{"id":12030,"date":"2024-11-20T22:45:18","date_gmt":"2024-11-20T21:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/actonic.de\/?p=12030"},"modified":"2024-12-12T15:56:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T14:56:53","slug":"jira-custom-reports-and-why-you-dont-need-bi-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/actonic.de\/en\/jira-custom-reports-and-why-you-dont-need-bi-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"Jira custom reports and why you don’t need BI tools"},"content":{"rendered":"

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For admins, programmers, and other technical users, Jira\u2019s built-in reports are like trying to recreate the Sistine Chapel ceiling in Minecraft. They allow teams to track progress, analyze quality, understand workloads, and identify bottlenecks\u2014but only through the very specific lens that Jira provides.<\/p>\n

What technical users want is Jira custom reports. They need to analyze, aggregate, and compare data across multiple projects and filters, from multiple perspectives, with a range of visualizations. They need to pull in data from other Jira apps being used by their company. And they need to be able to share reports with managers and stakeholders who don\u2019t work in Jira.<\/p>\n

But the out-of-the-box options for custom reporting are limited and don\u2019t allow for most of these things. It\u2019s the reason companies seek out business intelligence (BI<\/span><\/span>) platforms like EazyBI and PowerBI to create custom Jira reports.<\/p>\n

In this article, we\u2019ll look at the pros and cons of BI<\/span> tools like these, and whether a custom reporting tool like Report Builder for Jira<\/a> could suit your company better.<\/p>\n

But first\u2026<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][heading title=”Can\u2019t you do ANY custom reporting in Jira?” heading=”h2″ el_id=”1732022431083-c32ddad4-6695″][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

It depends how custom we\u2019re talking.<\/p>\n

Among Jira\u2019s project reports, the pie chart can be used to report on any data point in your Jira, but it\u2019s a pie chart and its use case is narrow. And you can\u2019t do stuff like change the colors of the segments, show\/hide data points, reposition the legend, or show percentages. This is basic display customizability that a technical user should expect.<\/p>\n

The only other \u2018custom\u2019 project reports are single level group by and time since issues reports. But these can only report on very specific things and, again, you can\u2019t change how any of those things are displayed.<\/p>\n

On the Jira reporting dashboard, the story is the same. There are reporting \u2018gadgets\u2019 that can pull in data from multiple Jira projects (unlike the project reports). But most are preconfigured and only show the data they\u2019re designed to. The few \u2018custom\u2019 gadgets are filter results, issue statistics, two-dimensional filter statistics (the only custom report that lets you report in more than one dimension), and another pie chart. Again, customizability is extremely limited.<\/p>\n

In Jira Service Management, however, it\u2019s a different story.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][heading title=”Custom reports in Jira Service Management” heading=”h2″ el_id=”1732022457844-5358513a-0c94″][vc_column_text css=””]Unlike Jira, Jira Service Management comes with a set of custom reports which can be edited, e.g. created vs resolved, time to resolution, and service-level agreement (SLA<\/span><\/span>) success. These are report templates that give you a head-start but you can tweak them to suit your use case and audience. You can also create your own custom reports.[\/vc_column_text][heading title=”How to edit a Jira Service Management custom report” heading=”h3″ el_id=”1732023003894-183d0584-3d68″][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

You can customize JSM<\/span><\/span>\u2019s custom report templates by adding one or more extra series<\/strong>. A series is a metric or set of data points, e.g. the number of service requests received on a specific day in the past week. You can assign a color and label for the series, and filter the series using standard fields or Jira Query Language (JQL<\/span><\/span>).<\/p>\n

For example, the built-in SLAs met vs breached report has two series already set up based on the default time to resolution SLA<\/span>: one for all issues that met the SLA<\/span>, one for all issues that breached it. You might want to edit this report to add more SLAs to the same chart. You might also want to delete the default SLA<\/span> and add your own series based on the specific agreements you have with your customers.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][heading title=”How to create your own custom report in Jira Service Management” heading=”h3″ el_id=”1732023035808-2e67ae9a-be2e”][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Rather than using one of the custom report templates, where the series have already been defined, you can simply start from scratch and define all the series yourself. The capabilities are the same: you add a series, give it a label, color, and optionally a filter. And then you can add more series to compare values, up to a maximum of 20.<\/p>\n

