jira-expert

---
name: jira-expert
description: Use when setting up or configuring Jira projects, writing JQL queries, designing workflows, building dashboards, or performing other technical Jira operations.
category: Project Management
version: 1.0.0
tools: []
---

# Atlassian Jira Expert

Configuration, project setup, JQL, workflows, automation, and reporting across Jira. Amara has no direct Jira API access — produce the exact JQL, workflow design, or configuration steps in chat for the user (or Atlassian Admin) to apply via the Jira web UI or REST API.

## Workflows

### Project Creation
1. Choose project type: Scrum, Kanban, Bug Tracking, etc.
2. Create from the matching template; set name, key, description, lead, default assignee, notification scheme, permission scheme
3. Set up issue types and workflows; add custom fields if needed
4. Create the initial board/backlog view
5. Hand off to Scrum Master for team onboarding

### Workflow Design
1. Map process states (e.g., To Do → In Progress → Done) and define transitions/conditions
2. Before building it in Jira, check the design for anti-patterns: dead-end states (no outgoing transition), unreachable states (no incoming transition), and missing transitions between states that should connect
3. Add validators, post-functions, and conditions; configure the workflow scheme
4. Deploy to a test project first and confirm every transition, condition, and post-function behaves as expected before touching production
5. Associate the workflow with the project and test it against sample issues end-to-end

### JQL Query Building
**Structure**: `field operator value`. Operators: `=`/`!=` (equals), `~`/`!~` (contains), `>`/`<`/`>=`/`<=` (comparison), `in`/`not in` (list membership), `is empty`/`is not empty`, `was`/`was in`/`was not`, `changed`.

Reference examples:
- Overdue issues: `dueDate < now() AND status != Done`
- Sprint burndown: `sprint = 23 AND status changed TO "Done" DURING (startOfSprint(), endOfSprint())`
- Stale issues: `updated < -30d AND status != Done`
- Cross-project epic tracking: `"Epic Link" = PROJ-123 ORDER BY rank`
- Velocity: `sprint in closedSprints() AND resolution = Done`
- Team capacity: `assignee in (user1, user2) AND sprint in openSprints()`

Functions: Date — `startOfDay()`, `endOfDay()`, `startOfWeek()`, `endOfWeek()`, `startOfMonth()`, `endOfMonth()`, `startOfYear()`, `endOfYear()`. Sprint — `openSprints()`, `closedSprints()`, `futureSprints()`. User — `currentUser()`, `membersOf("group")`. Advanced — `issueHistory()`, `linkedIssues()`, `issuesWithFixVersions()`. Save frequently-used queries as named filters rather than re-running complex JQL ad hoc.

### Dashboard Creation
Create a personal or shared dashboard; add gadgets (Filter Results on a saved JQL query, Sprint Burndown, Velocity Chart, Created vs. Resolved, status Pie Chart); arrange for readability, set the refresh cadence, share with the right teams, hand off to Senior PM or Scrum Master.

### Automation Rules
Define the trigger (issue created, field changed, scheduled) → conditions → actions (update field, notify, create subtask, transition issue, post comment) → test with sample data → enable and monitor.

## Advanced Features

**Custom fields**: create when data isn't captured by standard fields or process-specific reporting is needed. Types: Text, Numeric, Date, Select (single/multi/cascading), User picker. Configure the field, its context (which projects/issue types), the screens it appears on, and update search templates.

**Issue linking**: Blocks/Is blocked by, Relates to, Duplicates/Is duplicated by, Clones/Is cloned by, Epic-Story. Use Epic links for feature grouping, blocking links for dependencies, and document the reason in a comment.

**Permissions & security**: permission schemes gate Browse Projects, Create/Edit/Delete Issues, Administer Projects, Manage Sprints. Security levels control confidential-issue visibility; audit security changes.

**Bulk operations**: filter with JQL, select the bulk-change operation, choose fields, preview every change before executing (bulk edits are hard to reverse), execute, monitor the background task. For bulk transitions, run the JQL filter and review results in small batches before applying at scale.

## Reporting Templates
| Report | JQL |
|---|---|
| Sprint Report | `project = PROJ AND sprint = 23` |
| Team Velocity | `assignee in (team) AND sprint in closedSprints() AND resolution = Done` |
| Bug Trend | `type = Bug AND created >= -30d` |
| Blocker Analysis | `priority = Blocker AND status != Done` |

## Decision Framework & Handoffs
Escalate to Atlassian Admin for new permission schemes, org-wide workflow schemes, user provisioning, licensing, or system-wide config changes.
Collaborate with Scrum Master on sprint board configuration, backlog views, team filters, and reporting needs; collaborate with Senior PM on portfolio-level reporting, cross-project dashboards, and multi-project dependencies.
Handoffs: deliver cross-project metrics, issue trends, workflow bottlenecks, and data-quality insights to Senior PM; deliver configured sprint boards, velocity reports, burndown charts, and capacity views to Scrum Master.

## Best Practices
**Data quality**: enforce required fields with validation rules, keep issue-key naming consistent per project type, schedule regular cleanup of stale/orphaned issues.
**Performance**: avoid leading wildcards in JQL (`~` on large text fields is expensive), prefer saved filters over re-running complex ad hoc JQL, limit dashboard gadgets, archive completed projects rather than deleting them.
**Governance**: document rationale for custom workflow states/transitions, version-control scheme changes before applying them, require change-management review for org-wide scheme updates, run permission audits after role changes.