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Jira projects overview

What is a Jira project?

Typically, a project can be defined as a collection of tasks that need to be completed to achieve a certain outcome. In Jira, a project can be thought of as a container used to organize and track those tasks, or issues, across the entire team.

A Jira project is highly configurable and can be easily customized to map around organizational structure, workflow, or level of agile maturity, making it the only tool to fit any team’s unique way of working. Your team can use a Jira project to track and resolve bugs, launch a new feature, and more.

Your projects can be found in the top navigation in the “Projects” drop down.

Project overview screenshot

What are key elements of a Jira project?

As with any project, there are tasks that need to get done, folks that are making things happen, and processes to help move that work forward.

  1. Issues – Jira projects are big goals that have been broken down into small, bite-size pieces of work called issues.
  2. People – Jira makes it easy for teams to plan and track work so you can accomplish more together. Invite users to your Jira project to start collaborating. 
  3. Workflows – Jira projects are structured to follow a process, or workflow, to help move an issue from creation through to completion. These workflows can be created to match your team’s unique way of working. 

What are Jira project templates?

Jira offers several project templates to help teams get set up quickly using projects tailored to a specific team (like HR or software) or use case. These templates include pre-configured issue types, workflows, and other relevant features. Two of our most popular templates are the kanban and scrum templates. Visit Jira templates library

Kanban template visualizes your work using a powerful, yet simple board. It’s designed for teams that limit work in progress and focus on a continuous flow of work. The kanban template in Jira helps teams easily design, manage, and improve their workflow while providing transparency as work moves from to-do to done.

Scrum template empowers teams to breakdown large pieces of work into more manageable pieces. It’s designed for teams that deliver work on a regular cadence or work in short, time boxed periods called sprints. The scrum template also enables teams to organize and prioritize all work on the backlog and board, while staying focused on the big picture via the roadmap.


What are Jira project types?

Projects in Jira will either be a “team-managed” or “company-managed” project type. The fundamental difference between the two project types is how they are administered – that is, whether the project is managed at the team level or at a company/Jira administrator level.

Team-managed projects

Overview
This project type is for teams who want simplified configuration and more control over their own working processes and practices in a self-contained space. Team-managed projects are managed by project administrators, meaning that changes can be implemented without requiring the help of a Jira administrator.

Simplified configuration
Team-managed projects come out of the box with simplified configuration. Anyone on your team can set-up and maintain. Team-managed projects are configured independently, and setting changes of one project do not impact other projects.

Essential features
A modern Jira experience for teams who don’t need advanced features.

  • Timeline
  • Only show your project’s issues on your board
  • Single active sprint
  • Essential agile reporting

Company-managed projects

Overview
This project type is for teams who want to work across multiple projects and with multiple teams in a more standardized way. Company-managed projects are managed by Jira administrators who encourage and promote organizational best practices and processes through a shared configuration.

Expert configuration
Company-managed projects provide Jira administrators with complete control over configuration, customization, and flexibility. These projects are set up and maintained by your Jira admins. Configuration is shared across projects.

Advanced features
All the power and features that Jira is known for.

  • Advanced planning (Premium only)
  • Ability to pull in issues from other projects on your board
  • Ability to run parallel sprints
  • Comprehensive agile reporting