Simple client project portal onto JIRA project?

[Bris Vegan]

I'm new to Atlassian products but from what I've seen the tools are amazing for developers and other production staff.

However, I'm keen to know if it's (easily) possible to create a simplified client project portal / window into a JIRA project, only displaying the basics that non-technical clients need in order to engage with the project management process. Exposing them to JIRA I fear would scare them off.

I gather Confluence can provide a window into JIRA, but how customisable is that i.e. how simple can I make it for clients, whilst still providing them with the information and functionality they need?

E.g. devs need to have access to git commit messages, diff/compare and internal private technical discussions, but more often than not clients only need to see the status / progress of an overarching ticket describing a larger feature.

Is there a demo somewhere showing this sort of simplified client project portal in action?

[MJ · Accepted solution]

You could consider creating a separate dashboard for your clients, and populate it with all the information/gadgets that are relevant to them.

Have a look at these pages for additional information on Dashboards:
Customising the Dashboard
Configuring the Default Dashboard
Using Dashboard Gadgets
Managing Multiple Dashboard Pages

[Peter Van de Voorde]

Another nice way to visualize an issue workflow is to use a custom kanban board in Greenhopper. And then add the Greenhopper board to a custom dashboard for your users. You can play with filters, quick filters and swimlanes to give them the exact information they want in one go.