Definition

The Create Project Category action in Jira allows users to create a new project category within their Jira instance. This action helps to organize projects by categorizing them based on their characteristics, making it easier to manage and track related projects. You can assign a meaningful name and description to the category, providing structure and clarity within your Jira environment. The key capabilities of this action include creating a custom project category and organizing your Jira projects into logical groups for better project management and reporting.

Example Use Cases

1. Organizing Projects by Department
   Create different project categories for various departments like HR, IT, Marketing, etc., to keep projects organized based on the department they belong to.

2. Tracking Project Types
   Create categories to differentiate between types of projects, such as internal projects, client projects, or product development projects, making it easier to filter and manage them.

3. Improving Project Reporting
   Organize projects into categories based on priority or status, like "High Priority" or "Ongoing", to quickly generate reports or dashboards that focus on specific types of projects.

4. Project Portfolio Management
   Group projects under a "Portfolio" category to view and manage all projects related to a particular strategic initiative or goal, streamlining project monitoring and evaluation.

5. Categorizing Projects by Phases
   Create categories such as "Planning", "Execution", "Closed" to better organize projects based on their lifecycle stage and improve workflow management.

Inputs

1. Connection
   This field is used to establish the connection to your Jira instance. It allows the system to authenticate and interact with your Jira environment. After setting up the connection, you can choose it from the list to proceed with the action. This is required for connecting to the Jira Cloud instance.

2. Jira Cloud
   The Cloud ID field is a unique identifier for your Jira Cloud instance. This field allows you to select your specific Jira Cloud instance from the list, which was populated after connecting to Jira. It's essential to authenticate the right Jira Cloud instance for creating the project category.
   Type: Dropdown (Select from list after setting up the connection)

3. Category Name
   This is the name you want to assign to your project category. It should be descriptive enough to convey the purpose of the category. You can use this field to give the category a unique identity, and it helps in organizing the projects effectively.
   Type: Text field (Enter the desired category name)

4. Description
   The description field allows you to provide a brief explanation of what the project category represents. You can use this field to explain the purpose or scope of the category, giving users a better understanding of its significance in the project management process.
   Type: Text field (Enter a concise description of the category)

Outputs

The "Create Project Category" action returns the following output fields after it successfully executes:

1. Project Category Id:
   This is the unique identifier assigned to the newly created project category in Jira. It is automatically generated by Jira when the project category is created. This ID can be used for further reference in other actions or workflows where you may need to interact with this specific category.
   Example Use: You can use this ID when associating projects with the newly created category or when updating or managing the category in other processes.

2. Project Category Name:
   This field returns the name of the project category you specified when creating it. It confirms that the category has been created with the exact name you entered. This can be useful for verification or for using the name as part of a report or another workflow.
   Example Use: After creating a category, you may want to use this name to display it in a dashboard or reference it in another automation, such as assigning projects to the category.

3. Project Category Description:
   This field returns the description that you provided when creating the project category. It allows you to verify that the purpose or scope of the category is captured correctly.
   Example Use: This description can be used for documentation or further communication with team members about the specific nature or scope of the category, ensuring everyone understands its significance.

Example Use Case:

Scenario: A project manager is setting up multiple projects for a company’s new software development initiative. The manager wants to group the projects under specific categories like "Web Development," "Mobile App Development," and "Cloud Infrastructure" to better organize and manage them in Jira.

How the "Create Project Category" action is used:

1. The project manager uses this action to create a new project category for "Web Development."
2. After the category is created, they receive the category's ID, name, and description as outputs.
3. The manager can now assign the "Web Development" category to relevant projects, ensuring all web-related projects are easily identifiable and managed together in Jira.

This action simplifies organizing and classifying Jira projects, ensuring that project teams can easily locate and manage projects under relevant categories.