Mastering Project Setup in JIRA: Expert Tips to Streamline Agile Workflow

Project management tools : JIRA 

Atlassian produced Jira, which is a sophisticated tool for managing projects and keeping track of problems. A lot of software development teams, business teams, and agile companies utilize it to plan, monitor, and manage their work more effectively.

Jira workflow

A Jira workflow shows the whole process of an issue, from when it was made to when it was fixed. It has statuses like "To Do," "In Progress," and "Done" that show what stage the work is at right now. Transitions tell problems how to shift from one state to another, such as "Start Progress" or "Mark as Resolved."

JIRA Case Study: Enhancing SRM Admission Portal with UPI Payment Integration

The goal of this case study, "SRM Admission Portal – Payment System Enhancement," is to make the current payment system better by adding UPI as a payment option. Right now, the site only lets you use debit and credit cards, which makes it less convenient for students. Adding this functionality will make things more flexible, speed up the admission process, and lower the number of transactions that don't go through. UPI is becoming a popular and safe way to pay. This improvement keeps up with the latest developments in digital payments and makes it easier for all applicants to pay their fees.

Current Limitation: Right now, the only ways to pay fees are with a debit or credit card.

Goal: Add UPI payment options to make things more flexible and convenient for users.

Epic:

ID: PAY-EPIC-001
Title: Payment Gateway Enhancement – UPI Integration
Description: Enable UPI payment method for students during the admission process via the SRM portal.

User Story 1:

ID: PAY-101
Title: Display UPI Option on Payment Page
As a student, I want to see UPI listed along with Debit and Credit card options, So that I can choose UPI as a preferred payment method.

Acceptance Criteria:

• UPI option is visible beside existing methods.
• Selecting UPI shows UPI ID input field and QR code scan option.

User Story 2:

ID: PAY-102
Title: UPI Payment Gateway Integration
As a backend developer, I want to connect the UPI system with our existing payment gateway, So that payments via UPI are processed securely.

Tasks:

• Choose secure UPI API (e.g., Razorpay, Paytm, PhonePe).
• Implement API integration with secure token-based validation.
• Validate UPI ID format and QR compatibility.

User Story 3:

ID: PAY-103
Title: Payment Success and Failure Handling
As a student, I want real-time status updates on payment success or failure, So that I know whether my admission payment is completed.

Acceptance Criteria:

• Display confirmation message and reference number upon success.
• Redirect to retry screen with message on failure.
• Save transaction status in the database.

User Story 4:

ID: PAY-104
Title: Update Payment Records in Admission System
As an admin, I want successful UPI transactions to be recorded in the student admission database, So that records stay updated without manual entry.

Acceptance Criteria:

• UPI transaction reference is stored along with student ID.
• Auto-update admission stage to “Payment Completed.”

User Story 5:

ID: PAY-105
Title: UI/UX Testing for Mobile & Desktop Views
As a QA tester, I want to ensure UPI payment functionality works smoothly across devices, So that all students have a consistent user experience.

Acceptance Criteria:

• UI responsive for desktops, tablets, and mobile screens.
• QR and UPI input fields display correctly across browsers.

 

Steps to Use This Workflow in JIRA (Kanban or Scrum Board):

1. Create a New Project

Ø  Choose a Kanban or Scrum template under "Project Templates".

2. Set Up Workflow
• Go to Project Settings → Workflows and edit the default workflow.
3. Define Status Columns

Ø  Add these statuses in order:
To Do → In Progress → In Review → QA Testing → Done

4. Create Transitions

Ø  Link each status with arrows to the next step to allow forward task movement.

5. Assign Tasks (Issues)

Ø  Create issues (e.g., Story, Task, Bug) and set them to To Do.

6. Move Tasks Across Columns

Ø  Drag and drop tasks as they progress:

§  Team picks from To Do

§  Developer moves to In Progress

§  Code reviewed in In Review

§  Tested in QA Testing

§  Closed in Done

7. Use Boards for Tracking

Ø  View live progress on the Kanban/Scrum board as tasks flow through the stages.

8. Enable Notifications and Automation

Ø  Automate transitions, set alerts for delays or stage completions.

9. Monitor with Reports

• Use burndown charts, velocity charts, and cumulative flow diagrams to assess workflow efficiency

Figure 1 Create a project in JIRA

Figure 2 Create a Task in JIRA

Figure 3 TO-DO PHASE

Figure 4 PROGRESS PHASE

Figure 5DONE PHASE

SRM Admission Portal – UPI Integration Dashboard

Objective: Monitor the complete enhancement workflow from UPI feature development to successful deployment using visual data, KPIs, and real-time tracking in JIRA.

Dashboard Widgets (Gadgets)

1. Project Overview

• Gadget: Filter Results
• Purpose: Display a table of all UPI-related issues with status, priority, assignee.
• Filter Used: project = SRM_UPI AND issuetype in (Story, Task, Bug)

2. Workflow Progress Tracker

• Gadget: Cumulative Flow Diagram
• Purpose: Visualize issue status across To Do → In Progress → In Review → QA Testing → Done
• Benefit: Identify bottlenecks or delays in specific stages

3. Sprint Burndown Chart (for Scrum teams)

• Gadget: Burndown Chart
• Purpose: Track sprint progress and remaining work
• Filter: Linked to current active sprint
• Benefit: Monitor team velocity and timeline accuracy

4. Priority-wise Issue Count

• Gadget: Pie Chart
• Purpose: Show distribution of issues by priority (High, Medium, Low)
• Filter: project = SRM_UPI

5. Team Workload Summary

• Gadget: Two-Dimensional Filter Statistics
• Rows: Assignee
• Columns: Status
• Purpose: Display how many tasks each team member is handling in each workflow stage

6. UPI Bug Tracker

• Gadget: Filter Results
• Filter: project = SRM_UPI AND issuetype = Bug
• Columns: Summary, Status, Assigned To, Severity
• Purpose: Track bugs identified during integration and testing

7. Recently Updated Issues

• Gadget: Activity Stream
• Purpose: Show all recent changes, updates, and comments on tickets
• Scope: project = SRM_UPI

8. UPI Feature Progress Tracker

• Gadget: Created vs Resolved Chart
• Purpose: Track if issue resolution is keeping up with new task creation
• Timeframe: Last 30 days

Conclusion

To Adding a UPI payment option to the SRM Admission Portal makes it more easier to use, more flexible with payments, and more useful. Students may now easily pay their fees using UPI, debit cards, and credit cards thanks to the addition of a secure third-party UPI gateway. This change fits with the way people are using digital payments these days and helps create a cashless world. Backend connectivity also makes sure that transaction data is logged correctly, which makes it easier to keep track of finances and cuts down on the amount of work that has to be done by hand. The easier payment method is good for both students and the administration, as it makes things run more smoothly. This is a smart move toward a stronger and more user-friendly system.