How To Give Story Points In Jira

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When overseeing a project, it is crucial to estimate the necessary effort for each task. To assist with this, Jira, a widely used project management tool, offers the option to use Story Points as a means of providing these estimates. This instructional blog post will lead you through the procedure of assigning Story Points in Jira.

What are Story Points?

Story Points are a unit of measure for the effort required to implement a user story, which is essentially a high-level definition of a requirement, containing enough information so developers can produce a reasonable estimate of the effort to implement it. Story Points take into account the complexity of a task, not just the time it would take to complete it.

How to Assign Story Points in Jira

Here’s a step-by-step guide to assigning Story Points to a user story in Jira:

  1. Open the Issue: Click on the issue you want to estimate.
  2. Locate the Story Points Field: On the right side of the issue details, you should see a field named ‘Story Points’. If you can’t see it, it might be because your administrator hasn’t added it to the screen. Consult with your Jira administrator in this case.
  3. Enter the Estimate: Click on the ‘Story Points’ field and enter your estimate. Remember, this isn’t an estimate of time; rather, it’s an estimate of the effort required, including factors like complexity and risks.
  4. Save the Issue: Click the ‘Save’ button to save your changes.

And there you have it! You’ve successfully assigned Story Points to an issue in Jira.

How to Enable Story Points in Jira

If you can’t see the Story Points field, your Jira administrator might need to enable it. Here’s how they can do that:

  1. Go to Custom Fields: From the Jira Administration page, select ‘Issues’ and then ‘Custom Fields’.
  2. Find the Story Points Field: Locate the ‘Story Points’ field. It may be listed under ‘Default Fields’.
  3. Associate the Field with Screens: Click on the ‘…’ next to the ‘Story Points’ field, then on ‘Associate with Screens’. Check the screens you want the field to appear on.

Now, you and your team should be able to see and use the Story Points field in Jira.

Conclusion

Using Story Points in Jira is a great way to estimate the effort required for each task in your project, taking into account more than just the time it would take to complete. By learning how to use Story Points effectively, you can improve your project planning and execution.