Types of Traceability in Atlassian JIRA

Atlassian JIRA is a powerful and versatile project management tool that helps organizations to plan, track, and manage their software development projects. It is designed to be highly customizable and adaptable, allowing teams to tailor it to their specific needs and workflows. JIRA by Atlassian is gaining popularity in the industry because of its versatility and ease of use. 

The different types of traceability in JIRA appeal to various work cases and make it a desirable skill. In this article, we will discuss the different types of traceability in JIRA and how to use it. Go for JIRA certification training and make the most out of the fundamentals of JIRA usage ate program level.

What is JIRA Traceability?

JIRA traceability is the ability to track and trace the relationships and connections between different issues and work items within the software development process. This can include things like linking parent issues to child issues, linking blocking issues to blocked issues, linking epic issues to story issues, and linking any two issues together to indicate a relationship between them.

Traceability in JIRA helps teams to keep track of the progress and status of their work items and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks by providing an overview of the connections between different issues and work items. 

What are the Different Types of JIRA?

Atlassian JIRA offers multiple project types that can be used for different use cases. Each project type has its own unique set of features, functionalities, and capabilities. Teams can opt for project types that best suit their use cases. Here, we have discussed some of JIRA's most commonly used project types. 

Software

• Scrum Software Development: This project type is based on an Agile Project Management framework. It helps teams structure and manages their workforce using a set of values, principles, and practices. It allows teams to plan and track sprints, manage backlogs, and track the progress of a project. With features like sprint planning and backlog management, it is perfect for teams that use Agile methodology and track their progress visually. 
• Kanban Software Development: This project type is based on the Agile framework. A Kanban team is only bothered by active projects. Once a team completes a project, it moves on to the next work item. It allows teams to create and use a Kanban board. The Kanban boards are then utilized to visualize the progress of work in a project. It has features like Kanban boards, swimlanes, and limited WIP. It helps connects with sources and build tools. It is ideal for teams that work with a pull system and visually manage their work. 
• Basic Software Development: This project type is associated with tracking development tasks and bugs. As the name suggests, this project type is designed for teams that need a relatively more basic issue-tracking system. It is easier to use with a simple and flexible interface to manage tasks and issues but does not include many advanced features found in the other project types. 

Business

• Project Management: Offers a more robust workflow. It allows you to work on bigger items and offers an in-progress status. This allows for a seamless work experience on a task till it is complete. 
• Task Management: This project template sets you up with the most basic workflows allowing you to create issues and solve them as soon as possible with the least amount of complications. It comes with useful barebones features and a very intuitive interface with features like built-in JIRA traceability reporting, a dashboard, and custom filters based on searches. 
• Process Management: This project template offers a slightly more complex workflow. This helps with projects that are more intricate and require more steps in the transition. In this project type, the issue is first sent for approval. If not approved, the task gets canceled. 

Service Desk

• Basic Service Desk: This project type is designed for teams that handle customer care requests and incidents. It provides features like queues, SLAs, and automatic notifications, which are very helpful and effective. 
• IT Service Desk: This is a modified version of the basic service desk with added features that help specific use cases. This project type is made with the IT sector in mind. 

Overall, JIRA offers a wide range of project types to suit different needs, teams can choose the project type that best aligns with their specific needs and workflows. This flexibility allows teams to tailor JIRA to their specific processes and methodologies, making it an ideal tool for managing software development projects.

Types of Traceability Achieved in Atlassian JIRA

In Atlassian JIRA, traceability refers to the ability to track and link different issues, tasks, and projects within the tool, allowing teams to have a clear overview of the progress and relationships of the different elements. Several types of traceability in JIRA can be achieved, including 

• Backward Traceability: This is also known as reverse traceability. This type of traceability checks for progress and tracking from defects to requirements. It is used to make sure that the current product is not lagging behind schedule. 
• Forward Traceability: This type of traceability is used by default. This type of traceability checks for progress from requirements to defects. The full traceability report in JIRA is displayed in the following order respectively: requirements, test, execution, and defects. When a forward traceability report in JIRA is selected, the table automatically updates and shows the traceability matrix issues. 

