Atlassian’s JIRA have released a new update in August focused mainly on the new JIRA issue view. For those not aware of this update, click 

 for more details. The update focuses a lot on the UI design and the ability to open a new issue from any of the following places:

Now we all know how annoying it could be at times having to reselect the JIRA icon before being able to search for an issue. It makes for a poor user experience when you’re in a meeting and struggle to access the issue list. So, with this mind, kudos to Atlassian for releasing this update.

However, one thing we have noticed with clients is they need the ability to filter charts. How cool would it be if you could filter your burndown chart to a component level? Or if you could visually see the progressive decrease in a bar chart.

Yes, there are ways around it through purchasing plugins, but we also have workarounds using simple configuration. We found using boards wisely can cater to customers unwilling to purchase plugins. It is a simple method and has been useful to clients to filter many progress charts for reports/dashboards.

Therefore, if you are ever looking for a way to filter a burndown chart, then look into investing some time into tweaking JIRA boards. We are happy to help if you want to know more. In the meantime, make sure you vote to have this feature in upcoming versions.

What could be improved about the latest Jira View?

On the 24th September, Microsoft announced the general availability of Microsoft Project 2019.

See 



So what does that mean for users of Microsoft Project ? It really depends if you are a stand-alone user or if you use it via Office 365. For those using via Office 365, they get enhancements progressively anyway, so for them there is no difference. For stand-alone users, its mainly security updates and fixes. Microsoft assures us of at least one more update in the future for stand-alone users, but don’t hold your breath for fundamental changes.

What is new in 2019 ? From what we can work out, not much. The enhancements they promote include:

Is that it ? Fact is, Microsoft Project is an old piece of software dating back to the early 1990s. Sure, it’s been made prettier over the years and had a few new features added, but fundamentally it’s the same tool. Updates typically add a few new features, but only one, in 2010 bringing in the ribbon user interface really changed the product. The analogy is taking the previous new car model and adding pin stripes, then doing that for 30 years. It could be the product is so complex nobody is really too sure how it works. Or it could be that they don’t want to mess with their dominant market share. Who knows, but users expect more.

In addition, Project Management has evolved dramatically over the last 10 years with Agile in particular. Surely we should be seeing planning tools evolving too. If Microsoft isn’t careful a new incumbent will overtake them in the planning space.

New Version of Microsoft Project, or more of the same?

If you have missed the latest announcement from Microsoft, they have announced that Project Online is going to go through a major revamp in the future. More details on that 

. The announcement goes into more detail, but in summary:

But what does it mean for you, the users? We see three groups of people, depending on where you are in your PPM tool lifecycle.

Scenario 1: You own and use Project Online



Nothing changes. The new architecture will be rolled out to new users of 

 (the new name of Project Online). So you can let them work out all the bugs, which we know there will be for any new products. Alternatively, if you are really keen, you can be a trailblazer and migrate across early on. In addition, Microsoft will be rolling out tools to help make the switch easy, if you have not done heavy customisations to your environment.

Scenario 2: You are in the middle of implementing Project Online



Don’t throw the implementation out. The new 

 is probably 3-4 years away from being rolled out and becoming stable, which we believe is the typical ownership time for any PPM tool. Hence finish your implementation, get massive benefit from using it early, and in 3-4 years’ time, evaluate 

 against the other PPM tools in the market.

Scenario 3: You don’t own Project Online, or any PPM tool



This is a tricky one. If you are looking for a PPM tool right now, don’t go looking and waiting for the new 

 to come out, stick to the current version of Project Online. However, if you are planning to implement a PPM tool in a couple of years, it might be better to look at the new 



Microsoft have said that Project Online is not going anywhere anytime soon. In addition, CCG is a trusted Microsoft Silver partner, and we keep abreast of all Microsoft updates. Anywhere you are in the three scenarios above, we are happy to be a sounding board if you need more advice. The tool only provides value if you have the processes in place and bring the people along with the journey.


What do you think? We would love to hear your feedback.

November 2018

What could be improved about the latest Jira View?

New Version of Microsoft Project, or more of the same?

What does the new Project Online mean for you?