Structuring Jira Tasks for Success with Subtasks and Checklists

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To checklist or to subtask? That is the question.

While we can be sure that William Shakespeare didn’t manage his play-writing in a renaissance version of Jira, consistency and clarity are definitely the main secrets to the successful completion of any project, no matter the time period. That’s the power of well-knit tasks - they keep whole teams on track till the finish line. And perhaps that’s why templates are such a valuable solution in Jira, offering to effortlessly create complex items in a blink of an eye, without compromising quality. And with epics broken down into individual tasks, clarity is guaranteed. But what if there are tasks at an even smaller level that are necessary for completion?

Checklists and subtasks are Jira solutions that serve different purposes - and knowing when to use which is the real secret to successful task management. While both methods gather supporters, the question still remains - is any option better than the other?

Small but mighty - the checklist advantage

Imagine you’re a pilot preparing for a flight. Before the takeoff, a critical responsibility lies on your shoulders - the pre-flight inspection. The review of documentation, the exterior and interior inspection of the aircraft - these are your tasks, comprised of many more tiny points - and none of them can be omitted. In this scenario, you need to be able to easily move from one point to another, without losing track of what has been already done. So … do you go for a simple checklist or an extensive array of subtasks? Here, checklists are undoubtedly the winner - they shine in situations requiring speed and clarity. 

Where checklists truly shine 

The same rules apply in our daily Jira work - checklists are best for sharing quick checkpoints of a task, where creating individual subtasks would only clutter the project board and cause more confusion within the team. Lists such as Definition of Ready, Acceptance Criteria, etc., are packed with information, but understandable anyhow, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and that all of the finished tasks meet the requirements. However, once each point on the checklist transforms into a bit more extensive item, simplicity becomes a curse: the progress is untrackable, assignees cannot be added - the road to completion turns to be more mysterious than ever. And this is where the old-school subtasks come in. 

 

Checklists are ideal to clearly define key points necessary to finalize the task.

When tasks outgrow checklists

 So when does a checkpoint turn out to be more complex? For this example, let’s stay on the ground - this time, you are in charge of organizing a webinar. The minute you start listing all of the steps as a checklist - topic finalization, slide deck preparation, technical set-up, event promotion or post-event follow up - you realize that just a list won’t cut it. Each step is a task on its own and needs to be tracked individually. Not to mention, you need to engage people from different teams - marketing, design, tech support and speakers. This is where subtasks thrive, easily taking the large parent task and breaking it into more manageable pieces. With them, each assignee knows the scope of their part and the progress of each step can be followed without difficulties. The parties involved work simultaneously and communicate straightforwardly, ensuring visibility of every effort put into each step. When done right, subtasks don’t cause chaos on a Jira board - they actually play a crucial role in creating a clear path to the finish line. It doesn’t exclusively apply to hosting a webinar - whether you’re implementing a new feature, updating a website design, onboarding a new employee or more - all of these situations are subtask-worthy. 

 

Subtasks ensure visibility and accountability of each step that makes up the parent task.

A simple rule of thumb for checklists and subtasks

Taking all of this into account, perhaps we can establish some ground rules: when a list is made out of minuscule steps, that are more like verification checkpoints to be crossed off quickly, then checklists are your best option. However, when these steps are elaborate, more likely to resemble stops in a roadmap of a task - it’s undoubtedly a job for subtasks. Even though two of these options are to be used in different scenarios, the goal of each is the same: ensure clarity of a task. 

Bridging consistency and speed with templates

The acceptance criteria for a user story, introducing a new feature to a product, organizing a webinar or completing the onboarding process - all of these tasks, and many more, are a part of our daily work and are bound to be repeated. And as we’ve already established - consistency is one of the keys to success. Using work item templates is the solution that prevents us from being stuck in the neverending loop of task creation, as well as maintaining a high standard. Whether it’s about adding a quick checklist in an item description, or creating a complex ladder of subtasks - both options come in handy with templates. 

Empowering teams with the right structure

Issue Templates Agent doesn’t limit its users to just one way, because, as we’ve already established, there’s a right place and time for checklists as well as subtasks. So when ideas are taken from theory to practice and new features are on the horizon, the development teams can be sure that each aspect is taken care of and the final product upholds set standards - thanks to  utilizing templates with subtasks and a consistent definition of done. And when the time comes for the marketing team to promote the updated product, with a suitable template, they don’t have to worry about forgetting a crucial aspect of the campaign with each subtask clearly defined and assigned. 

 

Issue Templates Agent gives you a chance to harness the power of checklists as well as subtasks.

As the secrets of checklists and subtasks in Jira have been unravelled, any venture into new projects will become a bit easier. No matter what you choose, with Issue Templates Agent support and both methods available at your fingertips, you can tackle any challenge. With the right templates and tools, your team can execute projects faster, clearer and smarter - every time.

Try out Issue Templates Agent today and bring order to your next Jira project - whether it’s checklists, subtasks, or both.