Keeping track of issue comments

Tracking comments in Jira enables effective communication, collaboration, documentation, and supports issue resolution. It provides a historical record of discussions, facilitates troubleshooting, and promotes accountability among team members.

Communication and Collaboration → Comments in Jira allow team members to communicate, provide updates, ask questions, and share important information related to an issue. They facilitate real-time discussions and promote collaboration among team members, ensuring everyone stays informed and engaged.

Documentation and Contex → Comments serve as a documentation tool, capturing important discussions and decisions related to an issue. They provide context and history, allowing team members to understand the rationale behind certain actions or changes. This documentation helps in knowledge sharing, onboarding new team members, and maintaining a record of the issue's evolution.

Issue Resolution and Troubleshooting → Comments play a crucial role in issue resolution. Team members can use comments to report bugs, suggest solutions, provide feedback, or share relevant insights. Comments help in tracking the progress of issue resolution, clarifying requirements, and documenting steps taken to troubleshoot and resolve the problem.

Audit Trail and Accountability → Keeping track of comments provides an audit trail of discussions and decisions made during the issue lifecycle. It promotes accountability by allowing stakeholders to review and verify the conversations that influenced the issue's resolution. This transparency helps in identifying responsibility, ensuring compliance, and resolving any disputes or misunderstandings.

Problem we solve

In Jira and Jira Service Management (JSM), keeping track of comments on an issue becomes challenging when a large number of comments accumulate over time. The default setup lacks a comprehensive way to monitor and analyze comment activity, making it difficult to track the history, identify key contributors, and assess the overall engagement on an issue.

Due to the limitations of the default setup, users face difficulties in efficiently tracking and analyzing comments on an issue. This hampers the ability to gain insights into the comment history, identify active participants, and evaluate the overall engagement level.

Our solution

Introducing a custom field in Jira and Jira Service Management that offers a range of features to enhance comment tracking. The custom field includes the date of the first comment, date of the last comment, the content of the first comment, the content of the last comment, a list of users who have commented, and the total number of comments.

 

  1. User Scenario:

    • A project team is managing an issue in Jira or Jira Service Management and wants to track the comments on the issue.

    • The team has access to a custom field specifically designed to capture and display various aspects of comment activity.

  2. Date of First Comment and Last Comment:

    • The team utilizes the custom field to view the date of the first comment, indicating when the discussion on the issue began.

    • The custom field also displays the date of the last comment, representing the most recent interaction on the issue.

  3. Content of First Comment and Last Comment:

    • The custom field further provides the content of the first comment, allowing users to revisit the initial context and discussion.

    • Similarly, the content of the last comment is displayed, giving users quick access to the most recent information shared.

  4. List of Commented Users and Number of Comments:

    • The custom field includes a list of users who have commented on the issue, highlighting the key participants in the discussion.

    • Additionally, it displays the total number of comments, providing an overview of the engagement level and activity on the issue.

Benefits:

  • Comprehensive Comment Tracking: The custom field offers a comprehensive view of comment activity by capturing the date of the first and last comments, their content, the list of commented users, and the total comment count.

  • Efficient Analysis: Users can quickly analyze the comment history, identify active participants, and gauge the overall engagement level, facilitating effective collaboration and decision-making.

  • Historical Context: Access to the content of the first and last comments enables users to revisit the initial discussion and stay up-to-date with the latest information shared.

Conclusion

By utilizing the custom field for enhanced comment tracking in Jira and Jira Service Management, users can overcome the challenges of managing a large number of comments. This solution provides a comprehensive view of comment activity, enables efficient analysis, and preserves the historical context of discussions on an issue.