When starting a new software development project, many companies choose to use Jira as their project tracking tool. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re familiar with it. (If not, no judgment from us! You can learn more about it here.) While Jira can be a helpful tool for tracking progress, it’s beneficial to have best practices in place to pack the most punch. Find out how to optimize your Jira QA workflow below.

Jira QA Workflow

Jira board column types aren’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Different teams might find that different conventions work for them. (To learn more, see our article on the Agile QA process.) However, the options below show the typical range of columns followed in almost any QA Jira workflow.

Here are some examples of Jira columns:

Group 1 – the “All the Columns!” Approach

Backlog / Ready for Development / In Progress / Ready for Staging / Ready for Testing / In Testing / Reopened / Ready for Production / On Production / Testing on Production / Done

Group 2 – the Basic Approach

New / In Progress / Ready for Testing / Done

As long as each column serves an effective purpose, it’s often helpful to lean towards the side of more columns. The more specific each column is, the easier it is for anyone on the team to immediately get a high-level status report with a quick glance at the board.

If you compare the groups above, you can see how the options in Group 1 provide a much clearer view into how far along a task is, versus the more bare bones approach of Group 2.

While it may seem overwhelming, it’s helpful to remember that tickets can be moved between columns with a quick drag of the mouse. As long as the team is disciplined about updating ticket statuses, detailed columns can be a huge asset to your Jira QA process.

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