Work Item Essentials - Jira App

Why use the Work Item Essentials Jira App?

Those familiar with Kanban metrics will already be aware that knowing the exact start date of a work item and the exact number of days it has aged is essential to being able to effectively monitor and improve the flow of work. If you are not familiar with this concept I strongly recommend you read the kanban guide by ProKanban.

The app is available on the Jira Marketplace - find the link below.

How to set up and use the Work Item Essentials app

Setting up the Work Item Essentials app cannot be easier. Once you have it installed in your Jira instance simply go to the config page, select the statuses that initiate work in progress (e.g. In Progress, In Review, etc) and save your settings and then the statuses that indicate work completion (e.g. Done, Released, etc). Jira will then monitor for the first transition into one of the work in progress statuses and will set the Start Date. It will then continue to calculate the work item age value until the work item reaches a completed status.

When you collect some data you can see your Work Item Start dates and the Work Item age appearing in queries and other Jira places. See below for examples.

Here's a step by step guide with screenshots.

Work item Essentials configuration screen

Selecting statuses in the drop downs

Work item essentials - configuration saved

Work item essentials - Work Item Start Date and Work Item Age as displayed in query view

Work item age displayed on a kanban board

The work item essentials app is a free app that can help you take your Kanban metrics to the next level. You can find and install the app on the Jira Marketplace page here.

Hopefully you've found this straight forward and are already using our free Jira App. If you have any questions or feedback please get in touch via the contact us page.