Tutorial: Get started with Jira#

Navigate Jira and understand your team’s workflow.

What you’ll learn#

Complete this tutorial to:

  • Access the SKAO Jira instance

  • Find your team’s board and backlog

  • Understand ticket types and statuses

  • View and update your assigned tickets

Time required: 15-20 minutes

Prerequisites:

  • Jira account linked to the SKA project (ask your Scrum Master for access)

  • Your team’s project key — each team has its own (e.g. ST, COR); ask your Scrum Master

Step 1: Access SKAO Jira#

Open your browser and navigate to the SKAO Jira instance:

jira.skatelescope.org

Log in with your institutional credentials.

Step 2: Find your team’s board#

After logging in:

  1. Click Boards in the top navigation

  2. Search for your team’s board by name or project key

  3. Click the board to open it

Your Scrum Master will tell you which board your team uses.

Step 3: Understand the board layout#

Jira boards show columns representing workflow states:

To Do → In Progress → Reviewing → Ready for Acceptance → Done

Tickets (or “issues”) move left to right as work progresses.

Key areas:

  • Backlog — Work not yet started

  • Active Sprint — Current sprint’s work

  • Board — Visual view of ticket status

Step 4: Understand ticket types#

The ticket types available depend on your project and team, but most teams use:

  • Epic — Large feature or initiative spanning multiple sprints

  • Story — User-facing functionality

  • Enabler — Technical work that supports future features

  • Task — Technical work item

  • Spike — Time-boxed research or investigation

  • Improvement — Enhancement to existing functionality

  • Bug — Defect to fix

  • Document — Documentation work item

Each type has a distinct icon on the board.

Step 5: View your assigned tickets#

Your System Dashboard (the Jira home page) shows an Assigned to Me list of your open tickets. You can also search Issues → Search for issues with assignee = currentUser(), or use the quick filter on your team’s board.

Step 6: Update a ticket#

Click a ticket to open it. You can:

  • Change status — Drag to a new column, or click the status dropdown

  • Add comments — Keep your team informed of progress

  • Link to GitLab — Reference the Jira ID in your branch name or commit

Congratulations!#

You now:

  • Access SKAO Jira

  • Find your team’s board

  • Understand ticket types and workflow

  • View and update your assigned work

Next steps#