A Jira Administrator is a professional who specializes in the administration and configuration of Jira, a popular project management and issue tracking software. Jira is widely used by teams and organizations to plan, track, and manage projects, tasks, and workflows. A Jira Administrator plays a critical role in optimizing the Jira platform to meet the specific needs of the organization, ensuring its smooth operation, and supporting the effective collaboration and productivity of users. In this blog post, we describe the primary responsibilities and the most in-demand hard and soft skills for Jira Administrators.

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Main Responsibilities of a Jira Administrator

The following list describes the typical responsibilities of a Jira Administrator:

Adhere to

Adhere to industry best practices for change and release management.

Archive

Archive redundant projects.

Assist in

• Assist in data migration to and from Jira, ensuring data integrity and accuracy.

• Assist Project level administrators with managing settings and maintaining their projects.

• Assist users with JIRA queries.

Automate

Automate report generation for performance tracking.

Build

Build new Jira projects, and author workflows based on user requirements.

Build-out

Build-out documentation and knowledge-based articles.

Collaborate with

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to resolve development constraints and deployment issues.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to solve development constraints and deployment issues.

• Collaborate with other IT teams to integrate Jira into the overall IT infrastructure.

• Collaborate with project managers and stakeholders to gather requirements for Jira configuration and customization.

• Collaborate with software developers to ensure smooth integration of Jira with development workflows.

• Collaborate with teams across the organization to capture requirements and feedback.

Communicate

• Communicate analysis results and make recommendations to relevant stakeholders.

• Communicate the results of the analysis and make recommendations to relevant stakeholders.

Complete

Complete approved customisation requests.

Conduct

• Conduct and lead project communications and status meeting schedules.

• Conduct Jira training sessions and workshops for users to promote effective usage.

• Conduct performance optimization and tuning of Jira configurations.

• Conduct regular system audits to identify and address security vulnerabilities.

• Conduct user acceptance testing and validation for Jira system upgrades or changes.

Configure

• Configure and maintain our JIRA and Confluence systems.

• Configure and manage Jira service desk functionalities and workflows.

• Configure custom fields, screens, permissions, workflows, etc..

• Configure Jira projects to support new workflows and integrations.

Create

• Create a best practice guide for admins.

• Create and configure new projects, schemes and assets.

• Create and maintain Confluence site structure to meet growing business needs.

• Create and maintain detailed technical and user-facing documentation.

• Create and maintain Jira project templates and configurations for new projects.

• Create and maintain scripts that will allow for better integration across our full suite of products.

• Create and manage user accounts, groups, and permissions within Jira.

• Create confluence spaces for projects.

• Create custom dashboards, reports and queries in the JIRA database.

• Create custom dashboards, reports and queries to the JIRA database.

• Create JIRA dashboards, queries, and reports to track various historical data points and performance.

• Create and maintain a governance plan for JIRA & Confluence.

• Create, maintain and support dashboards and advanced filters for end users reporting capabilities.

• Create, manage, and support all administrative functions associated with the Atlassian product suite.

• Create technical documentation and conduct end user training.

Customize

Customize Jira workflows, issue types, fields, and screens to align with the organization's processes.

Design

Design and implement Jira schemes, including issue type schemes, permission schemes, and notification schemes.

Develop

• Develop and compile training materials based on the department's needs.

• Develop and deliver summary dashboard views, roadmap planning, trend analysis and scenario planning.

• Develop and deploy custom plugins for JIRA.

• Develop and enforce Jira administration policies and guidelines.

• Develop and maintain documentation and end user training material.

• Develop and maintain Jira administration documentation and knowledge base.

• Develop and maintain Jira dashboards and reports to track project progress and performance.

• Develop and maintain technology processes automation in Atlassian Jira (Dev, QA, Ops, Support).

• Develop and produce performance metrics to support continuous delivery improvement.

• Develop JIRA / Confluence frame work for managing and reporting on Agile & Non-Agile projects.

• Develop Jira extracts and reports as needed by management.

• Develop plugins to extend JIRA capabilities (proficiency in Groovy / Java).

• Develop user training and technical support as needed.

Document

• Document all changes to applications per internal controls.

• Document and / or provide training for Jira admins.

Ensure

• Ensure secure setup for JIRA projects for internal and external access.

• Ensure system availability of all Atlassian tools based on defined SLAs.

• Ensure the usage of the Atlassian tools set, workflows and add-ons meet all business requirements.

Establish

Establish and execute data stewardship and best practices.

Evaluate

• Evaluate and recommend new tools, plugins, and enhancements to improve Jira functionality.

• Evaluate, recommend, and implement Jira plug-ins as they fit into integration workflows.

Extend

Extend Jira RESTful APIs to improve capabilities and performance for integrations.

Gather

Gather requirements for business processes and determine ways to optimize and improv.

Handle

• Handle service ticket queue to ensure timely resolution for end user issues.

• Handle software applications development, testing & implementation of projects.

Identify

Identify and create new standards and processes as required.

Implement

• Implement and manage Jira automation rules and scripts to streamline processes.

• Implement and manage user access controls and security policies within Jira.

Input

Input into definition of enterprise-wide standards and supporting metrics.

Install

• Install and setup Jira software in any licensed server.

• Install, configure, and maintain the Jira software and related plugins.

• Install, manage and administer Jira add-ons, plugins, and extensions.

Integrate

Integrate Jira with other tools and systems used within the organization.

Leverage

Leverage plug-ins and third-party tools for extending the reach of our reporting and data analysis.

Maintain

• Maintain change control and support.

• Maintain the JIRA access Template.

