What is Jira Align? Features & Key Benefits Explained

If you are working in Enterprise Agile space, then the term Jira Align must be familiar to you and now that it is gaining so much popularity, we are here to throw some light on this topic. Here in this blog, we are going to learn all about Jira Align and how its features are advantageous for big enterprises. This is the tool that will make sure that your enterprise is always on the right track with agile and getting its maximum benefits. Furthermore, in this blog, we are going to let you know how you can work with Jira projects and increase your acumen by going for the best Jira training. There are various challenges and ambiguities that are present when big organizations are trying to follow the agile path, so to make sure that they can bridge that gap, the use of Jira Align has come into the picture. So let us learn more about it on the page below.

What is Jira Align?

Jira Align is an Atlassian product that is an agile planning tool that is used for implementing scaled agile and also helps in the digital transformation needed in the enterprise. As we know there are various agile frameworks present that are widely used in many companies, Jira Align can be used with a number of those agile frameworks. You can make this decision based on the right requirements that suit the digital transformation. Some examples of those frameworks are:

• SAFe - Scaled Agile Framework
• LeSS - Large Scale Scrum
• DA - Disciplined Agile
• Scrum@Scale
• Spotify
• Custom or hybrid frameworks

If we talk about how this supports the Jira application then Jira align is a cloud product that can work with multiple Jira instances and support the Jira software server, data center, and cloud as well. There are four phases that are present in Jira Align.

• Work
• Corporate strategy
• Value
• Learning

Although both Jira Align and Jira are used for the planning and the status phase, the execution will solely take place in Jira. The development teams present in the project will use Jira for their day-to-day tasks which will include managing their backlogs, executing against stories, and much more. There are various work items like epics, stories, and tasks along with teams and sprints that are synced between Jira and Jira align. With the help of these features, the work is more visible in real-time as the team-level data is aggregated in Jira Align. This is the best way to see what is going on at that instance and this will provide more visibility to what is completed and what is not. Using this, more focus can be given to various goals and objectives of the team.

What are the features of Jira Align for Agile Portfolio Management?

Now we know that Jira Align is one of the most jammed-packed products from Atlassian, and this will help various business owners, Program managers, and other people who are involved in the planning of best agile practices for the team. There are various key features that will help them in making a smooth digital transformation and tracking the practices even easier, those features are:

Portfolio Strategy Management

If you are looking for software that will help you provide the top-down alignment by having a good visualization of what the business is doing, then Jira Align is the right one for you. This will help you achieve the same through Strategic Snapshots. It was seen that during the old days, the vision, the mission, and various values created were forgotten by when it was time for the next planning cycle. But these snapshots are very useful in making sure that the company’s values and various objectives are displayed very loud and clear for each planning session so that the product is as per the vision. With this software, it becomes easier for the team to work on that dedicated path and make sure that they are tracking the goals from their journey toward product delivery.

Helps in keeping big items on the track

We know very well right now that using Backlog and Kanban board can be very helpful when we are working with the bug work items that include Epics and initiatives. So, Jira Align like Jira will make sure that it is using Global ranking to show what items are on the top and what is their priority.

Roadmap

Each project needs a roadmap as this will ensure that the team is working right on the timelines. If the team is very well aware of their PI and they know how many stories are going to be part of each sprint, then they will be able to provide real-time analysis of each sprint. The shading in the roadmap will help to know the real-time progress. The live information populated in the roadmap is very helpful and it has its use that is beyond planning and into execution reporting. 

Use of Program Board

There are various things that go into initiatives, objectives & dependencies, and risks that are needed to be discussed in the big room planning. This is very crucial and takes a lot of time but it is very important for the planning meeting. This challenge is overcome by using the Program Board and using this the teams are able to see the critical touch points in an easy layout. The main feature of this program board is that will be updated on a real-time basis and using this, the teams and the management will be able to stay on top of the plan. They can make sure that execution is done in the right way.

Customizable Dashboard

The program room is an important feature that will help the team to know the health of the project. Using this dashboard which is highly customizable, the team is able to see the key data points that will help in keeping tabs on the management and know what is needed in the project. This will remove the need to collect the data from various sources during the time of need as the live information will be present at all times in this program room.

These are only five features that we have discussed here but there are so many features that you will experience when you start using Jira Align for your organization.