For example, you might want to create a chart that breaks down all resolved issues by assignee, to see which assignees are most effective at resolving tickets. If you have 10 assignees, that means you need to create and add 10 series to your chart. You\u2019ll end up with a line chart that looks something like this:<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”12033″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” css=”” link=”https:\/\/actonic.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/jsm_issues-by-assignee.png”][vc_column_text css=””]Here\u2019s another example. In the report below, series have been created for the average customer satisfaction rating of different issue types. This helps support teams understand in which areas they\u2019re pleasing customers, and in which areas customers aren\u2019t so happy.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”12035″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” css=”” link=”https:\/\/actonic.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/jsm_csat-by-issuetype.png”][heading title=”Limitations of custom Jira Service Management reports” heading=”h3″ el_id=”1732023830856-fbc670ca-e68e”][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

There are a few problems with the native custom reporting functionality in Jira Service Management.<\/p>\n

The first is, well, it\u2019s not as \u2018custom\u2019 as many users require. The only charts you can make are line charts. You can\u2019t make a report on data from multiple service projects or other Jira apps. And you can\u2019t share your reports with non-Jira users because you can only export the raw data as a CSV<\/span> file; you can\u2019t export the report itself.<\/p>\n

The second is that although it seems awesome that you can report in multiple dimensions, one of them always has to be time. In other words, you\u2019ll only ever see hours, days, months, etc. along the x-axis and you can only measure progress over time. So, how many tickets created, how many SLAs breached, and how many requests of certain type received, over a given period.<\/p>\n

However, you might want to see the number of open issues per customer or project and group those issues by other fields that aren\u2019t time, e.g. priority. You may also want to display ticket volumes and resolution progress across all service projects, customers, products, and assignees in the same report.<\/p>\n

The third problem is that the multidimensional reporting in JSM<\/span> isn\u2019t that smart. If you want multiple time periods, assignees, request types, priorities, or whatever else on your chart, manually creating an individual series for each one is a bit tedious. You shouldn\u2019t need to create a series for each of your assignees or request types to get them to display; that should happen automatically when you select \u201cassignee\u201d or \u201crequest type\u201d. Alas, this is not how JSM<\/span> custom reports work.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also not that easy to create series. You can only use the predefined series that come with JSM<\/span>, e.g. Created, Average Time to Resolution, and Average Rating. Then you have to apply specific filters using JQL<\/span> to get the data you want.<\/p>\n

All in all, it\u2019s a laborious process.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][heading title=”How to create JSM custom reports with Report Builder for Jira” heading=”h3″ el_id=”1732024325278-8ae75b18-230e”][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Report Builder for Jira is an advanced Jira reporting and data analysis tool<\/a> that functions as an alternative to using an external business intelligence platform for custom Jira reporting (we\u2019ll explain why shortly).<\/p>\n

It is a way of making the reports you really want to make, that convey specific messages in the best format for your audience. It also overcomes all the above mentioned limitations of custom Jira Service Management reports.<\/p>\n

So where JSM<\/span>\u2019s custom reports force you to report against time, with Report Builder for Jira you can measure progress against whatever metric you like, all in one place. For example, you can create a single report to analyze all of your Jira and JSM<\/span> projects, total ticket counts, progress on their resolution, and which customers reported these tickets.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”12037″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” css=”” link=”https:\/\/actonic.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/rb_universal-report.png”][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Multidimensional reporting in Report Builder is also a lot smarter and quicker. If you want a chart to show which request types are the most popular, or a chart that shows which assignees are performing best, you don\u2019t have to create individual series for each request type and assignee. With Report Builder you simply select \u201crequest type\u201d or \u201cassignee\u201d and the tool will automatically display all request types and assignees on your charts. No complicated JQL<\/span> filtering required either.<\/p>\n

