This page will describe the features and components of a JIRA project, from creation to customization.
Creating a Project:
(Create project screen)
In order to create a new Project, click the Projects drop-down and select "Create Project." Choose a project type (either Software or Business) and a workflow option from within: for Software, Basic, Scrum, and Kanban; for Business, Project management, Task management, and Process management (or another template from "More project templates"). These choices will determine the initial workflow, issue types, and permissions settings for the project.
(Workflow and issue type selection)
Name the project and give it a key (unique identifier, e.g. EX), designate a Project Lead (who will have administrative access to the project, even if not a JIRA admin user), and decide whether or not to create a linked Confluence space.
(Name project screen)
Project Defaults and Initial Settings:
When a project is created, it receives several default settings:
- Issue Type Scheme: the set of types of issues (e.g. Bug) that can be created in the project. A new Software Kanban project Example (EX) will receive a newly created Issue Type Scheme called"EX: Kanban Issue Type Scheme."
- Workflows and Workflow Schemes: the series of states issues pass through (e.g. To Do → In Progress → Done). The new Example project receives a Workflow Scheme called "EX: Software Simplified Workflow Scheme." This scheme will contain one Workflow called "Software Simplified Workflow for Project EX" that handles all issue types.
- Screens and Screen Schemes: the arrangement of fields seen when viewing an issue. The new Example project receives the schemes "EX: Kanban Issue Type Screen Scheme," "EX: Kanban Default Screen Scheme," and "EX: Kanban Bug Screen Scheme."
- Fields: the set of data fields present for issues. By default, projects use the "Default Field Configuration."
- Components: large categories that organize the contents of the project (e.g. "Database," "User Interface"). The new Example project receives no components by default.
- Roles: roles granted to project members for access control. The new Example Project has a Project lead, and no other defined roles.
- Permissions: the permission scheme dictates who may perform what actions within a project. Software projects receive the "Default Software Scheme" and Business projects receive the "Default Permission Scheme." These schemes grant all access to the Project Lead, defined project admins, and site-wide JIRA admins. Most other permissions are granted to users assigned the Developer role within the project.
- Notifications: the scheme for controlling who is notified when action is taken within the project. All projects are currently on the "Default Notification Scheme."
(the Summary page for project Example)
Modifying Project Settings:
In order to modify project settings, one must have the "Administer Projects" permission. The Permission Helper, viewable from a project's permissions page, can be used to check whether or not a user has a specific permission (and why).
(Permission helper)
To modify a project's settings, edit the scheme assigned to that project for that setting (e.g. "EX: Kanban Default Screen Scheme") or set the project to use a different existing scheme (a scheme created for another project can be used).
- Issue types: This determines what issue types may be created and included in the project.
- Workflows: This determines the set of states that an issue of a given type may have (e.g. To Do → In Progress → Done) and the valid transitions between these states. A project may have multiple workflows as part of its workflow scheme, with each workflow governing one or more issue types.
- Screens: This determines what information appears where when creating or viewing issues. Changes can be made to reorganize fields and include custom fields in views.
- Fields: This determines the set of data fields, predefined or custom, issues can contain.
- Components: These create subsections of the project for organizational purposes. They do not have their own scheme; they can be created from the Project Settings → Components page.
- Permissions: Permission schemes are shared by default by all Business and Software projects, respectively. Do not edit the Default Permission Scheme or Default Software Scheme to make changes for an individual project, as this will have site-wide effects. Instead, create a new permission scheme or clone one of the Default schemes and edit the clone.