Why we switched from GitHub issues to Jira to ClickUp

Over a 15-month period, the Swimm team tested three project management tools—GitHub Issues, Jira, and ClickUp—to meet their specific needs for managing frequent product version deployments, cross-department collaboration, and efficient organizational hierarchy. GitHub Issues proved to be developer-friendly and easy to integrate with GitHub pull requests but lacked the necessary project hierarchy and filtering capabilities for managing minor versions and creating release notes. Jira, though well-known and customizable, was found to have a non-intuitive interface and cumbersome sprint management, leading to inefficiencies in task handling. Ultimately, ClickUp emerged as the preferred tool, providing a simple hierarchical structure through "Spaces," folders, and lists that addressed all their requirements, including version management, cross-department communication, and flexible project handling. ClickUp's additional features such as automations, smart filtering, and integrations with tools like GitHub, Figma, and Slack further enhanced its utility, despite concerns about an increasingly cluttered interface. The experience underscores the importance of selecting a scalable project management tool tailored to a team's specific workflow and collaboration needs.