Projects usually have two main phases of progression. An uphill phase where you’re still figuring everything out, and a downhill phase is where you’re executing the work to complete it. Knowing where individual tasks stand in these phases is difficult, making the clarity of your progress something you have to grapple with in Jira.
This is where hill charts come in – a way to visualize the progress of individual tasks in a project. In this guide, we’ll go over how to use hill charts in Jira.
But before we get to that, let’s first understand what hill charts are and how they work.
What is a hill chart?
A hill chart is a line graph that shows where tasks in your Epic stand against the project’s progress. This chart is hill-shaped (where it gets its name from) to represent the different phases of a project or Epic’s progression.
Dots on the line graph represent tasks. Where you place your dots reflects the stage they are in your workflow. Tasks can be on either one of these three sections of the hill chart:
The uphill side (left)
This side represents work items your teams are still figuring things out. In other words, there is a lot of uncertainty. Maybe the details of the project aren’t fully understood yet, or you don’t have all the requirements to complete these tasks in place. The progress here is much slower and takes a lot of effort – just like climbing a hill.
As you figure things out, you move uphill until you reach the peak.
The peak
At this point, you’ve figured everything out, and tasks have reached clarity. The path to the solution is clear and you’re ready to start execution.
The downhill side (right)
This is the ‘smooth sailing’ phase for your project. Tasks on this side are the ones your team is executing with confidence. Most of the unknowns have been addressed. It’s mainly about implementation and wrapping things up. The progress is faster, and it requires less effort – like going downhill.
How are hill charts helpful?
Hill charts provide a simple yet powerful way to visualize the relative progress of your project. You’ll get a bird’s-eye view of how every task develops and avoid inaccurate or misleading progress reporting. This allows you to share more accurate estimates with your stakeholders.
What’s more, hill charts can also help you plan better. You’ll see the tasks stuck in the uphill phase and allocate more resources to complete them.
If you’re running a project in Jira that is heavy on problem-solving and planning (which is usually most projects), hill charts are a must-have. With that in mind, let’s go over how to use hill charts in Jira.
How to use hill charts in Jira
Jira provides custom workflows to help you track how tasks progress from inception to completion. You can use this to set your tasks’ statuses, whether they’re in progress, under review, completed, etc.
But, this isn’t sufficient as these statuses are very broad. For instance, a task could be in progress and you haven’t collected the requirements or have no idea how to go about it.
So, instead of seeing something as broad as ‘In Progress,’ you need a hill diagram to help you understand if the task is still being figured out or already executable.
This is why hill charts are a must-have.
By default, Jira offers numerous charts to track your progress, but hill charts aren’t one of them. Luckily, you can use the Easy Progress – Hill Charts for Jira app to create intuitive hill charts for your Jira projects.
Create intuitive hill charts in Jira with Easy Progress – Hill Charts for Jira
Easy Progress allows you to create comprehensive hill charts to intuitively track your Epic’s progress in Jira. In just a few clicks, you can create hill graphs that help you visualize tasks transitioning from problem-solving to execution.
This allows you to be proactive, spotting and dealing with bottlenecks early into your project’s progression. The hill charts you create are entirely customizable. You can pick the tasks displayed on the chart by simply checking a box.
Easy Progress tightly integrates with Jira. This means you don’t need to perform advanced configurations or additional setup processes. Just install the app, and you’ll be ready to use it.
This tight integration also allows you to work right within your Jira Epic with no need to move between interfaces. Once you make changes, you can update your teams right from the issue comments section.
Now you have a grasp of what Easy Progress offers, let’s set it up and create a hill chart.
How to create a hill chart in Jira (step by step)
In this section, we’ll walk you through the steps you need to take to create a hill chart in Jira.
Step 1: Install Easy Progress – Hill Charts for Jira
The first thing you’ll need to do is install the Easy Progress plugin into your Jira instance. To do this:
- From your Jira dashboard, go to More > Apps > Explore more apps. This will take you to the Atlassian Marketplace.
2. Here, search for ‘Easy Progress – Hill Charts for Jira’ and click on it once it appears in the search results.
3. Next, click on the Get it now. Jira will install the app for you, this will only take a few seconds.
With this app installed, you can create a hill chart for your Epic.
Step 2: Create a hill chart
To create a hill chart:
- Navigate to a Jira Epic in your project and click the App button under the Epic name.
- Select Easy Progress in the options that appear.
At this point, you should see an empty hill chart displayed.
Step 3: Select the tasks to display
Next, you’ll see a Configure Chart popup, which you can use to select the tasks to display on the hill chart. To select tasks:
- Click on the Configure button in the Configure Chart popup.
- Check the boxes for each task you want to appear on the hill chart and click on Close.
Now you should see the tasks piled up on the bottom left of your hill chart.
Step 4: Update your hill chart
You’ll want to update us on where the tasks stand as work progresses. To do this, simply click on a task, drag it, and drop it where you feel the task stands regarding its progress. Once you drop the task, a dialog box will pop up, requiring you to leave a comment explaining why you’ve moved the work item.
Once you click Save, the dot will stay in the new position you’ve dragged it into.
Your input here will be saved as a standard Jira comment. A common question is if these dots can move automatically. Well, no. Because we want you to think about the relative progress of your project before making a manual update yourself.
The benefits of using hill charts in Jira
At this point, you probably have a good idea of the benefits of hill charts. But just to drive the point home, here are the benefits you’ll enjoy with hill charts in your Jira projects.
You’ll get visual clarity of progress
Hill charts help you clearly distinguish where tasks in your Epic stand. Are they in the uphill phase, where you still have to put more effort in them, or in the downhill phase, where you’re cruising? In other words, it offers a snapshot of a task’s current state without the ambiguity of Jira’s workflows (for instance, ‘In Progress’). This is important for several reasons, such as improved planning, identifying bottlenecks, etc.
It helps you focus on resolving uncertainties
The part when a project’s requirements and how to proceed is uncertain is typically the hardest. It disrupts planning, given that you can’t make accurate forecasts when key components of the project are missing.
Hill charts help you identify tasks stuck in the uphill phase (when there’s a lot of uncertainty) and draw your attention to them. You can then focus on resolving these blockers and building momentum.
Hill charts accommodate iterative, non-linear processes
If you’re using Agile, you’ll love hill charts. You can move tasks back and forth on the chart to reflect your iterative processes. This is great since agile processes are heavy on discovery and adaptation. When you discover something that changes the course of your project, all you have to do is move a dot.
Use hill charts in your Jira project today
Hill charts are an extremely useful addition to your project management stack. With hill charts, you can be efficient with your Jira projects from start to finish. Unfortunately, Jira doesn’t offer hill charts by default. Luckily you can install the Easy Progress – Hill Charts for Jira app to help you create comprehensive hill charts to track your Epic’s tasks. It integrates seamlessly with Jira so you don’t have to configure or work outside Jira Epic’s interface. Use Easy Progress to stay on top of your Epic’s tasks and deliver projects on time.
