Introducing Jira Software

Jira Software, one of the three products in the Jira product family, along with Jira Core and Jira Service Desk, is a solution that is primarily focused on managing software development projects using agile methodologies, hence the name Jira Software. It takes some of the features of classic Jira (Jira Core), such as customizable fields and flexible workflows, and combines them with support for agile methods, giving you the complete experience of running a project the agile way.

Out of the box, Jira Software supports the following agile methodologies:

• Scrum: This is an agile methodology where the development team works iteratively to complete the project. Each iteration or sprint has a defined timeframe and scope. Scrum is most suitable for software development projects. You can find out more about Scrum at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrum_(software_development).
• Kanban: This is an agile methodology that focuses on just-in-time delivery by visualizing the workflow and tasks in progress. Kanban is most suitable for operation teams. You can find out more about Kanban at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban.

Of course, since Jira Software is bundled with Jira Core, you also have the option to use Jira without agile methods, such as using it as a simple task tracker, and manage non-software-development-related projects. While we will be focusing mostly on using Jira Software for agile purposes, many of the concepts and topics, especially from Chapter 5, Customizing Jira Software, onwards, are also applicable to non-agile-based projects. Given that we are specifically covering Jira Software in this book, we will be using the terms Jira and Jira Software interchangeably, unless explicitly stated otherwise.