Jira and Microsoft Project compete in the project management software category. Jira appears to have the edge for agile project management and customization, while Microsoft Project offers strong scheduling and resource allocation which are beneficial for complex project oversight.
Features: Jira is known for its strong agile project management capabilities, extensive plugin ecosystem, and powerful API for integration. It is highly customizable, making it flexible and user-friendly, especially in task management and team collaboration. Microsoft Project is lauded for its robust scheduling features, resource allocation, and milestone tracking, which are particularly advantageous for enterprise-level planning and project management.
Room for Improvement: Jira can be complex due to its configuration settings and extensive reliance on plugins, with users often seeking enhancements in reporting and stability. Microsoft Project's interface is considered outdated and not fully aligned with Agile methodologies. Users desire improved integration and more intuitive collaboration features.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Jira offers deployment flexibility across multiple environments including public, private, hybrid cloud, and on-premises setups. While it provides extensive self-service resources, technical support is sometimes noted as slow and less personalized. Microsoft Project, typically deployed on-premises, integrates well with Microsoft applications offering seamless integration, but has less flexibility in cloud deployment. Its comprehensive documentation is noted, though more integrated support channels would be beneficial.
Pricing and ROI: Jira's tiered pricing model is competitive, especially for small to medium-sized businesses using cloud services. Costs can increase with additional plugins. Microsoft Project is positioned higher in terms of pricing, particularly as user numbers and additional services from Microsoft increase. While both are seen to provide good ROI, Microsoft Project's higher pricing points to a need for more competitive pricing.
Microsoft Project does help save time and money due to its completeness as a project management solution.
I did not face any issues with stability or upgrades.
Currently, there are more support personnel who speak English, and Microsoft has increased its Spanish language support compared to previous years.
I would give somewhere around 10 for my overall experience with support.
There is a website and a connection to AI for support.
Microsoft Project is a stable tool, and when using it in different projects, it works perfectly.
I would rate the stability of Microsoft Project as an eight out of ten.
To improve Jira, maybe some AI features could be added.
It would be beneficial to see enhanced reporting functionalities in future versions.
The worst part is handling too many items, like 1,000 items, which Microsoft Project struggles with, especially when printing.
The critical path evaluation features in Microsoft Project could be improved.
The issue with Microsoft is that the license is per personnel, making it expensive.
I believe it's usually included in the Microsoft 365 package.
This tool is the most accurate project management tool, allowing me to run a full set of project activities without having to switch between different tools for scheduling and other tasks.
The collaboration features are valuable for controlling the project and transmitting information to other team members when working in a team.
The scheduling part of Microsoft Project is easy; if you change one of the dates, the rest of the dates automatically get changed based on the dependency.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Jira | 7.7% |
| Microsoft Project | 5.7% |
| Other | 86.6% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 102 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 57 |
| Large Enterprise | 149 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 31 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 14 |
| Large Enterprise | 41 |
Jira is a powerful cloud- and subscription-based application lifecycle and issue management solution. It is designed to aid users both in project management and in resolving any issues that arise at any point in the software development process. It is especially concerned with easing the ability of developers to collaborate.
Jira Benefits
Some of the ways that organizations can benefit by choosing to deploy Jira include:
Jira Features
Real-time notification feature. Users can set Jira so that it offers them notifications that contain critical information in real time. It can send users email notifications when pressing issues have been updated. They can also set it to notify them about tasks that may be due, or other similar events.
Reviews from Real Users
Jira is a powerful solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Two major advantages it offers are its workflow engine and its highly customizable dashboard.
Bharath R., the tool implementation and project management lead at a financial services firm, writes, “I feel the strongest feature of Jira is its workflow engine. It empowers us to automate our workflows within our organization. It's the one characteristic of Jira which I think can help any organization, be it in any domain.”
Uday J., a staff engineer at a computer company, says, “Another thing that I like a lot about Jira is that in the dashboard, you can plug the modules that you want. You can enable certain sections. For example, you can show trend history, open Jira tickets, etc. Some of the managers have created a dashboard for each engineer.”
Microsoft Project helps you get started quickly and execute projects with ease. Built-in templates and familiar scheduling tools help project managers and teams stay productive.
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