Finally, JSM<\/span> reporting with Report Builder offers the levels of customizability that programmers and admins expect. You\u2019re not limited to simple line charts. You can report on data from multiple service projects and other Jira apps, and you can export a whole report as a PDF<\/span><\/span>, JSON<\/span><\/span>, PNG<\/span><\/span>, print or CSV<\/span> to share it with non-Jira users.<\/p>\n

You can also use JavaScript, HTML<\/span><\/span>, and CSS<\/span><\/span> to fully customize any reports you make using Report Builder\u2019s suite of templates. Alternatively, you can use the app to code a report from scratch, again using JavaScript and HTML<\/span>.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u2139\ufe0f For more information, have a read of our in-depth guide to Jira Service Management reporting with examples<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][heading title=”Are BI tools the best option for custom Jira reporting?” heading=”h2″ el_id=”1732024957580-f508ccd5-2d30″][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Certainly, most companies trying to make Jira custom reports think it is. And indeed, tools like EazyBI, Tableau, and <\/span>PowerBI are very powerful. You can report on basically anything, and visualize it however you want<\/span>.<\/p>\n

But there are some downsides. The first is that business intelligence tools like PowerBI and EazyBI are either external to Jira or rely on external databases<\/span>. You\u2019re building reports in a separate platform and therefore your data has to be imported from Jira to an external database, so it\u2019s always slightly out of date. Second, for PowerBI and Tableau<\/span> you\u2019ll need a 3rd party integration tool to import the data\u2014yet another tool to buy and manage. Third, all data has to be carefully configured first and a single error can cause the import to fail, which means you\u2019ll need to develop an error protection mechanism to avoid this.<\/p>\n

If that doesn\u2019t already sound like too much hard work, the bigger problem is that unless you\u2019re already a data analyst or business intelligence expert by trade, you need to be prepared to do a ton <\/em>of learning. PowerBI uses Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) and Power Query Formula Language (informally known as \u2018M’). And EazyBI uses online analytic processing (OLAP) cubes and Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) query language. Most regular technical users won\u2019t have a clue what these are.<\/p>\n

What if you could produce the same complex, multidimensional reports using a development language you already know? This is what you get with Report Builder for Jira<\/a>: the same power as a BI tool, without the steep learning curve. This is because you\u2019re able to fully customize your reports, or create them from scratch, using JavaScript and HTML. And these are consistently among the most popular and ubiquitous development languages in the world.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, Report Builder is a Jira app, which means you\u2019re building reports in Jira with the data that lives in your Jira instance, not in a separate platform with an external database. It means you don\u2019t have to switch to a different interface, maintain an extra database, or add reports back into Jira once they\u2019re done. And you\u2019re always working with live data.<\/p>\n

Basically, you don\u2019t need BI tools to create complex custom Jira reports to display and compare multiple variables. In fact, BI tools are often overkill. Not only do you need to learn new development languages, but you need to implement an extract, load, transform (ELT or ETL) data integration process. This involves setting sources for extraction, deciding how often to update them, setting up links, deciding how to pre-process the data, organize it, and store it, and more.<\/p>\n

With an app like Report Builder, you don\u2019t have to do any of this. You just select the project\/s you want to report on, and make your report.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][heading title=”How to build Jira custom reports with Report Builder” heading=”h2″ el_id=”1732025049164-a8ffcc2f-a05f”][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

There are three ways of building Jira custom reports with Report Builder. The first and quickest way is to use the app\u2019s built-in report templates for agile and IT service management (ITSM)<\/a>, and to customize these templates to suit your use case. The second is to use the platform to code a report from scratch using JavaScript and HTML. The third is to use Actonic\u2019s Jira report building service<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s look at each of these methods in detail.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][heading title=”Method 1: Custom Jira reports with templates” heading=”h3″ el_id=”1732025081558-1f44468f-df83″][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Report Builder offers a suite of customizable report templates. All are different to the ones already available in Jira and Jira Service Management, apart from created vs resolved issues. There is already a created vs resolved issues report available in Jira (a default report that can\u2019t be customized) and JSM (a custom report that can be edited).<\/p>\n