Manage

• Manage Jira and Confluence users.

• Manage JIRA announcements configuration in JIRA.

• Manage software application development, testing and project implementation.

• Manage system access and permissions configurations to ensure compliance and enforce best practices.

• Manage the changes to workflows and fields, JQL scripting and reporting.

• Manage the configuration of JIRA advertisements in JIRA.

• Manage the confluence environment and create spaces, pages, page templates as necessary.

• Manage users, groups and access for internal and external users.

Monitor

• Monitor and ensure the overall health of the Smart JIRA instance.

• Monitor and manage Jira add-ons and plugins, ensuring compatibility and security.

• Monitor and resolve issues related to Jira integrations and external system connections.

• Monitor and guide integration of QASymphony-q.

• Monitor Jira system performance and troubleshoot issues to ensure optimal operation.

Participate in

• Participate in agile teams.

• Participate in system upgrades and migration projects for Jira.

• Participate on agile teams.

Perform

• Perform daily audits to identify and resolve performance blockers.

• Perform routine backups and disaster recovery procedures for Jira data.

• Perform the duties of JIRA maintenance, administration, configuration, and enhancements.

Produce

Produce guidance and support for the Jira user community.

Provide

• Provide and execute disaster recovery and backup strategy.

• Provide configuration and administrative support of Atlassian products & plug-ins.

• Provide periodic after-hours support and monthly weekend work.

Provider

Provider on necessary upgrades and communications with others on planned outages.

Provide

• Provide support for additional team tools and projects.

• Provide support for business analysis and technology / business integration efforts.

• Provide support for the business analysis and technology / business integration efforts.

• Provide technical support and assistance to Jira users.

• Provide User Management and grant user permissions in accordance with role given by the company.

Review

• Review and analyze data from multiple internal and external stakeholders.

• Review and maintain established JIRA standards.

Setup

• Setup authentication and authorization systems (like LDAP).

• Setup integration between Atlassian and other productivity, developer and analytics tools.

• Setup monitoring process.

Stay updated on

• Stay updated on industry trends and advancements in Jira and related technologies.

• Stay updated on new features, updates, and best practices related to Jira administration.

Support

• Support additional transformation efforts within.

• Support and manage integrations to external systems as required.

• Support engineering teams in the migration and integration of application monitoring.

• Support for s / w deployment and maintenance projects.

• Support mass extract requirements request (more than 1000 requirements).

• Support Project Management through planning, monitoring & delivery phases.

• Support project management through the planning, monitoring and delivery phases.

• Support task / work items migration to and from existing tools to JIRA.

• Support teams with their transition to Jira with training and process guidance.

• Support user creation and management of activated users within and for external customers.

• Support user creation and user management activates within and for external customers.

Test

Test with JIRA and provide support as needed.

Track

• Track and manage user access, permissions and licenses.

• Track and Manage users' access, permissions and licenses.

Triage

Triage and resolve issues reported by users in the various applications.

Troubleshoot

• Troubleshoot and debug across Jira and integrated systems.

• Troubleshoot, Investigate, Resolve and Validate any issues that are reported against JIRA.

Use

Use scripted fields to extend Jira functionality to meet organizational goals.

Vet

Vet, install and upgrade plug-ins.

Work with

• Work closely with other teams to define best practices for using Jira across the organization.

• Work with scrum masters and product owners to improve Jira hygiene and drive up data quality.

• Work with the DevOps team to manage the day to day functions as needed.

Write

Write clear, comprehensive technical documentation.

Most In-demand Hard Skills

The following list describes the most required technical skills of a Jira Administrator:

1. Proficiency in Jira administration and configuration.

2. Strong understanding of Jira workflows, schemes, and permission models.

3. Knowledge of Jira add-ons and plugins and their integration.

4. Experience in Jira data migration and integration with external systems.

5. Familiarity with Jira Service Desk administration and configuration.

6. Understanding of Jira automation rules and scripting languages.

7. Proficiency in Jira reporting and dashboard creation.

8. Knowledge of Jira software development workflows and agile methodologies.

9. Experience in Jira system monitoring, troubleshooting, and performance optimization.

10. Understanding of Jira security best practices and user access controls.

11. Familiarity with Jira REST APIs and scripting for customization.

12. Knowledge of databases and SQL queries for Jira data analysis and management.

13. Proficiency in using Jira administration tools and utilities.

14. Understanding of software development life cycles and project management principles.

15. Experience with Jira system upgrades and migration projects.

16. Knowledge of ITIL principles and practices for IT service management.

17. Familiarity with version control systems such as Git or SVN.

18. Proficiency in project management tools and methodologies.

19. Understanding of software testing principles and methodologies.

20. Knowledge of IT infrastructure and network concepts related to Jira administration.

Most In-demand Soft Skills

The following list describes the most required soft skills of a Jira Administrator:

1. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

2. Strong problem-solving and analytical thinking abilities.

3. Attention to detail and strong organizational skills.

4. Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

5. Customer-oriented mindset and dedication to user satisfaction.

6. Effective time management and multitasking capabilities.

7. Flexibility and adaptability in handling changing requirements.

8. Continuous learning mindset and willingness to stay updated with Jira advancements.

9. Collaboration and teamwork in a cross-functional environment.

10. Strong documentation and technical writing skills.

Conclusion

Jira Administrators play a crucial role in managing and configuring the Jira platform to support effective project management and collaboration within organizations. By fulfilling their main responsibilities and possessing the most in-demand hard and soft skills, these professionals ensure the smooth operation of Jira, optimize its functionality to meet specific needs, and contribute to the successful delivery of projects and the overall productivity of teams.