Visual Workflow Specification Speeds JIRA Application Development

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A wise man once said that a picture speaks a thousand words. When developing a new JIRA workflow specification, a visual representation of a workflow specification can shorten the development cycle considerably and deliver other benefits that save time, energy and money.

Many managers and staff find it easier to develop a JIRA workflow specification working with a “picture” of their workflow rather than a text-based description. When developing a JIRA workflow, managers loathe having to work their way through pages of descriptive text.  A visual representation of a JIRA workflow conveys needed information more quickly, as compared to reading pages of descriptive text that describe a workflow.

JIRA workflow diagrams speed the development of a JIRA application. JIRA Application Developers can quickly develop a JIRA workflow application using a Microsoft Visio workflow specification. A JIRA specification constructed using Visio contains all of the information needed to configure a workflow using JIRA. Developers can check off workflow components (statuses, transitions etc.) right on the diagram as they develop them. Thus the diagram becomes a working visual development checklist. JIRA end-users engaged in application acceptance testing can also use a workflow diagram as a test checklist.

Visual representation of JIRA workflows are also useful for training users that are new to a JIRA. I’ve found my JIRA Visio workflow diagrams part of PowerPoint training slides. They also are on display project managers offices and taped to staff’s cubicle walls.

So how do you create a JIRA workflow diagram? If you are reverse-engineering an existing JIRA application, you can create a diagram from the table-based workflow representation provided via the JIRA Admin panel. If you have created a cross-functional diagram for the application, or have an existing cross-functional diagram of the workflow that is to be automated by JIRA, you can convert these to a JIRA workflow specification.

Once you have a cross-functional diagram of a business process, work with your JIRA application project team to identify what parts of the process flow will be managed by JIRA. Once boundaries of what JIRA is going to manage have been identified, the next step is to fire up Visio and construct a JIRA workflow specification for review by the team.

Next to the JIRA Custom Field Data Dictionary, the JIRA workflow diagram is valued most by managers and staff. If you haven’t had the opportunity to develop a JIRA application using a workflow diagram, give it a try on your next JIRA application development project. You might be surprised by all of the benefits that a picture of a workflow can deliver.