What are the key benefits of Jira Align?

There are various benefits that can be presented when you are using Jira Align in your team in enterprise solutions.

Alignment of organization’s goals with developmental goals

It is seen various times that there could be gaps between the business strategy and the technical execution during the developmental phase of the project. But with the help of Jira Align, this can be made sure that the large-scale development efforts are in alignment with the business goals. This will ensure that the team that starts from the individual software team to the programs to the portfolio of the programs and then to the enterprise level goals that are set by the management at the senior level.

This will ensure that the goals and objectives set by the top management will be followed in the team’s execution. If used as the ERP tool that helps in scaling the large development project, this tool will make sure that the team is working in the same direction which is aligned to the strategy made at the enterprise level. This way, the company will ensure that more of its time is spent making efforts in the same direction.

Set shorter delivery time

One of the known challenges that are faced by large incorporation when they are going agile is dealing with the size and complexity of the teams that are present in the organization. But as the features of Jira Align are discussed above, we can make sure that the issue is overcome by those features. By having a real-time view of the issues in hand, having summarised data, and having Strategic snapshots along with managing backlog and Kanban boards, the team can use these features to have a shorter delivery time. The roadmaps in the software will ensure that the team is aware of the real-time information and take action according to it. These features make planning and execution of the project very simple. When all the information is on board, then the team is able to find the right delivery time and will be able to work towards that while resolving the backlog and issues that come along the way, they can be identified on time and resolved so that the timelines are not disturbed. This way, the time to market will be reduced significantly and more upon time deliverables can be maintained.

Have a great return on the investment

When it comes to investment in better software, the companies are not staying back. The reason for this is that the better software will ensure great effectiveness and hence the companies will be able to achieve more when the software is working in the direction that is needed by the company. But most of the time the costly software also fails to give the results that the organizations are aspiring to.

But when you are going to work with Jira Align, this will not be the case. This is the software that is known for delivering high-end results. This could be one of the best investments that you can do when it comes to improving the business strategy of your developmental team. Using this, you can make sure that the strategic investments are connecting the customer value that is created to reliably drive the business outcomes. You will be able to get a higher return on this investment than other software solutions that you use for your company.

What are various roles that could get benefit from the use of Jira Align?

There are various roles in the team that uses this software and have encountered various benefits for their particular role. Let us understand them one by one.

• Portfolio Manager: This tool allows them to make sure that the communication is crystal clear and that is able to add value to the funding strategic initiatives to the investors, analysts, and the employees in their organization.
• Executives: There should be a bridge between the business strategies and the technical execution in the team, so the executives will make sure that the strategy of execution is working well with the vision and the mission of the company.
• Delivery Teams: This software helps them to execute against the sprint work that will help them to track back to the company’s high-level strategy that is decided by the executives during the planning phase of the projects.
• Program Managers: Using the Jira Align software, the program managers will be able to make sure that the team is working in the right direction and able to unearth various potholes that might hinder the timelines decided for the project delivery.
• Product Managers: Product managers can make the best use of this software and can ensure that they are using features like a roadmap to take the ideas, prioritize the feature backlog and also track the real-time progress of the team. They also ensure that the product they are developing is matching the higher goals and mission of the organization.
• Transformation Teams: The transformation team can use this Jira Align software to drive the digital transformation which is used to scale the transformation of agile in your enterprise.

Final Word

The main purpose of Jira Align is to make sure that the scaling and designing of the Jira is done according to the size of the customers. Using this software, the business strategies will meet the technical execution which also provides real-time visibility for the team. This is a very reliable software and with the features that are mentioned above, this software can meet all the demands of the customers. If you are using it right, then you can achieve great results with the proper execution of this software. We are already aware that Jira is taking Agile management by storm and more and more companies are leaning towards its usage. So, gear up your organization too with this software and bear the fruits of success with its implementation.

Jira is an interesting software and if you are willing to learn more about it then now is the right time The market needs various Jira experts and if you are a certified Jira individual, then the doors of opportunities are open for you. With the right training and certification, you can have a bright future. You should have a look at StarAgile’s Jira certification training course and give it a shot. Here you will have professionals helping you understand concepts of Jira both theoretically as well as practically. You will get your certification and start your career on a great note with StarAgile.