If you’re like most people, you grasp information best when you see it in a visual form. Research has found that the brain processes images and videos up to 60,000 times faster than simple text. As a result, image-based communication can be a valuable tool for sharing important information with your employees and colleagues, especially in a fast-paced digital environment.
To help development teams stay organized and agile, Atlassian has rolled out a revamped Objectives Tree in Jira Align. The new experience offers a completely redesigned visual representation for Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) based on actual goals and needs, organizing tasks and plans in a way that’s easy to understand at a glance.
When you log in, you’ll notice these three changes:
1. Simplified, high-level reporting feature
Reading a text-based progress report can be time consuming. But putting project management into a visual format improves the user experience, helping organizations achieve their OKRs more effectively and efficiently.
For example, users can now easily distinguish between urgent items versus goals that are more long term to prioritize workloads. And portfolio managers can use filters such as status, owner, and target completion date to determine what needs immediate attention and pinpoint potential backlogs.
2. Richer status reporting vocabulary
A term like “In Progress” could mean a variety of things when it comes to a project’s status. The new Objectives Tree clears up the ambiguity with new vocabulary that provides greater insights into objectives. For example, added terms include “Pending,” “Paused,” “On Track,” “Off Track,” and “At Risk,” which mimic the statuses of objectives tracked within Jira Align.
The nuanced language helps make high-level reporting more actionable for in-progress OKRs. Organizations can now easily sort objectives by status to investigate why a project may be at risk or off track in order to take fast action.
3. Easier task management
One of the first things new drivers learn is red means stop, green means go, and yellow means caution. This universal concept can help teams, too. New visual controls, such as traffic-light indicators, enable managers and teams to know which projects are on track and which may need course correction.
In addition, at-a-glance portfolio views provide transparency into a team’s most pressing issues. Managers also gain insights with portfolio objectives that drill into program and team level objectives with the click of a button, ensuring better understanding and prioritization of the work surrounding OKRs.
What these updates mean for IT teams
Instead of having teams that are simply focused on individual work output, enterprises can leverage the new reporting within Jira Align to knock down silos and create greater transparency across their organizations. This approach helps facilitate innovation and scale, aligning teams on all business outcomes and desired results.
Greater visibility also boosts accountability and productivity. Having an easy-to-understand visual representation for team objectives and results can help organizations unlock ambition and inspiration at every level. Teams may even feel encouraged to strive above and beyond their responsibilities without fear of failure culture.
OKRs are also key for identifying the change your organization needs to make to have the greatest impact on your top business goals. Maximizing objectives and key results can empower businesses to develop hypotheses and then measure the impact of implementation. Not only will you execute on projects with better outcomes, but you’ll keep your team on time and on budget.
Ready to make the most of Jira Align at your organization? Learn how an Atlassian Solutions Partner like Contegix can help your teams adopt and optimize the platform.