Apps That Deserve More Attention!

[#1]

Good morning Jira Guys and Gals. A few weeks ago, I put out a question on LinkedIn. It was simple: "Jira Admins, What is one Atlassian Marketplace App you don't think gets enough attention for how useful it is?" And well, I had no shortage of responses! I have enough that I figured let's make a post covering your suggestions! So I took six Apps you recommended, and we will look deeper at what each one does and why it is useful. This won't be a full review of each, but I think you will still find something today that will make you go, "Hey, I have that problem too!" So, let's dig into this!

Golive by Apwide

• Deployment Models Supported: Cloud, Server, & DC
• Reviews: 4.0 out of 24 reviews
• Installs: 386

 

So, waaaay back in 2007; I was working QA for Digium (which has since been purchased by Sangoma). Well, we had a problem. We'd have to test physical hardware cards that would go into servers, which did involve setting up a fresh OS and software install, putting in the card, and running our tests. But it was challenging to tell who had which systems for testing, leading to more than one incident where someone would be running a test and have their system shut down abruptly because someone else thought that server was free. So, I coded a system that lets us "check out" a system and see who had which systems so we could select a free one. Because we named our systems after elements on the periodic table, this reservation system was called "Hydrogen." This was my first taste of running services and eventually set me on the path towards being a Jira Admin, which leads us here.  

Why do I share this story? Well, one of the top features boasted by GoLive is "Test Environment Booking & Reservation," which reminds me of that common problem we had all those years ago. And that's despite the past 16 years of progress in the Tech space that leaves it unrecognizable. Forget Docker and K8s; VMware and the concept of virtualized computing was only five years old. Things move so much faster and easier now that such a tool is absolutely necessary.

Another key feature is you can see what version of the software is deployed to which environment at a glance, meaning no more digging through deployment records to see the last deployment. I will have to download this into my environment and see how I can integrate it with my toolset because I need this!

Smart Jira Configuration by Eisonesoft

• Deployment Models Supported: Cloud, Server, & DC
• Reviews: 4 out of 41 reviews
• Installs: 916

 

So, writing your documentation of your Jira instance sucks. I say this as someone who regularly jokes, "It's my job to write the docs Atlassian won't." Even with a knack for it, it's still time-consuming, and you ~usually~ always have something you can do for your users. Don't get me wrong, writing your Docs is vital, but so is helping your users.  

Thankfully, this App helps with one aspect of that. It generates documentation about your workflows automatically. Want to describe how an issue moves between statuses? It does that. Do you want to detail what conditions are required to move an issue? Documented. Want to show what steps are automatically done during a transition? Done. It will generate the documentation and export it to a docx file or Confluence directly. Nice. 

Epic Sum Up by Aptis

• Deployment Models Supported: Cloud, Server, & DC
• Reviews: 3.0 out of 44 reviews
• Install: 2,273

 

Epic Sum Up is one of those Apps that takes the concept of "Do one thing well" and runs with it. Don't get me wrong, the App has multiple features, but they all focus on one core concept: You should be able to see what's going on with your Epic at that level without digging down to each story or sub-task individually. Need to see and edit all the stories in an epic on a "Spreadsheet view"? Done. Need to dig down into the hierarchy to see what's going on in detail. Done. Need updates on what's happening in real time? Done. Epic Sum Up is one of those Apps that doesn't seem too flashy but invariably runs in my instances because it's so useful.  

Issue Checklist for Jira by Herocoders

• Deployment Models Supported: Cloud
• Reviews: 3.5 out of 191 reviews
• Installs: 4,980

 

I can already hear your thoughts. "I have subtasks; why do I need a checklist app?" And well, you're not entirely wrong. Sub-tasks are entirely serviceable. When enabled, they allow you to keep track of the 

individual bits of a story. But, compared to a nice, simple checklist, they are a bit involved. Creating issues is easy in a properly maintained Jira instance but takes longer than listing items. And what if you need another level below a sub-task? You can't just keep digging deeper.  

No, I see this as just another tool in the toolbox. Your job as a Jira Admin is to enable your teams to work as best they can while maintaining the instance's health. So if the team feels a checklist is easier than a sub-task, let them go for it. I'd only fight them on that if some higher-level reporting depended on the sub-tasks, which rarely happens.  

BigPicture by Appfire

• Deployment Models Supported: Cloud, Server, & DC
• Reviews: 3.0 out of 383 reviews
• Installs: 15,957

 

Jira is great at Project Management at a team level. But what if you are trying to see things one level up, managing Teams of teams? Or Teams of teams of teams? The reporting tools at these levels leave something to be desired. This is where BigPicture steps in, giving you various reporting capabilities to be able to see, well, the big picture. Whether you prefer a Gantt Chart, SAFe Roadmap, or see how each group is progressing towards the overall goal, this lets you have that context with which you can make decisions, balance projects, and ensure everything is working together smoothly.  

The beauty of this is it sets out to solve a problem that you can create a bespoke solution to, either using one or more dashboards, an outside tool, using something like EazyBI, or a combination thereof. And doing all that takes time away from what you can do for your users. So instead, this seems like it tries to be a ready-to-use solution. I like that.

What do you think?

Do you have any apps you love that don't get enough attention? I'm not opposed to doing another roundup, so let me know!

You can find my various social media accounts on Linktree. Be sure to follow, like, comment, and share the posts because it does help.  

 

Remember that this Friday, June 2nd, I'll be live with my teammate @Robert Wen_Cprime_ as the #JirAvengers for the premier of Season 2 of QuizWiz. We'll be going up against Pi-Date, which comprises @Piyush A _STR_  and @Bibek Behera. Will teaming up with Last season's champion allow me to avenge my COVID-induced loss at the hands of the villainous Chris Cooke? Tune in as we begin our journey!

But until next time, my name is Rodney, asking, "Have you updated your Jira issues today?"

[Robert Wen_Cprime_]

If our path takes us to Chris Cooke, it's best to side with someone that's beat him before! 😉

Time to begin our QuizWiz journey together!

[Johanna Pichotka_APTIS_]

Thank you for mentioning Epic Sum Up 🙌 

[Holly Wright (Appfire)]

Thanks for the BigPicture shoutout, Rodney! And for the intro to a few other apps I've never heard of — very interesting!