and need support with setup, integration into existing tools or consulting on a specific use case?

Talk to our Jira expert.

Tobias Koch

Atlassian Consultant