[markshead]

> "Jira is the worst project management tool, except for all the others"

This is key. The problem with Jira is less about Jira as a tool and more about how we approach project management.

I've seen some teams thrive with Jira. I wouldn't say they "loved" Jira but they had a light weight project management structure that let them get work done and enough control over Jira to set it up to stay out of their way. They didn't give Jira credit for their ease of working because it was their processes that were good. Jira just gave them a way to not have to write everything down on paper.

I've seen other organizations create a horrible project management structure and then use Jira to "enforce" those structures in ways that magnify all the worst aspects of what they are doing. In those situations it is usually more politically palatable to blame Jira rather than the management processes. Those type of organizations usually blame the tool while hoping that a different tool will force the organizational changes that are needed to make life better.