Jira is a software application used to track end user issues and project management. IT teams use it to track bugs, development projects and tasks. Many teams outside of information technology (IT) departments also use it as a project management tool. When using Jira, you will likely notice that the interface is divided into Epics, Stories and Tasks. Epics refer to your large projects that can be broken into tasks. The difference between stories and tasks is somewhat muddier. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the difference between a Jira Story and Task to help you better understand how the platform works and how to get the most out of its features.
Featured Partners
1
monday.com
Yes
From $8 monthly per user
Zoom, LinkedIn, Adobe, Salesforce and more
2
ClickUp
Yes, for unlimited members
$7 per month
Slack, Microsoft Outlook, HubSpot, Salesforce, Timely, Google Drive and more
3
Wrike
Yes
$10 per user per month
Salesforce, Adobe, Miro, Netsuite, QuickBooks, SAP
Jira Story vs. Task: At a Glance
Atlassian touts the Jira platform as “designed for marketing, HR, finance and other business teams.” Though Jira got its start as a software development tool, it is now used by teams of all kinds as a project management tool. It’s both affordable and easy to use. Using native Agile management, it also integrates with Confluence and other services to better foster efficient management of your important projects. Jira allows teams to create Stories to explore projects and Tasks to distribute to-dos across the team.
Jira Story
Primary function
Represents goal of the project
Used by
Teams of more than one person
Great for
Tracking progress of project with multiple steps
Represents goal of the project
Teams of more than one person
Tracking progress of project with multiple steps
Also called “user stories” or “issues,” Jira Stories are brief requests written from the user’s perspective. Stories may be part of larger initiatives, which are called Epics. A Story is an informal and general explanation of the key goal of a project that generally follows the formula of “As a [role], I [want to], [so that].” For instance, a Story might be: “As a marketing director, I want to create engaging content so that we can announce our new product.”
Stories may also be broken down further into Tasks, which are short to-dos that can be delegated to a team member. Stories encompass a project from inception to completion, and the results will be visible to the end user. Additionally, Stories will often involve various functions and types of work, such as coding, development and quality assurance.
- Focuses on end-user experience
- Helps team orient around common goal for project
- Facilitates cross-functional approach to problem solving
- Confusing interface
- Use of reports is limited
- Functionality on mobile is difficult
Jira Task
Primary function
Create to-dos that make up a larger Story
Timeframe
Designed to be completed in a day or less
Used by
Usually worked on by one person
Create to-dos that make up a larger Story
Designed to be completed in a day or less
Usually worked on by one person
Jira Tasks are part of a Story, and function as single to-dos that are generally completed by one person in a day or less. Whereas a Story will express a goal or end result, a Task is a responsibility or step in the process. Stories may consist of multiple Tasks, which may be done in tandem or in sequential order.
For instance, a Story might be: “As a director of communications, I want to distribute a press release in order to share company news.” This Story might include a list Tasks such as:
- Obtain quotes for press release
- Write first draft of press release
- Edit first draft
- Proofread press release
- Publish press release on company website
- Send press release to news media.
- Ease of task assignment and delegation
- Keeps team members on task
- Can assist with creating timelines
- Hard to use interface
- Use of reports is limited
- Functionality on mobile is difficult
How Jira Stories and Jira Tasks Stack Up
| Jira Story | Jira Task | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Show user perspective of an issue | Represents step in the process to resolve issue |
| Scope | Lay out a project’s vision, goals and benefits | Individual piece of sprint or Scrum |
| Duration | Completed when all Tasks that comprise the Story are complete, sometimes over the course of multiple sprints | Completed in one day or less |
| Delegation | Assigned to a project lead and may be completed by them or divided into Tasks | Assigned to a specific team member |
Jira is a popular software for Agile teams to track bugs and issue resolution, and it can be used by teams as a project management tool. A Jira Story represents the larger goal of resolving a user issue, whereas a Task represents the individual steps necessary to resolve the issue. Stories can be cross-functional (with more than one department working on the Story) and have a longer timeframe to completion, but Tasks are limited to one specific person and usually completed in a day or less.
For instance, an example of a Story might be: “As a graphic designer, I want to create a new website so I can update my brand.” Tasks might include: design new logo (assigned to graphic designer), update new website (assign to web developer), and communicate to clients (graphic designer). In this example, the new logo could be designed while the web developer is updating the website.
However, depending on how long it would take to complete each of these Tasks, they could be Stories of their own. For instance, if development of the new logo would take several iterations and involve multiple team members. This would then be a Story, such as “As a graphic designer, I want to create a new logo to market my brand.”
Bottom Line
Both Stories and Tasks are part of the Jira software. You will want to use a Story to encapsulate an issue, and Tasks to represent the to-dos to be completed in order to resolve the issue. Using both features in tandem with one another helps make goals clear and responsibilities easily understood by all team members involved.
