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Step-by-step tutorial to install Git Integration for Jira

There's an age-old struggle between code creators and project management stakeholders. It's inherently tough to keep every team member up to date on the progress of enterprise software projects. Developers, ops engineers and DevOps professionals often make significant progress on projects, but neglect to update their notes. Consequently, project managers pester the development team for updates, and everyone feels like they're being micromanaged.

Project teams use Atlassian Jira for bug tracking and general project communication. Atlassian offers a marketplace for add-ons and applications to meet a variety of team needs beyond what the company's core suite of products do. The Git Integration for Jira add-on can help to overhaul poor communication practices common to many software development teams.

This video tutorial shows you how to add the Git Integration for Jira add-on, which works for both cloud-based and on-premises Jira boards. Git Integration for Jira helps keep Jira issue cards updated on the actual work the team is completing, without requiring developers to enter manual notes. The add-on automatically links together every code commit on a repository that includes a Project Issue ID and makes them viewable within the Jira interface. Developers can manipulate issue statuses -- such as In Progress, Pending, Waiting for Testing and Complete -- without the need to update the cards manually.

While some project management professionals can peruse commit histories, nontechnical folks need to review code comparisons and updates to assess progress. Git Integration for Jira lets managers do this work without leaving the Jira platform; they can view all code commits, what has changed and the nitty-gritty progress without the need for dev expertise.

Teams should include a coding source control integration with their project board, which reduces the administrative burden in project tickets. This integration eliminates the redundancy of writing both commit messages and Jira comments. Instead, the add-on consolidates work into one visible commit and, in the process, generates project documentation. Likewise, project management teams enjoy consistent updates on work in progress without the hassle of tracking down and interrogating busy developers.

Dave Pinkawa is a Windows system administrator at Paylocity, a cloud-based payroll and human resources software company. He can be contacted through his website, CaffeinatedLifestyle.com.

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