Best practices for setup of plans and projects

[Daniel Orband]

I work for a small hardware development company that would like to move forward with Jira and associated 3rd party apps for work management, waterfall project managment (replacing MS Project), time tracking and capacity planning for approximately 40 engineers.  Jira Premium with a timesheet app appears to check most of the boxes.  I am looking for a reference on how to best set up plans and projects.  For example, how to best organize issues for engineering work related to sales, production, installations and product improvements across multiple products lines being addressed by multiple teams.  One big project with thoughtful use of components, categories and labels?  Or smaller projects rolling up to a plan?  Are there consultants that provide this type of setup guidance?  I think this effort is too small for the consulting companies listed as Atlassians Partners.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Kristján Geir Mathiesen · Accepted solution]

Hi @Daniel Orband 

Yes, there are two main approaches you can consider:

• One Big Project with Components:

  • This creates a single project encompassing all your work (sales, production, installations, product improvements).
  • Use Components to categorize work related to different product lines.
  • Labels can be used for further filtering (e.g., "sales", "production").
  • Benefits: Simpler initial setup, centralized view of all work.
  • Drawbacks: Large project can feel overwhelming, locating specific issues might be harder.

• Smaller Projects Rolling Up to a Plan:

  • Create separate projects for each product line or phase (sales, production, installation).
  • Utilize Jira Plans (available in Jira Premium) to link these projects into a high-level roadmap.
  • Benefits: Easier to manage individual projects, clearer team focus.
  • Drawbacks: Requires more initial setup and planning to link projects effectively.

Recommendation:

For 40 engineers and multiple product lines, a hybrid approach might be best. Start with a Plan outlining your overall product development strategy. Within the plan, create separate projects for each product line or phase (sales, production, installation) with relevant components and labels for further organization.

Additional Considerations:

• Issue Types: Define specific issue types for different work categories (e.g., Bug, Feature Request, Installation Task).
• Workflows: Customize workflows for each project type (e.g., a different approval process for sales vs. production issues).
• Time Tracking: Integrate a time tracking app for accurate time logging and capacity planning. Popular options include Tempo Timesheets and Jira Workflows for Time Tracking.
• Capacity Planning: Consider apps like Planyway for Jira that provide visual capacity planning based on estimated work and team availability.

 HTH,
KGM

[Kristján Geir Mathiesen]

I hope this gets the ball rollin'. Lot of the decisions that need to be made also depend on what the preference is so it is hard to give an exact answer.

Best, KGM

[Daniel Orband]

Thank you for thoughtful response!  Your advice is very helpful.