PlantUML and Jira: Combining Forces to Simplify Gantt Chart Creation
Tags: plantuml, jira, gantcharts, projectmanagment
Published: 2023-04-21 15:56:35

Are you tired of manually creating Gantt charts to track your project's progress? Look no further than PlantUML and Jira! These two powerful tools can combine forces to simplify the process and save you time.

To get started, you'll need to extract the Jira tickets related to an Epic. Don't worry, it's easier than it sounds. Simply navigate to your Epic in Jira and select the "Export" option. From there, choose "Excel (all fields)" and save the file to your computer.

Now that you have your Jira tickets, it's time to create your PlantUML file for the Gantt chart. If you're not familiar with PlantUML, it's a tool that allows you to create diagrams using a simple text syntax. To create a Gantt chart, you'll need to use the "gantt" keyword followed by the tasks and their start and end dates.

To incorporate your Jira tickets, you can add them as tasks in your PlantUML file using the Jira ticket number as the task name. You can also include additional information such as the task assignee and due date.

Here is an example of what your PlantUML code might look like:


```
@startgantt
Project starts the 2023-04-21
Project starts the 21th of april 2023


[Jira Ticket-1] starts 2023-04-21 and  lasts  3 days 
[Jira Ticket-2] starts 2023-04-24 and  lasts  2 days 
[Jira Ticket-3] starts 2023-04-26 and  lasts  1 days 
[Jira Ticket-4] starts 2023-04-27 and  lasts  4 days 
[Jira Ticket-5] starts 2023-05-03 and  lasts  2 days 
[Jira Ticket-6] starts 2023-05-05 and  lasts  1 days 
[Jira Ticket-7] starts 2023-05-06 and  lasts  3 days 
[Jira Ticket-8] starts 2023-05-10 and  lasts  2 days 
[Jira Ticket-9] starts 2023-05-12 and  lasts  3 days 
[Jira Ticket-10] starts 2023-05-15 and lasts 1 days 


@endgantt

```


For generating a PNG you just call 
```
java -jar plantuml.jar path/to/your/file -tpng -o path/for/outpu/
```
Once you have your PlantUML file set up, it's time to generate the Gantt chart. There are several ways to do this, but one popular option is to use the PlantUML extension for Visual Studio Code. Simply open your PlantUML file in Visual Studio Code and use the extension to generate the Gantt chart.

Of course, there are other ways to connect the dependencies between the tickets and add more information. You can find [here](https://plantuml.com/de/gantt-diagram) more documentation, and perhaps other ideas for creating a quick timeline for your project. 

And there you have it, a Gantt chart created from your Jira tickets using PlantUML! Not only does this simplify the process, but it also ensures that your Gantt chart is up-to-date with your project's progress.

So next time you need to create a Gantt chart, consider using PlantUML and Jira. It may not be as exciting as a superhero team-up, but it will certainly make your project management tasks more efficient.

In conclusion, by combining PlantUML and Jira, you can create Gantt charts quickly and easily. With just a few simple steps, you'll have a comprehensive overview of your project's progress. So why not give it a try and see how much time you can save?