Jira is one of the best and most common tools that agile software developers use to handle projects effectively and save time for managers by automating routine administrative tasks.
As to Power BI from Microsoft, it is one of the quality business intelligence (BI) services that provide analytical insights helping enterprises take critical decisions, and improve the software development process.
If you are unsure if Jira and Power BI are to be combined, this article will help you make the right decision, which will be beneficial for your business. You won’t object that project development documentation is of critical importance for IT profs. This automatically gives Jira the status of a major data source from the viewpoint of decision-makers. Furthermore, the analysis of Jira files is a matter of productivity and revenue for IT agencies.
According to Gartner’s Magic Quadrant by 2020, investments in business analytics will double in their value because companies will be able to take maximum advantage from access to curated catalogues of essential docs, both internal and external. This clearly shows that if you don’t rely on systems and strategy now, you’d better start doing that.
BI apps will evolve in the future to meet the demands of new leaders. Managers aim to make timely and error-free decisions and need accurate data on all business operations. All data must be available for review immediately.
What is Power BI
Business intelligence is a modern term that refers to the applications that provide quick and easy access to valuable insights about different sides of the business activities of the company. Those info grasps are based on extensive data.
Microsoft’s Power BI is named among the most commonly used BI platforms. It processes file arrays and transforms the results into charts and reports that empower users with comprehensive business intelligence.
Is Jira a Valuable Data Source?
All apps used for agile project management have something in common. For instance, it’s a visual dashboard. Here you can see the progress of your team towards the set goals. I.e.: you can see the number of resolved issues, the average time needed for resolution, and so on.
By placing info on the dashboard, Jira provides project managers with easy access to essentials. It allows them to concentrate on what’s important and address customer requirements on time. Besides, such monitoring helps supervisors to assess the results over time in addition to statistics on actual sprints.
Advantages of Combining Jira and Power BI
Jira tracks KPIs or key performance indicators, such as open issue numbers, time spent on the project, project velocity, and more. This allows us to plan the resources wiser. Managers study the KPIs along with historical info, then they spot weak points and enhance them.
But that’s not all. The Power BI can be used by administrators to integrate data from all essential sources. For example, a web API gathers data from a cloud-based issue monitoring system. These data are then incorporated into an on-premise database used in the internal time-keeping system.
Connecting Jira to Power BI – a Quick Set-Up Guide
You can choose one of the possible ways to merge Jira with Power BI. The first approach is to do that with the help of the API-side Jira admin, which is very difficult.
If you don’t like complications, any user (not database admin) can combine Jira with Power BI even if they have no technical knowledge of Jira. To export data from the project to Jira’s Power BI, simply use an add-on from a third-party vendor. Any user having access to the project can do so.
For instance, you can use Power BI Connector for Jira by Alpha Serve available on Atlassian Marketplace. Using it, you will flawlessly export data from Jira to Power BI (access will vary for a particular user).
Check out if Power BI Connector for Jira app is a perfect match for your business using a free 30-day trial before the purchase.
Installation of Power BI Connector for Jira
The process of installation is similar to any other Jira add-on. It can be downloaded from the Atlassian marketplace webpage or from the Add-ons tab directly from Jira.
After installation, open Jira -> find the Power BI tab in the navigation menu -> find the Power BI tab -> click “Create a Data Source” button. This will create a new connector.
When you are on “Create a Data Source” page:
- Type the source name and the summary
- Filter issues for Data Source
- Select all required fields
- Preview chosen information
Send the form
Next, you must pick the content to transfer to Power BI. The custom sector can be selected only by Jira administrator.
Power BI Connector for Jira provides a data source URL for the operation of business intelligence systems. Copy the URL and upload files to your Power BI program using it.
What You Need to Do to Import Data from Jira to Power BI
This is simple.
Start Power BI Desktop -> Click “Get Data” -> “OData feed” -> paste the URL -> pick out the needed tables -> click “Load”
That’s it, the files will be uploaded into the Power BI. If you have more questions about the process, please check out User Guide from Alpha Serve for details.
Usage of Power BI in Jira – Cases
Firms use Jira data to craft effective strategies and to implement them. With Jira data processed in business intelligence tools, IT teams stay on top of the development process having a current, future, and historical knowledge of the business activities at hand.
Here are some examples of Jira and Power BI integration that will help you understand its utility.
Resources Management in a Sprint
The key problem when designing apps related to BI tools is whether an agile concept is worth adoption.
Side note: The agile approach makes it possible for developers to be creative and flexible while delivering exactly what the customer wants.
Developers are constantly under the pressure of rigid plans and timetables set by managers. Those constraints (projected time, execution time, left time) don’t leave much space for creative collaboration.
Coders enjoy teamwork in sprints and want to manage workload. However, from the point of business, team workload contributes to better performance. The key to successful agile software development lies in having versatility while maintaining the organization.
In the process of resource management, users involve BI software that tackles some of the most challenging issues and activities per user, tickets by category, average bug testing time, etc. With BI tools, developers can self-manage easily, set objectives, track the project, and coordinate team progress in a particular sprint.
Without making schedules tighter and duties harder, BI tools simplify the job for the entire team.
Supervise Customer Support Resources
There are so many apps that help managers to set proper goals. Some of them are designed to monitor customer support, including the quantity of support queries and ticket types.
Such screening gives an indication of the total amount of time it usually takes to close a query, plus a number of tickets. This way, the support team is centrally controlled but the employees still have the individual liberty to unlock their creativeness. The program, for example, helps to discover common issues and correlations.
Develop More than One Project at a Time
When you are juggling between several projects, you need to track plenty of items simultaneously. I.e.: project statuses, deliveries, phases, issues, etc.
Project management apps help teams by breaking specifications into smaller tasks. This way it is easier to rank projects for shipping.
When developing software, teams collaborate on parts of the project. So, every stage of the project needs attention and proper handling. The pieces of code are written in iterations and eventually combine into the completed product. Those cycles switch between preparation and planning sessions and coding sprints. This is relevant in terms of the timetable for project status.
Trying to keep the loop shortened and getting enough input from developers lets the team stay adapted and concentrated. This also prevents issues compilation.
Power BI tools with their dashboards make all projects’ details available for administrators at a glance. This overview lets managers easily check the status of the project and its major KPIs and to promptly address weak points.
Wind up
Undoubtedly, it is absolutely critical for any IT organization to have a full overview of all the projects along with true information on team progress. The more relevant data you analyze, the better you understand your business, it’s results, and direction to move.
Jira is one of the most prominent databases for all sorts of IT companies. This is not surprising as Jira contains info on all your core business operations. When you incorporate Jira as a primary source of data with Power BI from Microsoft, you can be calm as you are informed and everything is in control.
With Power BI, all team members have up-to-date reports displayed on a dedicated dashboard. Those reports are accurate and convenient. They don’t include irrelevant or confusing figures.
Summarizing everything said above, it’s a serious advantage for your business to have a compatible tool to link Jira and Power BI. The possibility of creating a project or team dashboard quickly without comprehensive Jira administration experience or external approval facilitates the participation of project team members and boosts overall performance.