How to delegate data calculation to your projects

Within the context of projects spanning across various industries and domains, encompassing a wide range of sizes, complexities, and durations, and serving as a structured approach to maintain order, data calculations play a vital role in driving successful project outcomes. They offer valuable insights, enhance decision-making, and improve efficiency. In this blog post, we will explore the incorporation of data calculations in these projects and guide you on how to effectively utilize them.

What is a project?

A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end to achieve a specific goal or objective. It is a unique set of activities and tasks designed to produce a desired outcome within specified constraints, such as time, cost, scope, and quality.

Projects are distinct from ongoing operational activities, as they have a defined lifecycle with distinct phases, including initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling, and closure. Each project is typically managed by a project manager who is responsible for coordinating resources, managing stakeholders, and ensuring that the project is delivered successfully.

Key characteristics of a project include:

1. Purpose: Projects are initiated to fulfill a specific purpose or objective, such as developing a new product, implementing a system, or organizing an event.
   
   
2. Temporary nature: Projects have a defined start and end date, with a clear boundary that distinguishes them from ongoing operational work.
   
   
3. Unique deliverable: Each project produces a unique outcome, product, or result that is different from routine activities.
   
   
4. Scope and objectives: Projects have defined scopes, objectives, and requirements that guide the work and determine what is to be delivered.
   
   
5. Resources: Projects require the allocation of resources, such as human resources, finances, equipment, and materials, to accomplish the project goals.
   
   
6. Constraints: Projects operate within specific constraints, including time, budget, quality, and scope. These constraints help define project boundaries and guide decision-making.
   
   
7. Cross-functional: Projects often involve multiple stakeholders and team members from different disciplines or departments, requiring effective collaboration and coordination.
   
   
8. Risk and uncertainty: Projects inherently involve risks and uncertainties. Project managers must identify, assess, and manage these risks to minimize their impact on project outcomes.
   
   
9. Progressive elaboration: Projects often follow a progressive elaboration approach, where plans and details are refined as the project progresses and more information becomes available.
   
   
10. Deliverable orientation: Projects focus on delivering specific outcomes or products that satisfy the project's objectives and meet stakeholder expectations.

Projects exist across various industries and domains, and they can vary in size, complexity, and duration. They provide organizations with a structured approach to address unique challenges, drive change, and achieve desired outcomes within a defined timeframe and set of constraints.

In this context, data calculations play a pivotal role in driving successful outcomes. They provide valuable insights, enhance decision-making, and improve overall project efficiency.

How can you smoothly incorporate data calculations into your Jira projects?

The solution is straightforward: leverage the power of formula fields at the project level, along with the capabilities offered by Projectrak.

By creating formula fields within your Jira projects using Projectrak, you gain the ability to perform complex calculations tailored to your specific project needs. These formula fields allow you to aggregate data, perform mathematical operations, and derive meaningful metrics that aid in project planning, monitoring, and reporting.

Formula fields examples

Total remaining estimate in unresolved issues

Sum the remaining estimate of your unresolved issues.

Total time spent on closed issues

Sum the time spent on your closed issues.

Incurred cost

Calculate the incurred cost based on another one called “Total time spent in closed issues”

Pre-requisites:

• Create another Formula field with the issue's Total time spent (See example above)

Remaining budget

Calculate the remaining budget based on another one called “Incurred cost”

Pre-requisites:

•    Create a Number field with the project Budget
•    Create a Formula field with the project Incurred cost (See example above)

Remaining time

Calculate the remaining time based on another one called “Total time spent”

Pre-requisites:

•    Create a Duration field with the project's Original estimate
•    Create another Formula field with the issue's Total time spent (See example above)

Number of issues

Count the total of issues.

Blocking bugs in QA

Count the total of issues with priority equals Blocker and in status equals QA.

Replace the query with the values that match your configuration.

After configuration, you will be able to add your Formula fields to Projectrak's Project Navigator List view as you like. The following is an example:

If you've made it this far, it's likely that you've encountered difficulties in aligning your Jira projects with your desired approach. But fear not, because there's a solution that can revolutionize your project management experience: the Projectrak app. With Projectrak, you have the power to create a comprehensive project portfolio right within your Jira instance. This means you can easily manage and track not only user-contributed data but also leverage calculated information to eliminate the hassle of manual calculations and endless Excel spreadsheets.