Jira Dashboard: All You Need to Know

May 23, 2023

If you are part of a team working on a project, you must know the importance of planning, keeping track of the progress, managing tasks, and getting an overview of the project's status. Jira is a popular project management software that helps teams collaborate and manage their projects effectively.

If you are part of a team working on a project, you must know the importance of planning, keeping track of the progress, managing tasks, and getting an overview of the project's status. Jira is a popular project management software that helps teams collaborate and manage their projects effectively. One of the most significant features of Jira is the Jira dashboard. In this article, we will discuss what is Jira dashboard, its key aspects, how to create it, and why to use it.

Jira Dashboard: What is, Why to Use?

A key idea of the Jira dashboard is that it provides a customizable workspace where teams can monitor their projects, track their work progress, and keep an eye on their project's status. It provides a single point of access to all the vital project-related information, allowing teams to stay informed and make informed decisions. The dashboard offers a wide range of widgets that display various types of information, including charts, graphs, lists, and more. These widgets can be customized, added, or removed according to team needs.

One of the significant advantages of the Jira dashboard is that it allows teams to have real-time updates on their project status.

Key Aspects of the Jira Dashboard

Now that we have discussed what a Jira dashboard is and why to use it let us delve into its key aspects.

Centralized View

Jira dashboards provide a centralized view of the team's progress, enabling them to track their work and prioritize their tasks.

Gadgets

Dashboard gadgets are the building blocks of the dashboard. They are small, configurable gadgets that display information from Jira projects, including the status of issues, sprint progress, and other project-related information. There are several types of Jira dashboard gadgets available, among them are popular gadgets including bar charts and wallboards. Teams can customize their dashboard Jira view by adding or removing gadgets as per their requirements.

Real-Time Updates

The dashboard provides real-time updates on the project's status, making it easier for a project manager, the entire team, and individual users to stay informed on a daily basis and make informed decisions.

Customization

Jira dashboards are highly customizable, so users can add and remove widgets as per their requirements, enabling teams to create their own dashboard layout and configure it according to their requirements. Teams can add or remove widgets, change the layout, and customize the colors and fonts to make it more user-friendly.

Improved Collaboration

With a shared dashboard, teams can collaborate more effectively and ensure everyone is on the same page. It allows team members to easily communicate, assign tasks, and share information.

Issue Tracking and Task Management

The Jira Dashboards provide an issue-tracking system and an efficient and easy-to-use solution for task management. The issue tracking system provides an overview of tasks and issues. It allows teams to easily communicate, and share information, which allows them to quickly identify and address any problems or delays in the project.

Permissions

Jira provides granular permissions that allow teams to control who can access the Jira dashboards and the information displayed on them. Teams can configure permissions based on user roles and access levels, ensuring that sensitive information

How to Create a Dashboard in Jira?

Users may worry about how to create a dashboard, but there is nothing to worry about, as creating a custom dashboard in Jira is a simple and straightforward process. Here are the steps to create a dashboard in Jira:

Step 1: Creating a New Dashboard

Once you've logged in to Jira, navigate to the Dashboards page by clicking on the Dashboards link in the top menu bar. You will see a default system dashboard, and an option to create a new one. Click on the "Create dashboard" button.

Jira Dashboards Menu

After that, a creation dialogue will appear and you’ll need to provide its name, description, and permission details.

Jira Dashboard Creation

Step 2: Adding Gadgets to Jira Dashboards

In the next screen, you will be taken to the dashboard configuration screen. Here, you can add relevant gadgets to your blank dashboard by clicking on the "Add gadget" button. Jira provides a wide variety of gadgets that you can choose from, including charts, wallboards, and other visualizations to supplement your Jira reporting dashboard.

Adding Gadgets to Jira Dashboards

Step 3: Changing the Layout

You will be prompted to choose a layout for your dashboard. Jira provides several layout options to choose from, including two, three, and four-column layouts. Choose the layout that best suits your needs.
While adding a gadget, you will need to configure it to display the data you want to see. For example, if you want to have a Jira project dashboard to get a deeper insight into your key projects, just choose the "Projects" gadget to have quick access. You can also add a gadget that will show a list of issues assigned to you to access issues quickly and to make your issue management better. That helps to get a basic level of understanding of your workload status at any time.

Changing the Jira Dashboard Layout
Changing Gadgets' Configuration in Jira

Step 4: Customizing the Gadgets View

If you're curious about how to customize the Jira dashboard, you're in the right place. Users can customize the overall view of gadgets on their dashboard. Just click in the upper corner of the selected gadget and you will see the dropdown menu with options: change color, rename, delete, or configure the gadget to your taste:

Gadgets View Customization in Jira Dashboards

Step 5: Reorder Gadgets

You can easily reorder gadgets on your Jira dashboards by clicking and dragging gadgets to a new location. This can be especially helpful if you want to group related gadgets together or if you want to move frequently used gadgets to a more prominent location.

