Jira vs GitHub Issues: Which is better for issue tracking?

If GitHub is where developers reside, Jira is what most software development teams use to keep tabs on their progress.

Both these tools have become a household name when it comes to tracking issues and managing projects. So, how are they different? What are their pros and cons? And ultimately, which project management software is better for your software development team?

Before we get to answering these questions, let's have a quick overview of the two issue tracking project management apps.

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Quick Overview of Jira

Atlassian created Jira in the year 2002 and it was initially built to be an issue and bug tracking application.

Now, Jira software has grown into an agile project management tool catering to software development teams - small and big. Jira offers a plethora of functionalities and integrations to more than 2000 third-party applications. Yet, its USP remains the same till date - issue tracking.

Most teams that are new to project management get started with Atlassian's Trello. And once they require more functionality, they later move to Jira after comparing Trello vs Jira.

Since most software companies are opting for Jira, should you too? Let’s find out.

The pros and the cons of Jira

Although Jira software is a pioneer in project management tools, with most apps being modelled on it, it has its pros and cons.

The pros:

• Atlassian’s Jira is an expert at capturing bugs in your product that can then be assigned to members, prioritized and tracked to completion.
• Jira software lets you add story points to each issue to quantify the work required to be done and also group related issues using its Epic issue type
• Jira software has agile capabilities that supports frameworks such as scrum and kanban with features like scrum and kanban boards.
• Jira is flexible and has a workflow builder that enables you to customize your workflow by setting up rules to define how a work item should move from one status to another.
• Advanced configurations help you control who can view what work items in which kanban columns.
• Roadmap functionality aids in a quick overview of the entire project and to track overall progress.
• A huge collection of more than 2000 third-party apps for use cases ranging from CRM to code review, and more.

The cons:

• Jira software’s design is not a developer’s favourite as it appears to be streamlined on the outside but leads to micromanagement when you dive inside.
• Most developers also hate this app for its slow speed.
• Jira software’s primary unit of work is an issue and not a task which is terrible as you’ll only think of tickets and not features.
• Jira’s agile capabilities lack finesse when it comes to implementing frameworks like scrum, unlike Zepel. You don’t get the elegant Sprints view that has built-in agile reports such as burnup and burndown charts. So, check out alternative scrum tools if it is your priority.
• Jira software’s learning curve is steep, making onboarding new members a living hell.
• If you fail to set advanced configurations right, miscommunication and lost productivity within your squad can occur.
• Jira software enables you to collect bugs and support tickets from customers via its external service desk but doesn’t allow you to bring in tickets from various customer feedback platforms such as Canny, Intercom, etc., like Zepel’s Streams does.
• Even though you can create customized workflows, creating it becomes a nightmare due to its complex design.
• The pricing plan limits onboarding to only 10 members in the free plan and unlike Zepel, it comes with certain functionality restrictions.

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Quick Overview of GitHub Issues

Joining as a recent addition to the list of Jira alternatives is GitHub. This tool is every developer's best friend; the platform where most of the product development and code collaboration happens.

Popularly known for source code management, now, GitHub has expanded its horizons from version control systems to project management. And it is rising to fame as a popular replacement to Jira as it can do most of what Jira can do. And moreover, it's where the code is.

Akin to Jira software, this app uses bug tracking as a means of measuring progress. So, instead of thinking in terms of tasks and features, you will be working on tickets. Although this approach might seem simpler, it can become very difficult to build quality software.

Therefore, is GitHub cut out for handling projects? Read on to find out.

Pros and Cons of GitHub Issues for Project Management

Just like any other app, GitHub also has its pros and cons that will help you decide if this is the app for your org.

The pros:

• GitHub is where the code is and so you wouldn’t need to leave your current workflow to update your work item’s status.
• GitHub’s project boards have useful templates such as basic kanban, automated kanban, automated kanban with triggers for PR review status to help prioritize work and customize workflows. Here are some kanban board examples for inspiration.
• GitHub Actions enables you to automate all your workflows effortlessly.
• GitHub can be integrated with almost every software application available in the market today.
• GitHub’s pricing plan is quite affordable.

The cons:

• Unlike Jira software and Zepel, GitHub lacks powerful agile capabilities other than simple kanban software and Milestones for scrum.
• Traditional project management functionalities such as file sharing and messaging, customizable dashboards, and multiple views like Gantt/Timeline, List view, etc
• GitHub Issues helps collect customer requests for features, enhancements, or fixing bugs. You can even bring them in as imports from external sources like Canny and Intercom. But it isn't as elegant as Zepel’s Streams.
• Unlike Atlassian’s Jira, GitHub doesn’t have story points to capture and quantify the work required to be completed
• GitHub’s way of grouping issues together using labels or milestones is poor in comparison to Jira software’s Epic Lack of permissions that help you control who has access to what data.
• GitHub isn’t friendly to non-technical people as it isn't intuitive and so it isn't meant for cross-functional teams.
• Although the pricing is affordable, only public repositories are free.

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Feature Comparison of Jira vs GitHub

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3 Reasons why issue tracking isn't the ideal solution to project management

1. Customer needs can’t be boiled down to a two-line ticket

Perhaps the most important requirement for building customer-focussed software products is context. And that’s why teams put in so many hours of efforts to understand the customer’s needs. So, when you try to compress all the information you’ve gathered about your customer’s requirements into a two-line ticket, what's the end product going to look like? There’s certainly going to be an information gap between the product and the engineering teams.

