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Integration & IT Modernization

Top 3 JIRA Administration Add Ons for JIRA Administrators

Atlassian JIRA is an extremely powerful tool straight out of the box.  One thing that makes it so powerful is the ability to extend it in endless ways.  One easy way to extent your JIRA instance is to use addons from the Atlassian Marketplace.

Over the years, I’ve tried many different addons for JIRA – some that are targeted to help users, others that help us as administrators.  I have come up with 3 addons that I would recommend to any JIRA Administrator looking to add valuable functionality as well as make their lives easier.  My personal Top 3, subject to change, and in no particular order:

Admin Toolbox for JIRA (Formally xTools)

The Admin Toolbox (or generally I still refer to it as xTools) has been a recent discovery for me.  I learned about it at Atlassian Summit 2017 and immediately requested a demo, then recommended it for client purchase for 2018.  I am constantly learning more and more about how this tool can save time for myself and my fellow administrators, but a few of the huge time savers are:

  • The ability to click and drag conditions, validators, and post-functions as well as copy them from one workflow to another.
  • Add further admin searching capabilities and reveals the ID numbers for custom fields – no longer having to inspect element to find them!
  • Adds the ability to audit dependencies of addons within your workflows.
  • And more!

JIRA Workflow Toolbox

JIRA Workflow Toolbox is a must have for expanding your workflow capabilities.  This addon brings new custom fields, conditions, validators, and post functions to the table.  It adds the ability to do calculated custom fields including text, numbers, and date/time.  My favorite functions of this addon are the additional post functions; If you have the need to copy field values, do fancy issue assignments, add/remove watchers, or create new issues during a post function, then this is the addon for you!  I personally have used this addon for over 5 years and the abilities it has added have proven valuable time and time again.

Scriptrunner for JIRA

Scriptrunner is another staple addon that I have used for over 5 years.  It is a product that extends the abilities within JIRA with seemingly endless opportunity.  The built in scripts are an excellent starting point for showing the value in this product: an administrator can easily “impersonate” another user to help troubleshoot user issues from their point of view, change dashboard and filter ownership, or bulk upload values for a custom field (and more).  Scriptrunner also can be used to extend the JQL capabilities of your JIRA instance.  The sweet spot with scriptrunner is that while the built in, pre-made capabilities are great, you can use it to pretty much extend your instance into doing most anything.  From running a simple script on a workflow post-function to executing commands on your server when remote desktop is not an option, the abilities are endless!

 

There are many addon options available in the Atlassian Marketplace and I’ve only scratched the surface of what’s available!  These are my current top three picks to make my life as an administrator easier.  I would love to hear in the comments what addons are favorites of other administrators out there!

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