The Ultimate Guide to Jira Reports: Native Metrics, Agile Data, and Custom Dashboards
You know that reports in Jira exist. They are sitting right there among other tabs, taunting you.
But here is what usually happens: you click the "Reports" tab. You represent greeted by a wall of intimidating options—Burndown Charts, Resolution Time, Average Age, Pivot Reports. You panic. You close the tab. And then you go back to asking your developers for status updates in Slack.
Stop pestering your team. It’s time to let the tool do the talking.
Whether you are a Scrum Master or a C-level executive, the data you need is there; you just need to know where to look. In this guide, we will break down the native metrics that actually matter and show how to create custom reports in Jira for when the out-of-the-box options hit a wall.
The Agile Essentials (For the Scrum Masters)
If you are running an agile team without looking at the data, you aren't doing agile. You’re just doing waterfall in two-week chunks.
Jira agile reports are the heartbeat of your process. Out of the dozens of reports available, these are the only three you need to obsess over.
1. The Burndown Chart
It tracks the total work remaining against the time left in the sprint.
- The Ideal Line: a straight diagonal line from "Lots of work" to "Zero."
- Your Actual Line: usually a flat line for 9 days followed by a terrifying vertical drop on the last day. [1]
If your line stays flat, you have a bottleneck. Fix it before the deadline.
2. The Velocity Chart
Humans are terrible at estimating. We are optimists. We think we can build a spaceship in a weekend.
The Velocity Chart is the antidote to that optimism. It shows exactly how much work your team actually completed in previous sprints compared to what they committed to.
- How to use it: if your team commits to 50 story points but has a historical velocity of 30, stop them. You are setting them up to fail.
3. The Control Chart (For the Kanban Crowd)
If you care about flow, you care about this. It measures the "Cycle Time"—how long a ticket sits in progress.
If you see huge variances (dots scattered everywhere), it means your process is erratic. You want a tight cluster of dots low on the graph.
The Retrospective Requirement
Before you walk into your next retro, print out your Jira sprint reports.
Don't ask "how did it go?" based on feelings. Look at the charts. Did scope creep in mid-sprint? Did the completion rate tank? The report is the impartial judge. Use it.
The Manager’s Toolkit (Time & Metrics)
Okay, the team is happy. The Scrum Master is gazing lovingly at their Velocity Chart. But now the VP of Engineering walks in and asks: "Are we efficient?"
Scrum charts don't answer that. You need hard metrics.
Time Tracking
If you head to the "Forecast & Management" section, you’ll find the native Jira time tracking reports.
These give you a basic rundown of "Original Estimate" vs. "Time Spent." It’s good for a quick pulse check on a specific version release. However, as we mentioned in our Ultimate Guide to Time Tracking, native Jira isn't built for sophisticated billing or deep performance analysis. It captures the data, but it doesn't dress it up nicely for dinner.
The "Tracked vs. Planned" Solution
If you need to see the gap between expectation and reality, you often need to look outside the box. This is where tools like Planyway shine.
Planyway’s time tracking reports offer a specific "Tracked vs. Planned" view. This goes hand-in-hand with resource management. Instead of just seeing that a ticket took 10 hours, you see that it was scheduled for 5 hours on Tuesday but took 10 hours on Thursday.
It highlights the delta between your plan and your execution, helping you spot which developers are overloading themselves and which estimates were wildly optimistic, then seamlessly update your capacity planner.
High-Level Statistics
For the broader view of project health, utilize these two native Jira metrics reports:
1. Created vs. Resolved
This is the single most important chart for long-term stability. It compares new issues coming in (Created) vs. issues being closed (Resolved).
- The Goal: you want the lines to intertwine or for "Resolved" to be higher.
- The Danger Zone: if the "Created" line is consistently higher than "Resolved," you are accumulating technical debt. You are slowly drowning.
2. Average Age Report
This is the chart that reveals the skeletons in your closet. It shows the average number of days issues have been unresolved.
If this graph is trending upward, it means your backlog is becoming a graveyard where tickets go to die. Use this report to justify a "Cleanup Sprint" to your stakeholders.
Customization
Native reports are great, but they are rigid. Usually, about three months into using Jira, you will hit a wall. You want to see "Bugs created by Dave on Tuesdays involving the API," and the native charts just stare blankly at you.
This is the moment you ask: "How do I create custom reports in Jira?"
You can build almost anything if you master two tools: Filters and Dashboards.
The Filter Method (Basic Lists)
Before you can visualize the data, you have to find it. This requires JQL (Jira Query Language).