Backward and forward traceability, when used correctly, can guarantee that all management process requirements are met. It helps you find important issues between requirements and other items, providing a better understanding of the whale process and relationships. This provides an overview of the progress and relationship of the different elements, helps prioritize tasks, and shows light on new issues and bugs. 

Importance of Traceability in JIRA

Traceability is one of the core functions of Atlassian JIRA. Some of the points are discussed below. 

1. Better Planning and Prioritization: Traceability in JIRA allows teams to have a clear overview of the progress and relationships of different elements, which can be used to plan and prioritize tasks. 
2. Identifying Links: Traceability allows teams to identify dependencies between issues, tasks, and projects, which can help teams to better manage their work. This helps in avoiding delays or conflicts. 
3. Improved Communication and Collaboration: Traceability in JIRA allows teams to have a clear understanding of the progress and relationships of different elements, which improves communication and collaboration within the team. 
4. Better Visual Understanding and Control: Traceability in JIRA provides teams with better visibility and control over their work. This helps teams to identify and resolve problems quicker and more efficiently. 
5. Auditing and Compliance: Traceability in JIRA can be used to track and document the progress of projects, which can be helpful for auditing and compliance purposes. 
6. Better Quality Assurance: Traceability in JIRA allows teams to clearly understand the progress and relationships of different requirements and issues, which can be used to improve quality assurance processes. 
7. Improved Time Management: Traceability in JIRA allows teams to clearly understand the progress and relationships of different elements, which can be used to improve time management and avoid delays. 
8. Better Decision Making: Traceability in JIRA allows teams to have a clear understanding of the progress and relationships of different elements, which can be used to make better decisions. 

In summary, traceability in JIRA is an essential feature that allows teams to better plan, prioritize, and manage their work, improve communication and collaboration, and ensure that projects are completed on time, within budget, and with the desired quality. 

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How to Create Requirement Traceability Matrix in JIRA?

A Requirement Traceability Matrix (RTM) in JIRA can be created by linking issues to indicate their relationship. Here are the steps to create an RTM in JIRA: 

1. First, open the project you want to create a requirement traceability matrix in JIRA. 
2. Navigate to “Apps” and then click on “Test Management.” 
3. Under “Test Management,” left-click on “Traceability.” 
4. Select RTM(Required Traceability Matrix) after choosing the project. You can also use “Advanced” to search for another test project from the library. 
5. Choose requirement types on the x-axis and y-axis. Use JQL(JIRA Query Language) under “Advanced” to select the desired issues. 
6. Queries like project= ABC, issuetype = “ISSUETYPE,” and issueLinkType != "is tested by" in JQL can be used to call the appropriate issues. 

These steps can be used to create an RTM in JIRA to track the progress of the project's requirements.

Traceability Matrix Example

An example of a Requirement Traceability Matrix (RTM) in JIRA could be a spreadsheet that lists all requirements as rows and all test cases as columns. The cells in the matrix would indicate whether a particular test case covers a particular requirement. 

Let us take the above diagram as an example. F4Y-10, F4Y-11, F4Y-8, and F4Y-9 serve as the requirements, and F4Y-12, F4Y-13, and F4Y-14 serve as the test cases. This is what a sample RTM would look like. 

In this example, the cells with a marking on them indicate that the respective test case covers a particular requirement. If we take an example, the requirement F4Y-9 is covered by test case F4Y-12, F4Y-11 is covered by test case F4Y-13, and F4Y-8 is covered by test case F4Y-14. 

This diagram serves as a fundamental representation of an RTM. A real one can be more complex depending on the uses and the requirement of the project. Required Traceability Matrix(RTM) can be generated using JIRA Query Language, custom fields, or using JIRA plugins. RTM export formats generally include Excel, PDF, CSV, and more. 

Conclusion

In summary, traceability in JIRA is an essential feature that allows teams to better plan, prioritize, and manager their work, improve communication and collaboration, and ensure that projects are completed on time, within budget, and with the desired quality. The robust nature and diverse options make it an industry standard. 

Overall, JIRA offers a wide range of project types to suit different needs, teams can choose the project type that best aligns with their specific needs and workflows. This flexibility allows teams to tailor Jira to their specific processes and methodologies, making it an ideal tool for managing software development projects. We recommend you KnowledgeHut JIRA certification training to acquire further skills.