Looking for ideas for project planning

[Lisa Matthews]

Hi, 

Our group has been using JIRA for several years and it works very well for us, but we are looking for a way to organize future projects (Epics) hierarchically, perhaps along a rough timeline and wondered if anyone might have suggestions for applications that could help us do this. I have been looking at Confluence but have not seen how I might do this there either. 

[Étienne Borella]

Hi

After comparing and prototyping approaches with several ones, we have started using the WBS Gantt-Chart plugin for a couple of weeks now and are pretty happy with it. We try to stick as much as possible to the standard Epic-Issue-Subtask hierarchy, but, when needed, the plugin allows you to create as many level as you want by adding custom issue links like "this issue contains / is contained in".

[Mahek Mody]

I have been implementing WBS Gantt in the company I have as well, to get to a point where I can plan on a single visual interface. The WBS Gantt interface is not the best (I would switch for something even slightly better), but it just about does the job.

We use "contains in"  over Epics because on the unlimited hierarchy it gives. It is really annoying that the software treats versions as epic and less as mile stones. However, I have looked for a while and have not found something that is distinctly better.

[Lisa Matthews]

Thanks very much for the suggestions. I am not familiar with the "contains in"  feature, so I will look into that. 

[Daniel Markus]

We use JIRA and the plugin called Structure from Almworks. Our projects are organized as follows.

1. User story and requirement collection and prioritization
2. Composition of a project backlog
3. Work breakdown structure (WBS), software design, and time estimation
4. Project progress

In step 1 we have three backlogs; product backlog, LCM backlog (released bugs), and maintenance backlog (R&D requirements). In these backlogs the user stories and requirements are collected and prioritized at any time. For these backlogs we use the normal JIRA sprint planning board.

In step 2 we do project planning, pulling tasks from the three backlogs into a separate project backlog. For this we also use the JIRA sprint planning board.

In step 3 we use the plugin Structure to create a WBS to help us give structure to the whole project. This also helps us to visualize the current and planned software design. Seeing the software design as a WBS also makes it easier to continue break down tasks further, helping iron out assumptions. Another good property of Structure is that it can pull in JIRA issues from other projects, helping you keep track of your external dependencies.

In step 4 we use the JIRA sprint progress board as well as the Structure WBS view. We use the progress board to see what's under current development and what stages the tasks are in. We use Structure to see how our modules and components develop and what dependencies they have that we need to take care of.

This works quite well for the agile development we do. If you go towards projects more waterfall-like then you can still use this, and the WBS will work like a good glue. However, I guess that you would need additional project management tools to show Gantt charts, etc.

I only see one drawback with Structure which is that it's not aware of the backlogs so changes in the backlog won't be seen in Structure and vice versa. You need to update them in parallel. It's extra work but also gives you the freedom to organize your WBS as you please.

[Lisa Matthews]

Many thanks for the thorough description of how you are using Structure. This sounds like exactly what I am looking for. I will definitely look into this!

[Bart Van Belle]

We are also using the Structure Plugin, and in a more-or-less same setup as Daniel describes. This is a great plugin we lots of features and we like especially the function that you could build multiple "structures" containing the same JIRA issues / Projects but structured in a different way / different structures (based on the "target audience" of the structure (eg. project planning, day-to-day work, management view, ...). Within a structure you can build the hierarchy of the projects / issues / epics as you please without affecting the "real" JIRA-links/hierarchy of the JIRA issues / epics / projects.

So definitely an addon you should check.

[Eugene Sokhransky _ALM Works_]

Hi all,

Eugene here from ALM Works. Thank a lot for the detailed descriptions! Sounds like both Daniel and Bart put Structure to good use.

I just wanted to add a couple of comments:

1. Actually it should be possible to keep structures in sync with your backlogs in most scenarios. If you can provide some more details on how it works now, we'll try to suggest some improvements if they are possible. Daniel, please let us know.

2. Also, we've just released an extension for Structure - Structure.Gantt, which allows you to do the planning and visualize dependencies on a timeline: https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1217809/structure-gantt-planning-at-scale

It's free for all Structure users, so please feel free to give it a try.

We'll be happy to share more details and discuss the specific use cases - please don't hesitate to contact our support team: you can create a ticket here https://support.almworks.com/ or just email us at support@almworks.com

Thanks,

Eugene [ALM Works]

[Daniel Markus]

I apologize that I was a bit unclear. The content of the issues are of course synchronized between the JIRA boards and Structure, but the presence and order of the issues are not.

In the JIRA sprint planning board we use the order as prioritization and when we change order there it won't be seen in Structure. Also, if we add an issue to the JIRA sprint planning board, we also have to add it to our WBS in Structure. I guess this is a drawback with benefits. As Bart points out, it allows you to create different views for different audiences.

[Jonathan Chatwin]

We looked at a number of Portfolio addons/apps 1.5 years ago - at the time BigPicture worked the best for our needs and we've been pretty happy with it. We have a standard setup of Epic - Issue - Subtask for all of our Portfolio work and use the ScriptRunner function (HasLinkTypes) to roll everything up into JQL filters BigPictrue can read. Works great, although the support is sometimes awful for BigPicture overall it works. I did see the Structure Addon at Summit last year and it looks much further ahead honestly. I would go that way if I had the chance again. 

[Lisa Matthews]

Thank you! This is helpful to know. I will look at Structure.

[Sébastien Lucchini]

Hi, We use Portfolio too and we've installed Structure in order to test it.

For information, JIRA Software and Portfolio can support the SAFe® methodology (version 4.5) and organizational needs at all levels for Agile implementation.

[Dom Baldin [Adobe]]

We use Portfolio, and have created a few hierarchy levels above Epic (Initiative & Program). This gives us a lot of flexibility, and ability to track even large scale projects all within a single Jira project. Our users really like these hierarchies.

[Lisa Matthews]

Thanks very much for the suggestion!  I will take a look at Portfolio.