Don't let the word "Code" scare you. If you can order a complicated coffee at Starbucks, you can write JQL. It’s just logic.
- Go to Issues > Search for Issues.
- Switch to "Advanced" mode.
- Type something like: project = "Mobile App" AND priority = High AND assignee is EMPTY.
- Click Search.
Congratulations, you just built a custom Jira report. Sure, it’s just a list, but it’s a dynamic list. Save this as a Filter. You will need this saved filter for the next step.
Jira Reports and Dashboards
If you are looking for custom reports in Jira, the Dashboard is your best friend.
A dashboard is essentially a corkboard where you pin different charts (called Gadgets) based on the data you got from your filters.
How to create reports via Dashboards:
- Go to Dashboards > Create Dashboard.
- Click Add Gadget.
- The Pie Chart: Pick your saved filter (from Method A) and break it down by Assignee. Now you have a visual of who is hogging the tickets.
- The Two-Dimensional Filter: This is the MVP of Jira custom reports. It allows you to create a matrix (an X and Y axis).
- Example: Set X-axis to "Assignee" and Y-axis to "Status." Boom. You instantly see exactly what everyone is working on and where it is stuck.
By combining different gadgets, you build a control room tailored specifically to your anxiety levels.
When Native Hits the Wall (Third-Party Apps)
We have pushed native Jira as far as it can go. We’ve used JQL tricks, we’ve hacked together Dashboards, and we’ve stared at the Velocity Chart until our eyes watered.
But sometimes, native just isn't enough.
If you need complex calculations, cross-project aggregations that don't break, or beautiful stacked bar charts that you can actually present to a client without shame, you have hit the wall.
To build truly advanced Jira custom reports, you often need to look at the Atlassian Marketplace. Here are the tools that pick up where Jira leaves off.
1. Custom Charts for Jira
If you are tired of how ugly native Jira charts look, start here. It is essentially the "Easy Mode" for reporting.
It allows you to build drag-and-drop visuals directly on your dashboard. You want a bar chart comparing three projects with custom colors? Done in 30 seconds. It’s perfect for teams who want data to look good.
2. EazyBI
This is for the data scientists.
EazyBI is essentially a full Business Intelligence tool shoved inside Jira. It is incredibly powerful and can calculate virtually anything.
It has a learning curve. If you aren't comfortable with data cubes and dimensions, you might struggle. But if you need raw power, this is it.
3. Planyway (Roadmap & Capacity Expert)
- We mentioned Planyway earlier for time tracking, but it shines in reporting too.
While EazyBI handles the numbers, Planyway handles the when. It visualizes your data on a sharable roadmap to sync with stakeholders.
If your report needs to answer "Who is working on what?" or "When will this epic actually be delivered?", Planyway’s reporting is the missing link native Jira doesn't provide.
Frequently Asked Questions
We know you’re busy. Here are the quick answers to the questions everyone asks.
How do I create custom reports for specific users?
Jira doesn't have a "User Report Generator" button. The best way to do this is via a Dashboard.
- Create a Filter: assignee = "usersname".
- Save it.
- Add the "Filter Results" gadget to your dashboard and select that filter.
This gives you a dynamic view of exactly what that person is doing.
What are the best Jira agile reports for Kanban?
If you aren't doing Sprints, the Burndown chart is useless to you.
For Kanban, your best friend is the Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD). It shows you how many tickets are in each column over time. If the "In Progress" band is getting wider and wider, your team is starting too many things and finishing nothing.
Can I export Jira reports to PDF?
Native export options are... disappointing.
You can use the browser's "Print" function (Ctrl+P) and save as PDF, but it usually messes up the formatting.
For a professional-looking PDF export that you can send to a client, you usually need a plugin like Better PDF Exporter or to use the export features found in apps like Planyway or Custom Charts.
Conclusion
Here is the final piece of advice: Don't drown.
It is very easy to get addicted to data. You can spend weeks building the perfect dashboard with 50 different gadgets, creating a control center that looks like NASA's launch room.
Don't do that.
Jira reports are only useful if they change how you behave. If you look at a chart and it doesn't make you change a decision, fix a process, or high-five a developer, then that chart is just decoration.
Pick the three metrics that actually matter to your current goal. Ignore the rest.
Whether you stick to the native Jira agile reports, build your own focused dashboard, or grab a plugin like Planyway for the timeline view, keep it simple. Data should solve problems, not create them.
Now it’s your turn.
What is the one Jira custom report you can't live without? Do you have a specific dashboard filter that saves your life every Monday morning? Share your setup in the comments below.
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Mary from Planyway
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