Reordering  Dashboard Gadgets in Jira

The dashboard owners can edit their dashboard examples, create additional gadgets, and reorganize an entire dashboard at any time. Custom dashboard Jira management is very simple.

The Process of Sharing a Jira Dashboard

Users can share personal dashboards. Sharing a dashboard is a simple and straightforward process that allows team members to collaborate effectively and share critical project-related information. The Jira dashboards can be shared with other team members, stakeholders, or external partners, allowing everyone to have access to the same information and stay informed about the project's progress.

It's important to note that Jira provides granular permission controls that allow users to control who can access and modify the dashboard. These permission controls can be customized based on the needs of the team, ensuring that sensitive information is only accessible to authorized personnel.

Navigate to the Dashboard Page

The process of sharing Jira dashboards involves a few simple steps. First, the user needs to navigate to the dashboard page and choose the needed dashboard from the dashboards list:

List of Jira Dashboards

Click on the button in the right corner of the needed dashboard, and choose from the dropdown menu “Rename or share dashboard“.

Jira Dashboard Configuration Menu

Rename or Share Dashboard

This will open the "Share dashboard" dialog box, where the user can enter the individuals, groups, or even the whole organization they want to share with the dashboard.

Jira Dashboard Sharing Options

Choose the Permission Level of Viewers

Users can choose several permission levels from the menu. You can share it with:

  • Users who are working on the same Project
  • Share the dashboard with a specific Group (team)
  • Share on the level of the whole Organization
  • Share it with a certain User
  • or make it Private.
Choosing the Permission Level of Jira Dashboard Viewers

Choose the Permission Level of Editors

Permission levels for the Editors are the same as for Viewers, except for the “My Organization” level, so you can make editors:

  • Users who are working on the same Project
  • A specific Group (team)
  • Certain User
  • or edit the dashboard Privately.
Choosing the Permission Level of Jira Dashboard Editors

After all actions are taken don’t forget to save changes.

Best 4 Jira Dashboard Examples

Dashboards possess a high degree of flexibility, allowing for targeted sharing among specific groups or users based on their roles or involvement in particular projects. Depending on their needs, users can configure dashboards in different ways. Let’s have a quick overview of some most popular ones.

1. Personal Dashboard

A personal dashboard is an invaluable tool that offers numerous advantages in streamlining workflow management and enhancing productivity. Tailored to individual needs, it provides a centralized platform for organizing and visualizing user’s tasks, projects, issues, etc.

Personal Jira Dashboard

2. Project Dashboard

Monitor the progress of projects. It allows teams to quickly identify the progress of a specific project, and any potential blockers or issues. It also helps teams identify any areas of improvement and optimize their processes. A project dashboard in Jira provides an overview of the key metrics and progress of a specific project. It helps stakeholders and team members stay informed about the project's status and performance. Here are some components commonly found in a project dashboard:

Jira Workload Dashboard

3. Issue-Tracking Dashboard

Track and prioritize issues with the help of the issue-tracking dashboard. It allows users to quickly identify and prioritize the most important issues they are facing. It also helps teams to isolate and track any potential problems.
An issue-tracking dashboard in Jira focuses on providing visibility into the status and progress of issues or tickets within a project. It enables efficient issue management and collaboration among team members. Here are some elements commonly found in an issue-tracking dashboard:

Jira Issue-Tracking Dashboard

4. Workload Dashboard

Monitor resource workload. This dashboard is incredibly useful for teams that need to track the amount of work that is assigned to each team member and adjust their workload accordingly. It visualizes the workload distribution across team members, indicating the number of assigned tasks or issues, and shows the historical trend of workload for individual team members or the entire team, helping identify workload patterns and plan resource allocation.

Jira Workload Dashboard

Tracking progress with dashboards is very comfortable as it helps to get a comprehensive view of the current projects and ongoing activity.

By the way, users may find various add-ons for Jira presented in the Atlassian Marketplace that provide advanced planning features and their own preset planning dashboards for even more effortless team/project/task management. Among them, we can name ActivityTimeline - a resource planning & time tracking tool for Jira, which offers a planning dashboard that provides an eye-bird view of the project & resource progress, as well as other useful features.

Planning with ActivityTimeline Dashboard

An ActivityTimeline for Jira, compatible with Jira Software/Jira Service Management, is an add-on that gives users an overview of their team's activity on Jira projects. It provides a high-level visualization with the help of user/team timelines with ongoing activities, allowing users to identify trends and patterns that are important for decision-making and improve issue management.