2. Developers aren’t ticket movers

Having worked with developers, you’d know one thing for sure; they love building features and hate the managing part i.e dragging and dropping tickets across the progress-tracking board. So, expecting them to be ticket movers rather than creators, who love to build software, is going to suck up their drive to improve the product. And bid adieu to quality.

3. Issue tracking hurts development

If bug tracking is the core of your project management, the quality of the software product is bound to take a big hit. Because your team will only look at building features as clearing tickets leaving no room for innovation. Moreover, there will be a lot of misunderstandings during product-engineering handoffs due to lack of context and clarity regarding the end goal. Also, there’s a lack of clarity on how efficiently the feature must function when your sole focus is on solving tickets. And that's how issue tracking hurts development.

The bottom line is that when it comes to capturing bugs, both GitHub Issues and Atlassian Jira are top-notch. But they fail to meet the criteria of a good project management software as there’s only so much you can do with tickets as your unit of work; you can only mend and not build.

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3 best alternatives to Jira and GitHub that are a better fit for your org

1. Zepel

Zepel is the perfect alternative to both the tools. And it can be the right app for your org as it is more than just a bug tracker.

It is a clutter-free project management app that doesn't focus just on tickets. Instead, it helps you prioritize and build customer-focussed software.

Zepel has powerful agile capabilities that supports the implementation of scrum, kanban, or even a combination of both effortlessly.

Zepel's USP is its developer-friendly aspects such as deep integrations with GitLab, Bitbucket, and even GitHub, markdown support, / commands, and automated Git workflows. On setting up these Git workflow automations, Zepel will perform status updates on your dev crew’s behalf. You can complete this workflow by connecting your Slack to it and receive real-time notifications of progress updates by your squad. This is why Zepel is the widely-preferred engineering project management software.

You can onboard squads of any size painlessly owing to its uncomplicated design and affordable pricing.

Key Highlights:

• Intuitive, uncomplex, powerful UI that makes onboarding easy
• Capabilities that agile teams often look for — Sprints, burndown charts, boards, scrum boards, etc. — that allow both scrum and kanban implementation
• Developer-friendly due to deep integration with Git, markdown support, and / commands
• Git workflow automation along with Slack to perform status updates and receive instant notifications
• Brings in customer feedback from multiple sources like Canny, Intercom, etc., and helps prioritize it
• Great pricing plan!

Have a look at all the functionalities that Zepel offers here.

Pricing:

Zepel’s pricing plan is simple. The free plan doesn’t charge a penny for the first 5 members forever. So, no matter how many members you add, the first 5 members will never be charged. The paid plans for each member starting from the 6th is at $5/member/month paid annually $7/member paid monthly.

Best For:

Development teams of any size that desire to build software products the agile way.

2. Wrike

Wrike is a popular Jira competitor that was also created for serving agile teams. Akin to Jira and GitHub, Wrike also lacks an intuitive user interface and has a very steep learning curve. But unlike the two apps, Wrike isn't a bug tracking software. It is a traditional project management tool like Zepel.

Key Highlights:

• Workspaces that are customizable
• Dynamic reports that are easy to share, insightful, and visual
• Boards, Gantt, and Calendar view to track progress and plan deadlines
• Workload and resource administration
• Shareable task lists and custom dashboards

Check out all the functionalities Wrike offers.

Pricing:

Wrike's free plan limits you to add up to 5 members only. The paid plans start at $9.80/member/month.

Best For:

Agile product development and non-technical orgs that are small in size.

3. ClickUp

ClickUp is a well-known PM app that aims to be an all-in-one suite and has a wide target audience belonging to different sectors. Similar to Jira, ClickUp offers plenty of functionalities and integrations.

Key Highlights:

• Offers functionalities suitable for any company pertaining to any industry
• Supports a long list of views, namely, board, list, gantt, workload, box, table, calendar, activity, several reporting features, and mind maps.
• Easily customizable to serve your software development agency’s
• A massive number of third-party apps to integrate with Good customer support

Here’s everything that ClickUp offers.

Pricing:

ClickUp's pricing plan includes a free plan that allows you to add unlimited users but with functionality restrictions. The paid plan starts at $5/user/month.

Best For:

Small software companies and non-technical orgs of any size.

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3 Reasons why Zepel fits the bill for your business

Let's take a look at not one but three reasons why Zepel is the PM app meant for your squad:

1. Collaborate with agile squads of any size to implement Scrum, Kanban or both

Zepel enables you to onboard and collaborate with product development squads of any size with ease. And it's powerful agile capabilities are every software squad's dream.

2. Ensure both your customers and your squad's happiness

Zepel’s Streams functionality helps bring in customer requests from various platforms and build customer-focussed features that are sure to satisfy your customers. Moreover, it gives your dev squad all the context they need and provides deep integrations with Git to do all the grunt work for them.

3. Right features, right pricing

Zepel offers just the right amount of features that your squad will need in order to build the best software products. Zepel's straightforward pricing plan is the icing on the cake. The free forever plan enables you to add up to 5 members for free, forever and without any functionality restrictions. So, even if your squad expands and you must add more members, you won’t be charged for the first 5. The paid plan starts at $5/member.

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Impressed but want to see how Zepel fares in comparison with competitor agile project management tools? Go ahead and check it out here.

You can also get a no strings attached demo to learn more about Zepel and see for yourself why 4000+ development teams love Zepel. Or sign up and take Zepel for a spin for free.