I just migrated from a different issue tracking tool to JIRA and we never used components before. Our project was small so we didn’t need them back then. Now that things are growing I think components could help us organize better but I’m confused about the best way to set them up.
Let me give you an example. Say I’m working on an online store and need to add a shopping cart feature. This could go under “E-commerce” but it also involves database changes and front-end work. Most features seem to touch multiple areas like this.
What’s the right approach for breaking down projects into components? Should I avoid broad categories like “Frontend” or “Database”? Looking for advice from people who have dealt with this before.
Components work best when they align with team ownership rather than technical layers. Initially, we mistakenly organized components by tech stack, which led to confusion about responsibility. It’s more effective to create components based on specific roles or areas of ownership. For instance, if someone manages both frontend and backend for checkout, create a ‘Checkout’ component. This approach reduces handoffs, and you know who to contact when issues arise. Start with few broad components, and adjust as your team scales.
Had the same confusion when we started using JIRA components two years ago. After some trial and error, I learned to organize by business domain instead of technical layers - way better approach. Skip the “Frontend” and “Database” components. Create “User Management”, “Payment Processing”, “Inventory Management” instead. Makes tracking feature progress and assigning ownership so much easier. For your shopping cart example, just make a “Shopping Cart” component that covers all the work - database, frontend, whatever. Components should match how your business thinks about features, not your code structure. Use labels or custom fields for technical stuff if you need to track that separately.