Hi Jonathan,
I understand that you are using Jira Core and want to get some better ideas for best practices in regards to project management here.
Even without the Jira Software features, Jira Core can still do a lot in terms of tracking issues. I'd start by reviewing the Logging work on issues documentation. It goes over how users can track the time they invest on issues, as well as suggest that you create estimates of how long each task will take to complete. With this information, it at least then become feasible for yourself or another project manager to get an idea of how much work there is to be done in a time-frame and whether or not you're on schedule.
As for when to assign tasks, that's hard to answer. You certainly want to give your assignees enough time to know what has to get done. This is where priorities on issues can be a good way to communicate what should be worked on and when. I think it really depends on your team working these issues. Some teams would have no problem seeing that they were assigned to dozens of issues at once. While others might feel overwhelmed by seeing the huge body of work. I don't think there is a one-size fits all answer for this part. Just try to keep in mind, you likely don't want your team sitting around with nothing assigned to them to work on, nor do you want them stressed or anxious over what looks like a mountain of work awaiting them. Keep in mind all the while, assignees can change. Workload can be shifted and redistributed for a number of reasons.
I think it's probably better to be flexible here. Due dates are in a similar nature, but can be a great indicator to the team working on issues to understand true deadlines. If one piece of work has to be completed before others can be started, that due date likely holds more value here. But in my experience not every issue in the project tends to need a strict Due date value.
For your last point, I think it depends on how difficult each task is to complete. Not all issues in Jira are expected to be equal in terms of time or effort it takes to finish them. So I don't think you need to assign out everything at the start. But you do need to strike a balance of work-loads here. Just to make sure that everyone is playing as a team and can be productive here.
I would also recommend taking in @Russell J Zera _Philadelphia_'s post Seven best practices for agile in Jira. I found it was an interesting read and I think it might help to frame many of the best practice concepts for project management in Jira.
I hope this is helpful.
Andy
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