How to work with Jira at SKAO#

Step-by-step instructions for common Jira tasks.

Create a ticket#

Click Create in the top navigation
Select the Project (your team’s project)
Choose the Issue Type (Story, Task, Bug, etc.)
Complete the required fields: - Summary — Brief description - Description — Detailed information - Assignee — Who will work on it
Click Create

Create a release management ticket#

Create a REL ticket before making a tracked software release:

Click Create in the top navigation.
Select the Release Management project.
Select the issue type that matches the release scope:
- Component Version for one software component.
- Sub-system Version for a sub-system release.
- System Version for a system-level release.
Select the relevant ARTs and Agile Teams when they apply.
Select the affected Component/s, then enter the product, system, sub-system, or component name in Product.
Enter the artefact version using semantic versioning, for example 10.0.9-rc1.
Add a one-line release summary.
In Description, complete the supplied release-note sections. Record items that were added, changed, deprecated, removed, or fixed. Leave a section as None when it does not apply.
Click Create.

If you cannot identify the right issue type, component, product, or release scope, ask the Release Manager or the team that owns the product before creating the ticket. Do not create a ticket with guessed release metadata.

Use the generated key, for example REL-123, when make create-git-tag asks for a Jira ticket ID. Pipeline Machinery includes the key in the release commit and can add GitLab Release links to the ticket after the tag pipeline succeeds.

See Create a software release with Pipeline Machinery for the complete version-bump, tag, and publication workflow.

Link a ticket to GitLab#

Reference the Jira ticket ID in your GitLab work to create automatic links.

In branch names:

ska-123-add-feature-description

In commit messages:

git commit -m "SKA-123: Add feature description"

To mark a merge request as closing a ticket:

git commit -m "SKA-123: Add feature, closes SKA-123"

This links and marks the merge request as closing the ticket. It does not reliably change the ticket’s status at SKAO, so move the ticket to the next status manually (see Transition a ticket).

Transition a ticket#

Move a ticket to a new status:

Option 1: From the board

Drag the ticket to a new column

Option 2: From the ticket

Open the ticket
Click the Status dropdown
Select the new status

Add a comment#

Open the ticket
Scroll to the Comments section
Type your comment
Click Save

Use @mentions to notify team members.

Filter tickets#

Quick filters on boards:

Use the filter buttons above your board to show specific tickets.

JQL search:

Click Issues → Search for issues and use Jira Query Language:

project = <YOUR_PROJECT_KEY> AND assignee = currentUser() AND status = "In Progress"

Watch a ticket#

Receive notifications about a ticket:

Open the ticket
Click Watch (eye icon)

Jira notifies you of status changes and comments.