Its’s planning dashboard provides an easy-to-use graphical representation of the project's activities, allowing users to identify inefficiencies and make adjustments to optimize the project flow. The ActivityTimeline for Jira includes a range of advanced features that allow users to quickly analyze project activities.

The app also provides timesheets and reports to facilitate project reporting.

Among the features presented in the tool we can name:

Project and Task Management

The dashboard makes the planning process effortless. The tool helps to understand resource utilization across your organization, as it provides a cross-project perspective of shared resources and projects with tasks in a single place. You can easily understand the team workload, who is doing what, and when it will be done.

Dashboard Planning with ActivityTimeline

Projects with project backlog are visualized in the left panel:

Project and Task Management with ActivityTimeline Dashboard

Tasks can be scheduled from the issue list directly on the users' timelines with a simple drag-n-drop feature, or you even create new tasks directly from the dashboard, all data is fully synchronized with Jira and vice versa!

Internal Tasks' Management in ActivityTimeline

Users may also find custom internal events that are not synchronized with Jira but are very useful when it comes to activities or events not connected with Jira tasks, such as holidays, vacations, planning meetings activities, sick leaves, day-offs, etc.

Vacation Management with ActivityTimeline Dashboard

Filters & Grouping

Filters are also available here, so users can filter and group the needed data by different values (by the team, user, project, issue statuses, issue type, etc.) and reflect it on the timelines in a few clicks:

Filters for ActivityTimeline Dashboard
Groupings for ActivityTimeline Dashboard

Workload/Availability Management

Activity Timeline offers unique indicators of user workload/availability to help you identify how best to allocate tasks. By creating personalized workload plans for your users, you can quickly see where resources may be over-allocated or under-utilized, allowing you to adjust accordingly. This data can also be used to make smarter decisions about resource allocation and help managers plan for upcoming projects more effectively.

User Workload and Availability Management in ActivityTimeline

You can select from a range of timeline views at either a detailed or general level. These timeline views allow you to allocate tasks to specific users or whole teams (such as epics and program increments), set deadlines and estimates, and monitor progress. Furthermore, there are indicators to show an entire team workload and availability:

Team Workload and Availability Management in ActivityTimeline

Vise workload distribution makes resource allocation easy. Users can avoid problems that can arise during the resource allocation process, namely:

  • Inadequate resources: When resources are not allocated properly, it can lead to a scarcity of the needed resources (material and human) and a failure to finish tasks punctually and within the allocated budget.
  • Roles and duties that are not well-defined: Improper distribution of resources can make it hard to pinpoint who is responsible for what work and who is accountable for supervising the overall development of the project.
  • Excessive use of resources: When resources are too greatly assigned, it can lead to inefficiencies and wasted effort and funds.
  • Insufficient use of resources: Not providing enough resources can cause missed deadlines and lost opportunities.
  • Ineffective team communication: If resources are not allocated properly, it can be difficult for those involved in the task to remain apprised and up-to-date on its advancement, as well as any modifications that might be required. This can result in perplexity regarding the objectives of the project and the way resources are being employed.
  • Limited project visibility: Without an accurate allocation of resources, it is hard to track the progress of the project and affirm that tasks are being completed, which can have an unfavorable effect on the success of the project.

Effortless Reports & Timesheets Generation

ActivityTimeline also offers advanced reports and timesheets for accurate tracking and analysis. You can jump to the timesheet or report sections from the dashboard:

Timesheets Generation in ActivityTimeline

The timesheet section offers progress, timeline, and detailed timesheets that are built like a Lego constructor with different timesheet templates. The user chooses all the needed values and generates timesheets in a few clicks!

ActivityTimeline’s Team Timeline Timesheets
ActivityTimeline’s Detailed Team Timesheets

The report section offers a wide variety of issues & project reports, resource reports to report on user workload/availability, etc.

ActivityTimeline’s Reports

Roles and Permissions

As well as Jira, ActivityTimeline has permission levels, so you can configure data access levels and assign permission roles to different users.

Roles and Permissions in ActivityTimeline

As far as we can see, it is comfortable to work with a such type of dashboard, as it is pre-configured, shows a comprehensive view of the ongoing projects and activities, gives quick access to reports and timesheets, and has various customization possibilities and permission levels.

Conclusion

The use of a Jira Dashboard for planning is a great way to stay organized and keep projects moving along in an efficient and productive manner. It allows for the tracking of progress, the sharing of information, and the visualization of data.

The Jira dashboards provide powerful tools for teams working on complex projects. Its customizable widgets, filters, and agile boards, combined with real-time updates, centralized view, and improved collaboration, make it an essential part of any team's project management toolkit. It provides a clear overview of the team's progress, enabling them to make informed decisions and prioritize their work efficiently. Users can also advance their planning with the help of the Jira add-ons and try their dashboard planning features for better performance and tracking.

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