What makes the Report Builder created vs resolved template different is that it\u2019s more customizable (more data and visualization options) and easier to create (you don\u2019t have to configure every variable that displays like with JSM\u2019s custom reports). Here is some more detail about how Report Builder\u2019s created vs resolved report compares to the native versions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The rest of the report templates offer insights that can\u2019t be achieved natively without a complex workaround, such as ticket bouncing and closed vs reopened issues.<\/p>\n

The report templates are a great starting point for technical users, and can save time by providing key ITSM and agile insights they may well be looking for. But what makes them particularly useful is that they\u2019re just templates. If they don\u2019t quite show what you need them to, you can customize them using the dropdowns. And if they still don\u2019t suit your use case, you can edit their scripts using JavaScript and HTML and change them without limit. Which makes them as powerful as any BI tool.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a step-by-step guide to creating Jira custom reports using Report Builder\u2019s templates.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][heading title=”Step 1: Navigate to the template” heading=”h4″ el_id=”1732025112990-a3f7c223-0150″][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

To get to the Report Builder start screen, click Apps > Report Builder.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”12039″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” css=”” link=”https:\/\/actonic.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/custom-jira-reports-with-templates_1.png”][vc_column_text css=””]By default, you will be directed to the report creation menu. Here you will see the ready-to-use report templates sorted under \u201cagile\u201d, \u201cITSM<\/span>\u201d, and \u201cother\u201d.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”12042″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” css=”” link=”https:\/\/actonic.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/custom-jira-reports-with-templates_2.png”][vc_column_text css=””]If you click on Ungroup<\/strong>, all available reports are displayed without the thematic filtering.<\/p>\n

Now, choose any report template that is the closest fit with your reporting goal. This way, you will have less manual work later.[\/vc_column_text][heading title=”Step 2: Adjust report parameters” heading=”h4″ el_id=”1732026275298-c59df7c6-40fc”][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

In our example, we\u2019re using Report Builder\u2019s ticket bouncing report,<\/a> which analyzes how often a case is referred to other support agents. This allows you to identify where training, restructuring, or process optimization is needed. Here\u2019s a detailed explanation of the ticket bouncing report\u2019s benefits<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A great advantage of all Report Builder reports is that you have numerous filter options. You can select several projects at the same time and significantly expand your project management<\/a> overview. And you can also filter by epic <\/a>and specific issues or define your own filters. If you like to work with JQL<\/span>,<\/a> you can also simply describe all filters in a JQL<\/span> query.<\/p>\n

Define which time period you want to evaluate and how the reassignments should be measured: as average, number, median, minimum, or maximum.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””] \r\n \r\n <\/video-js>\r\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]This is what your reports could look like:[\/vc_column_text][heading title=”Vertical diagram, grouped by days” heading=”h4″ el_id=”1732028230931-aaeed6b0-2653″][vc_single_image image=”12050″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” css=”” link=”https:\/\/actonic.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/rb_ticket-bouncing_1.png”][heading title=”Vertical diagram, grouped by issue type” heading=”h4″ el_id=”1732028614319-198a1c6b-77e8″][vc_single_image image=”12052″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” css=”” link=”https:\/\/actonic.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/rb_ticket-bouncing_2.png”][heading title=”Horizontal chart, grouped by projects” heading=”h4″ el_id=”1732089108005-19609a6d-a16d”][vc_single_image image=”12054″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” css=”” link=”https:\/\/actonic.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/custom-jira-reports-with-templates_4.png”][heading title=”Horizontal chart, grouped by priority” heading=”h4″ el_id=”1732089402101-f0b3fdb0-009f”][vc_single_image image=”12056″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” css=”” link=”https:\/\/actonic.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/custom-jira-reports-with-templates_5.png”][vc_column_text css=””]You can also show report sources<\/strong>, i.e. all tickets involved in reassignments are displayed, including the summary, additional data, and links to the issues. This is an excellent overview to understand when a ticket was created and resolved and who was the first assignee.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”12058″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” css=”” link=”https:\/\/actonic.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/custom-jira-reports-with-templates_6.png”][vc_column_text css=””]\u2139\ufe0f Find more information about Report Builder\u2019s ticket bouncing report<\/a> in our documentation.[\/vc_column_text][heading title=”Step 3: Save the report template” heading=”h4″ el_id=”1732090107582-c6e8b38b-403b”][vc_column_text css=””]Once you are happy with the look and filtering of your report, click Add to my reports <\/strong>and the report will be added to your personal list of reports.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”12060″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” css=”” link=”https:\/\/actonic.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/custom-jira-reports-with-templates_7.png”][vc_single_image image=”12062″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” css=”” link=”https:\/\/actonic.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/custom-jira-reports-with-templates_8.png”][vc_column_text css=””]Now let\u2019s look at the real power of the reporting templates by clicking on the pencil icon<\/strong> for further editing.[\/vc_column_text][heading title=”Step 4: Adjust your custom report using HTML or JavaScript” heading=”h4″ el_id=”1732090540401-e59213ab-9200″][vc_column_text css=””]Once in edit mode, you can extensively customize permission schemes, ownership and editing access, as well as edit the report\u2019s template using HTML<\/span>. The behavior for retrieving and passing data can also be easily handled by working with JavaScript. In the Split Editor,<\/strong> you edit the template and script on one screen.<\/p>\n

