Jira requirements management 101: strategies and tools

Updated: February 9, 2024

Your team gets a big amount of requirement documents before each product and you’re expected to handle them in Jira, but you’re not sure which way to choose? Some people say use Confluence, others prefer simple Jira issues, and yet others swear by Marketplace apps. How to choose the right solution for your needs? Read our article and find out which Jira requirements management strategy is best for you.

If you’re thinking about choosing the Atlassian product for your requirements management, we don’t have to sell you on it. But—

For those of you who aren’t yet convinced, let’s quickly go over the most common reasons why people choose Jira and then move on to answering your main question: How to manage requirements in Jira?

We distinguish three main ways of collecting requirements in Jira. Choosing the right one contributes to the success of the final release.

This is the most basic way to manage your requirements in Jira. Especially if you already use it to track work, bugs or sprints. Storing objects as issue types is intuitive to put in place. 

Your Jira admins can create custom issue types and call them requirements. Simply organize the issues dedicated for requirements, and define them with Labels and Components. By adding different fields to the issues, you can track requirements’ attributes. They can include:

Remember about consistent problem descriptions. They help in quick, easy filtering and searching of requirements. They also improve understanding.

By storing items in Jira, you link related requests together. When requirements are directly dependent, you can build a functional structure by linking the corresponding tasks and subtasks in Jira to each other.

Is managing requirements as issues the right strategy for your team? To help you decide, we created a list of pros and cons.

If this method seems like a good fit, you’re surely wondering: How to write requirements in Jira? Let’s go through this process step by step.

Start by creating a new issue in your Jira project. An issue in Jira can represent a requirement, a task, a bug, or any other type of work item.

Secondly, select an appropriate issue type for your requirement. Common types include “Story” for user stories, “Task” for general tasks, or “Epic” for larger work that encompasses many stories or tasks.

Provide a concise and descriptive summary for the requirement. This is typically the first thing people will read, so it should clearly communicate the essence of the requirement.

In the description field, provide a detailed explanation of the requirement. This can include:

Then, specify the conditions that the requirement must meet for completion. Acceptance criteria help developers understand expected outcomes and serve as a foundation for testing.

Assign a priority to the requirement to state its importance. Also, assign it to a team member or leave it unassigned if it’s not yet clear who will work on it.

If the requirement is related to other issues (like bugs, tasks, or other stories), use Jira’s linking feature to connect them. This helps in tracking dependencies and related work.

Use labels and components to categorize and organize the requirement. This helps in filtering and reporting within Jira.

If there are any relevant files, diagrams, or screenshots, attach them to the issue to provide extra context or clarification.

If your Jira project has custom fields set up, fill them out as needed. These might include fields for specific business units, estimated effort, or other project-specific information.

Finally, review your work. Before creating the issue, review all the details to ensure everything is accurate and clear. Then, create the issue in Jira.

Another way of managing requirements in Jira is by linking it to Confluence.

You can integrate your requirements pages in Confluence with Jira issues. To do that, create development issues and tasks directly from requirements pages. It makes maintaining integration between related entities seamless.

Confluence can store and present much more detailed information than Jira custom fields. Using a Product Requirements Blueprint helps you define, scope and track requirements. It helps to make it easier and faster to describe requirements details on the wiki platform. To make life easier for you, Atlassian created a product requirements template.

If you decide to use Confluence for requirements management, you can choose to:

Keeping requirements in Confluence is more effective compared to using external tools or Excel sheets. Managing all requirement-related activities in Confluence fosters discussions and enhances communication among stakeholders.

Here’s a list of pros and cons of this requirements management strategy.

Abhishek Shah, the founder of Testlify, recommends following a structured workflow.

Firstly, encourage teams to create clear, concise, and traceable requirements by leveraging Jira’s user story and epic features. Use custom fields and workflows to capture essential information and ensure thorough documentation.

Secondly, implement a robust version control system to track changes and updates to requirements. Thirdly, foster collaboration by integrating Confluence with Jira. It allows seamless communication and knowledge sharing among team members.

Lastly, regularly review and refine your requirements to adapt to evolving project needs. Use Jira’s reporting features to gain actionable insights.

There are different tools designed for requirements management on the Atlassian Marketplace. These plugins are created with Jira in mind and so they connect with it seamlessly. 

Using them, you create, track, and organize requirements within Jira, aligning them with development and testing tasks. You can link requirements to various project components to maintain connection and track changes.

These apps provide a unified platform for all stakeholders to stay informed. 

You can generate and download dynamic, real-time reports. Then, they are extra useful during presentations and meetings.

Here are some examples of popular requirements management tools. They’re all available on the Atlassian Marketplace.

Using them is probably the most reliable and easy way to manage requirements within Jira. Some of them, like RTM, are free for up to ten users. 

Still don’t know if you should explore investing in one? Weigh the pros and cons below.

Now let’s see some of the plugins in action. Here are some examples of requirements written in the Requirements and Test Management for Jira (RTM) plugin.

Even though the description of the below example is short, it gets the job done.

Next, you can see a requirement written in Jira Software.

The last requirement example is from the TestFLO – Test Management for Jira. You can see the requirement itself and the test case in Jira template.

Now that you’ve chosen your method, let’s discuss some practices you need to keep in mind when managing requirements.

Besides having a place to manage requirements, you should remember about a few best practice that guide the entire process.

Make sure that all requirements are clearly written, unambiguous, and well-documented. This includes detailing the purpose, scope, and criteria for each of them.

Engage key stakeholders throughout the requirements gathering and refinement process. That includes customers, users, and team members. Their input and feedback are crucial for understanding needs and expectations.

Prioritize requirements based on factors like business value, urgency, and dependencies. Categorize them (e.g., functional, non-functional, technical) for better organization and understanding.

A traceability matrix helps you track the relationship between requirements, their sources, and the deliverables (such as design documents, test cases, and final products). This way we can make sure we address all requirements and track the impact of any changes.

Review requirements to ensure they remain relevant and accurate throughout the project lifecycle. Update them as needed to reflect changes in scope, market conditions, or stakeholder feedback.

Establish a structured process for managing changes to requirements. This should include:

Read more about requirements management best practices here.

In conclusion, there are three ways to manage requirements in Atlassian’s Jira. Managing them as issues, connecting Jira with Confluence, and using a dedicated app. The first two options seem to fit the needs of smaller, less-demanding teams. The third one – using a full-featured requirements management app – is the best option for established projects and teams.