Blog - Isos Technology

When should I use Jira vs Jira Service Management?

Written by Danielle Paula | Jul 22, 2024

You may have had Jira (JSW) for over a decade. Now your organization has signed on to Jira Service Management (JSM) and you are wondering:

  • What's the difference?
  • Should I use Jira Service Management now?
  • Should I use it instead of Jira? Should I use it with Jira?
  • Should I stay in Jira?

Well, we're here to tell you when to use each tool, including essential use cases, feature comparison, and when to use both to get the most out of your Atlassian Ecosystem. 

As a visual thinker, I want to share the Atlassian Product Ecosystem Isos created to help think about how these Atlassian tools work together. Before I came to Isos, I was familiar with some of these tools, but not all. It becomes a lot easier to understand when you can start to visualize the practices and processes in your organization and which tool supports them best. Below, we've mapped Jira to Prioritize, Plan, Do, and Report. On the other hand, Jira Service Management is mapped between Monitoring and Supporting. 

Jira excels in software development processes, offering agile project management features. In contrast, Jira Service Management is tailored for IT service management, focusing on request tracking and incident management. Integrating both tools for comprehensive project and service management, we're here to tell you when to use each tool, can offer unparalleled efficiency and collaboration. This guide delves into the distinctions, use cases, and a comparative battle card to aid end users in making an informed decision.

 

A quick side-by-side of each product:

Jira

This tool is for software teams. It supports agile methods like Scrum and Kanban. Teams can plan, track, and manage projects. It's helpful in making and tracking issues, managing sprints, and seeing project progress.

Jira Service Management

This tool is for IT service management. It helps with managing service requests, incidents, and changes. It offers an easy-to-use portal for requests, a knowledge base, and SLA management. It's ideal for IT and service desk teams.

 

When to Use Jira vs. Jira Service Management

 

Jira is better for:

  • Agile Project Management: It has features specifically for agile methods, like sprint planning and tracking.
  • Agile Program and Portfolio Management: It has features specifically for coordinating work across multiple teams, managing capacity, as well as a Gantt Chart View for multiple Jira Projects.
  • Software Development: It's good for tracking bugs and managing new feature requests.

Jira Service Management is better for:

  • IT Service Management: It's designed for managing IT requests, incidents, and changes.
  • Enterprise Service Management: designed for any business team that provides a service, like HR, Finance, Facilities, etc. and wants a direct connection with users.
  • Customer Support: It provides a portal for customers to submit and track requests.

Using Both Tools - an Integrated Use Case

Teams that develop and support software products can benefit from using both tools. Jira Software can manage the development lifecycle, while Jira Service Management can handle incoming bugs, support change enablement by integrating CI/CD tooling, incident tracking and reporting and customer feature or general requests from end users. Did you know you can create connections and automations between Jira Service Management and Jira Software? This integrated approach facilitates direct communication between development and support teams, streamlining the process of reporting, tracking, and resolving issues.

 

Jira Service Management vs. Jira Software

Now that you have a high level understanding of how to use each tool, let's take a look at the differences in the features and functionality of each.

Feature
Jira
Jira Service Management
Focus Agile development IT service management
Project Management Boards, backlogs, sprints Service queues, SLA tracking
Interface For developers For service agents and customers
Reporting Agile reports and dashboards like Sprint Burndown, Issue Statistics, Velocity, and Release Burndown ITSM reports like workload, satisfaction, time to resolution, SLA Success Rate, requests deflected, requests resolved
Integration DevOps tools like Bamboo, Bitbucket, and Git Repositories ITSM tools like Zapier, OpsGenie, Halp, and Status Page
Use Case Development, bug tracking, and product planning and execution Managing incidents and changes

 

Next Steps

When choosing between Jira Service Management and Jira, think about what you need. Jira is best for agile development and tracking projects. Jira Service Management is great for managing service requests and IT issues. Using both can improve how your team works together, giving you a complete solution for software and service management.

Knowing which tool to use is just the beginning. Building practices and processes to best leverage the tools is where you will really find the return on investment. Reach out today to learn more about getting the most out of your tools to deliver on your business goals. 

Want to read more? Check out these resources for a more in-depth look at Jira Software and Jira Service Management:

An Introduction to Jira

An Introduction to Jira Service Management

Ready to transform how your team works and achieve your business goals with the right tools? Isos Technology can guide you through selecting and optimizing Jira and Jira Service Management to fit your unique needs. Don't miss out on the opportunity to streamline your workflows and improve productivity. Contact us today to start your journey towards greater efficiency and success.