Data is a valuable asset, very valuable asset, but on its own it’s just data.
If we manage to make data into information we can visualize and understand, that’s when we get the insight we need to make well-informed decisions. Clear and concise information makes all the difference when managing work; add to that timeliness, reliability and completeness, and you get Swanly.
The evolution of Swanly
Clever work management in Jira
Swanly was created as a solution to understanding and digesting information in Jira. It was designed out of our own experience working with Jira, alongside a variety of consultants, project and portfolio managers, product managers, and so on.
And though every manager has their own set of practices and ways of consuming information, most have enjoyed the simple, easy and comprehensive approach Swanly brings to the table.
From release roadmap to project plan hub
First, Swanly came out as a roadmap offering a plethora of features, but as Agile would have it, the project management app is evolving into a comprehensive platform to manage all work in Jira.
So without further ado, let us introduce you to Swanly v.3. Designed as a go-to hub that offers clarity, structure and efficiency, Swanly v.3 is quite the step up.
Improved Swanly features - v.2 vs. v.3
Enjoy all-round better performance
First and foremost, Swanly v.3 performance is way superior to Swanly v.2, with faster loading and interactions. The new version is good for agile teams managing anything from small releases or waterfall projects, to projects with long-term activities.
Get higher visibility at a single glance
The Swanly roadmap is a centralized hub to plan, track and deliver work across Jira projects, with simple features to import and re-arrange. Swanly is perfect for portfolio roadmaps, project roadmaps, product roadmaps, campaign roadmaps, and any work activity that requires team effort over any period of time. Swanly v.3 roadmap design has been adjusted to improve visibility by offering more information, in a more compact way, and in one place.
Track issues and releases in one window
One major Swanly v.3 improvement is the merging of the issue and release timelines into one window, as opposed to alternating between two app pages as was the case for v.2. Now, you can switch between release and issue view within the roadmap itself and with a single click.
Access deliverable stages with a drop down
While Swanly v.2 showcases stages as primary objects on the timeline, Swanly v.3 showcases releases and issues as primary instead. In v.3, we've introduced release/issue start and end dates as a new concept on the timeline, which is useful when tracking larger length deliverables, and further develops our top-down approach. Instead of stages appearing automatically, they can now be visualized as a drop down when clicking on any release or issue. Or, if you prefer, stages can be viewed all together on the roadmap thanks to an 'expand all stages' button.
Get better toolbar functionality
The toolbar got a major makeover in Swanly v.3, helping improve roadmap navigation. First of, you're now able to filter by project, status and template, as opposed to v.2 where you could only filter by project. Second, you can now group by project, template and status, as the latter was unavailable in v.2. Third, we've added the toolbar option to expand all stages, so you don't have to individually click on every release/issue in order to drill down.
Zoom-view the right information at the right scale
Zooming in and out of the timeline is key to users; as well as the ability to use the timeline to see the right information, at the right scale. Which is why we worked on zooming and animations as a key part of our Swanly v.3 UI. The Swanly v.3 toolbar features a neat zoom view that can be spread out yearly (up to 4 years), quarterly, weekly, or daily. Add that to the ability to zoom in and out, and the fact that no matter where you are on the timeline, you can get back to today’s work with a simple click.
Get better insights with new report panels
Well distributed data allows users to quickly scan, analyze, compare, filter, and manage information in order to get the right insights and act upon them. The new report panel in v.3 features an improved reporting UI. Major changes have been made to the aggregated information tabs, including the new progress report and the addition of release start and end dates.
Also, the report panel now slides from the right, which ensures ongoing access to the roadmap. The panel can however be expanded for more detail.
Standardize with better templates
Who doesn’t love automating repetitive work! Swanly templates help identify the type of work deliverable at hand, and feature customized groups of stages. Swanly v.2 did feature templates, but they weren't as compact and tight as the ones featured in v.3.
Dark mode
When it comes to user interface, dark mode is probably one of the most popular features. The most well known advantage of dark mode is that it saves energy, i.e. battery life. Another utility we often hear about is the fact that it helps avoid the strain on your eyes, especially at night when bright light can get exhausting. Another advantage to using dark mode is that it looks amazing, simply; graphs and dashboards look so much better in dark mode, let's be honest!
Here it is folks, the improvements we've made to Swanly!
With Atlassian’s decision to discontinue server products, Swanly v.3 is a real example of cloud extendability potential. We’ll be discussing use cases extensively in the next few articles so keep an eye out; you’ll see how you can manage any work in Jira with this project management app!
If you want to try Swanly, you can actually install it for free here if you're up to 10 users, or you can try the 30-day demo!
Swanly v2 vs. v3 infographic