And if you prefer to use your own environment like Visual Studio Code or another IDE<\/strong>, you can do that too.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”12064″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” css=”” link=”https:\/\/actonic.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/custom-jira-reports-with-templates_9.png”][vc_column_text css=””]\u2139\ufe0f Find out more about creating scripted reports<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][heading title=”Step 5: Export the report” heading=”h4″ el_id=”1732090807987-0a928818-6a7c”][vc_column_text css=””]You can export the entire report as PDF<\/span>, JSON<\/span>, PNG<\/span>, print or CSV<\/span>. All the details are in this export guide.<\/strong><\/a>[\/vc_column_text][heading title=”Step 6: Add the report to your Jira dashboard” heading=”h4″ el_id=”1732090842603-d8a9fc19-d113″][vc_column_text css=””]All Report Builder reports can be created directly in your Jira dashboard or imported there via a gadget. Here is our Jira reporting dashboard gadget guide<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”12066″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” css=”” link=”https:\/\/actonic.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/custom-jira-reports-with-templates_10.png”][heading title=”Method 2: Code your own Jira custom report from scratch” heading=”h3″ el_id=”1732091018318-6b03cb80-4fd0″][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

What makes Report Builder as powerful as any BI<\/span> tool is its scripting capabilities, which enable you to build any report from scratch right there in the Report Builder editor (or your own IDE). The key advantages over BI<\/span> tools is that you can do this using JavaScript and HTML<\/span> rather than a lesser-known or obscure data analysis language, and that you can build reports directly in Jira.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a step-by-step guide to creating Jira custom reports using Report Builder\u2019s scripted reports feature.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][heading title=”Step 1: Navigate to the editor” heading=”h4″ el_id=”1732091069901-0eaf2f81-b8f7″][vc_column_text css=””]As with method 1, navigate to the start screen of Report Builder by clicking on Apps > Report Builder.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”12068″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” css=”” link=”https:\/\/actonic.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/custom-jira-reports-with-coding_1.png”][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Now click the \u2026<\/strong> in the top menu, which lets you:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Import an already created report from JSON<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Create your own custom Jira report directly in Report Builder<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    [\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”12070″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” css=”” link=”https:\/\/actonic.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/custom-jira-reports-with-coding_2.png”][vc_column_text css=””]Click on New Scripted Report<\/strong>.[\/vc_column_text][heading title=”Step 2: Create your report” heading=”h4″ el_id=”1732091530691-74297c24-88bd”][vc_column_text css=””]You will see a white interface and will have to enter a title for your report, then hit Add to My Reports.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”12072″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” css=”” link=”https:\/\/actonic.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/custom-jira-reports-with-coding_3.png”][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

    The report will be saved as a blank template and added to your reports.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n

    Overview<\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n