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Use our Importer to easily switch from Jira to Shortcut
Using Jira, but aren’t particularly happy with it? You’re not alone. In a recent study by Dimensional Research Engineers, Product Managers, and users from teams all across their orgs choose Shortcut over Jira for several reasons:
- Less feature bloat
- Better cross-functional collaboration
- Easier onboarding
- Faster load times
- Prettier interface
- Notable lack of Jira-tation (we added this last one, it wasn't in the study)
And, have no fear, as daunting as it can be to switch to new project management software, in the same study, 77% of users reported that they onboarded their teams to Shortcut in less than 3 hours. Not bad considering this study also shows that the majority of our users save at least 2 hours per week after switching over from another service.
To help make the transition from Jira to Shortcut as easy as possible, we've launched our self-service Jira Importer. Use it to move your Jira Issues and data to Shortcut in just a few small steps.
How are Shortcut and Jira different? Let's run through some of the most notable differences, so your team can keep right on focusing on important work during and after the transition without skipping more than a couple of beats.
Jira Issues --> Shortcut Stories
Stories in Shortcut are the equivalent of Issues in Jira; both are the main work entity within their respective systems. At their core, they function the same (assigned to an Owner, moved through statuses to completion, etc.), but differ in name and categorization.
In Jira, "Story" is one of the many available Issue Types, but in Shortcut, the term "Story" represents the general-purpose work unit. In Shortcut, we've simplified Story Types to represent common software team use cases: Feature, Bugs, and Chores. In addition, Shortcut Stories have built-in Task-level functionality that allow you to split your work into smaller pieces.
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Streamlined Workflow Management
Workflows in both Jira and Shortcut define a series of States a unit of work (e.g. Shortcut Story) can move through to completion. However, in Shortcut, Workflows are naturally linear and open; no need to design a complex set of transition rules between States.
In addition, we've built a simple Workflow editor so you easily create and customize Workflows to support how your various teams work.
A Story's Workflow is not dependent on the Story Type (unlike Jira), which makes it easier to standardize Workflows across your Organization. But this doesn't mean Shortcut Workflows aren't powerful; you can still automate Workflow State changes with your VCS tool to streamline the deployment process.
Easily Switch from Jira Now | Compare Shortcut vs Jira
Say goodbye to Board configuration
In Jira, Boards are a distinct entity that require manual mapping of Workflow Statuses to Board columns. In Shortcut, Workflows States and Kanban board columns are the same. In fact, we do not have a concept of a "board" entity within Shortcut; the columns on the Stories page are naturally the Workflow States of the selected Workflow.
This is a key feature that allows Shortcut to become the collaborative hub for your teams’ work; all teams and views are working from a centralized location. You can quickly toggle the Workflow on the Stories page to reveal another set of Workflow States without having to create a new board.
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Shortcut Spaces are the closest equivalent to Jira Boards. Spaces let you save and share a filtered view of the Stories page with your team. This is a simple way to create a common view of your Stories Kanban view for stand-ups, prioritization meetings, or general development efforts.
Shortcut Projects ≠ Jira Projects
In Jira, Projects are the highest-level container; all of your Stories, Workflows, and Epics sit within an overall Project. However, in Shortcut, Projects are an open-ended entity that categorize Stories within a Workflow.
A Shortcut Project belongs to a specific Workflow, so the Project that is assigned to the Story determines the Workflow. Projects don’t move through a series of Workflow States; they represent open-ended categories of work. You can think of
Shortcut Projects as a flexible container to help you organize your Stories. To start, we recommend setting up your Projects as functional teams (e.g. Frontend or Backend) or product components (e.g. Web App and API Server).
Epic Management
Both Jira and Shortcut have the concept of an Epic for a collection of Stories (or Issues) that represents a larger initiative or deliverable. However, Shortcut Epics are a distinct object within Shortcut, rather than an Issue Type like Jira, which allows your team to manage work at a higher-level.
From the Epics page, you can quickly view progress of Epics and click-in to view Story-level detail. In addition, Epics can contain Stories from different Workflows and Projects, which makes them a flexible tool for cross-functional collaboration.
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Zooming in and out
In Shortcut, the level above Epics is called Milestones, which is a "collection of Epics" analogous to Initiatives in Jira. Similar to Epics, Milestones are a distinct object within Shortcut, rather than an Issue Type. Milestones are often used to represent time, such as a quarterly roadmap.
Support for various development and project management methodologies
In Jira, you must configure your Project to either Scrum or Kanban methodology. Within Shortcut, you do not need to choose nor configure; the tool naturally supports the way your team works.
If you use Scrum or Sprints, you can enable our Iterations feature to manage your work in time-boxed periods. If you prefer a Kanban approach, you can adjust your Workflow States and prioritize Stories from the Stories page. If you want to use both, you can filter on your Iterations from the Stories page. And if you have a different development approach, Shortcut's elements are flexible enough to adapt to your team's needs.
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Import Data to Shortcut from Jira
To ease your transition from Jira to Shortcut, we’ve built an automated importer. In just a few short minutes it can turn your Jira work into Shortcut Stories, Projects, and Workflows. You won’t miss a beat… or at least more than a few beats.
Importing from Jira is as easy as 1-2-3. Watch this short video to go through the entire process:
- Authorize with Jira
- Map your data
- Invite users (and map them)
And then? Start managing projects in Shortcut as if you've simply been using us this whole time.
Head to our Help Center for a more detailed walkthrough of how to Import your Jira Issues into Shortcut. After you import your Jira data, you can immediately start managing your Stories, Projects, Epics, and Workflows.
More than just the development team
Any successful product or feature launch involves collaboration across all teams as the work moves from ideation through execution. Shortcut's intuitive and flexible design will bring all departments into the platform to ensure your team isn't working in a silo.
Here are some ways non-technical teams use Shortcut:
You're ready 💪
We've covered the essential concepts for a successful transition from Jira. Shortcut is full of powerful features, workflows, and tips that aren't covered here, so we'll leave you with a few more resources:
- How we use Shortcut at Shortcut (4 part blog series)
- Webinar: Getting started in Shortcut
- Shortcut University [available in the in-app Help Menu]
If you're looking for more information on a specific topic, we recommend checking out our Help Center, our YouTube channel, or join our Slack Community.
Feel free to reach out to our support team or get in touch at joey@clubhouse.io - we're here to help!