One SourceMelbourne Airport Rail · Stage 1

One Source

Our Jira platform to manage communication and engagement activities.

How the Melbourne Airport Rail Stage 1 team plans, tracks and governs its communication and engagement work, all in one place.

Melbourne Airport Rail
Layer 1

What the system does

Learn what the platform is and how Jira works, from logging in to creating and running tasks. Online training, step by step.

Open training
Layer 2

The system in action

Guided walkthroughs for the everyday tasks: creating items correctly, keeping them current, archiving and more.

Open walkthroughs
Layer 3

Outside the system

The governance and sustainment work that keeps the platform reliable: roles, meetings, reviews and improvement.

Open instructions

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers to the most common questions about the platform.

Getting started
Check your junk or spam folder first. If the invite isn't there, ask your Manager to resend it from Jira. You won't be able to log in until the invite has been accepted.
Your role probably hasn't been assigned yet. Boards are only visible once your access level is active. Contact your Manager or PIIT - they can confirm your role and which boards you should see.
Editors can create, update, and move items on the board. Viewers can read and comment but cannot create or move items. Most pilot users are Editors. Your role is assigned by PIIT.
The basics
An epic is the parent - the big piece of work (e.g. a briefing cycle, a factsheet). Tasks sit under the epic and represent distinct pieces of work, each with a single owner. Subtasks sit under a task and break it down further - used when multiple people need to track their own steps independently.
Everything. Jira is the team's system of record for all communication and engagement work - including recurring coordination like monthly meetings, short turnaround items, and review tasks. If it requires coordination or has an owner, it belongs on the board.
Complete the task’s required fields - Name, Description, Assignee, Reporter, Alliance and a URL, plus a Due date where known - and make sure the correct Component is set so the item appears on the right board. This keeps the board readable and actionable for everyone.
Reviews
Sequential review: one subtask moves between reviewers in order - when the first reviewer is done, they reassign it to the next with a comment. Use this when reviewers need to build on each other's feedback.

Parallel review: each reviewer gets their own subtask and they work simultaneously. Use this when reviewers are independent. The Stakeholder Meeting and Tottenham Factsheet walkthroughs in Layer 2 have both as worked examples.
Day-to-day
No - each task has one Assignee who is accountable for it. If multiple people need to track their own work, use subtasks and assign each subtask to its owner.
The Reporter is the person accountable for the task - they are notified automatically when the status or Assignee changes. Jira defaults this to whoever creates the task. If you're setting up a task on behalf of someone else, update the Reporter to the right person.
The internal team member retains ownership and stays as the Assignee. Use the comment field to log correspondence, approvals, and outcomes from external parties. External parties do not have board access unless PIIT provisions it.
Board health
Within 5 working days of any change. Any item inactive for 30 days or more must be reviewed and either updated or closed. Your Manager is accountable for board health and will follow up on stale items at the monthly governance review.
Review it. If the work is still live, update the status and add a comment logging where things are at. If the work is no longer proceeding, move it to Cancelled - do not delete it. If you're unsure, raise it with your Manager.
Done means the work was completed. Cancelled means it was decided not to proceed. Both close the item on the board. Do not delete items - deletion removes the record permanently and is only for correcting errors.
Getting help
Start with your Manager - they are accountable for board health and can action or escalate most issues. For access problems, configuration issues, or anything that needs platform-level action, escalate to PIIT.
/The platform
Layer 1 · Online training

What the system does

The platform is the team's live operational tool and the single source of truth for every communication and engagement activity. These training modules walk you through Jira from end to end. Pick a topic to launch its slideshow.

Knowledge check

One short check covering every module on this page. Mix of scenarios and true/false, with feedback as you go.

Start check
/The system in action
Layer 2 · The system in action

The system in action

The everyday tasks, each as a careful walkthrough you can follow click by click. These cover the in-system rules at the moment they apply. Pick a task to launch its walkthrough.

Knowledge check

One short check covering every walkthrough on this page. Mix of scenarios and true/false, with feedback as you go.

Start check
/Outside it
Layer 3 · Guided walkthroughs

Outside the system

The platform stays trustworthy because people look after it. Each walkthrough below steps through a part of that work, who is accountable, what they do, and when. Pick one to launch its slideshow.

Knowledge check

One short check covering every governance walkthrough on this page. Mix of scenarios and true/false, with feedback as you go.

Start check
/Glossary
Reference

Glossary

Key terms used across the platform. If a word or phrase is unfamiliar, check here first.

Term
Definition
Assignee
The person responsible for progressing and updating the item. The assignee is usually the person completing the work or managing the next action.
Board health
How current, accurate and complete a board is. A healthy board has up-to-date statuses, no overdue items and all required fields completed. Managers are responsible for keeping their board healthy.
Boards
Boards are the main workspaces in Jira. They group related work together and help teams organise tasks by topic, project area or workstream. The boards align with SharePoint folders.
Checklist
A simple list of actions or items that need to be completed within a task or sub-task. A checklist can be used to keep track of smaller requirements without creating additional sub-tasks.
Comment
A note added to a task or sub-task to record progress, decisions or correspondence. Comments are timestamped and visible to everyone with access to the board. Use the comment field to log approvals and outcomes, particularly for external reviews.
Components
The field that links an item to its board. Each board is set up to show a specific component, so selecting the correct component is what makes an Epic or task appear on the right board. Choose from the existing component values rather than creating new ones.
Editor
A user who can create, update and move items on a board. Most pilot users are Editors. Roles are assigned by PIIT.
Epic
The overarching piece of work or heading for a group of works. Also referred to as a “container” that groups related tasks together. Think of an Epic as the overall project, activity or deliverable.
External review
The item is being reviewed by someone outside VIDA or the Alliances who does not have access to Jira. The task should stay assigned to an internal owner, who is responsible for managing the external review, leaving updates in comments and moving the task forward when feedback is received.
For You page
A personalised view showing all the items assigned to you across every board in one place. It is read-only, so update items from the board rather than from this view.
Internal review
The item is being reviewed by someone within VIDA or the Alliances who has access to Jira. Reviewers may be assigned to a sub-task while the parent task remains in internal review status.
Kanban
The default board view in Jira. Kanban shows work as task cards that move across status columns from left to right, helping the team see what is planned, in progress, in review, on hold or complete.
List view
An alternative way to view Jira items as a list rather than cards on a board. List view can make it easier to see all Epics, tasks and sub-tasks in one place, check details quickly, or create and update items.
Manager
A user with additional access permissions in Jira. Managers can complete actions that general users cannot, such as deleting tasks. Manager access will be controlled by PIIT at the start.
On hold
Work has paused and is not currently progressing. This may be because the team is waiting for information, a decision, feedback, approval or another dependency before the item can move forward.
Parent/child item
Shows how items are connected. The parent item sits above, and the child item underneath. For example, an Epic is the parent item of a task, and a task is a parent item of a sub task.
PIIT
The team that manages the Jira platform. PIIT looks after setup, user access and permissions, and is the only team that can add new users, provision external access or create dropdown values. Contact PIIT (or your Manager) for anything that needs platform-level action.
Reporter
The person who created, requested or oversees the item. The reporter may not be completing the work day to day, but they need visibility of progress and updates.
Required fields
The information that must be completed when creating or updating an Epic or task. Required fields help make sure work is clear, searchable and easy to manage.
  • Name
  • Description
  • Assignee
  • Reporter
  • Alliance
  • URL
  • Due date, where known or relevant
TIP: A task must be linked to a “parent item” Epic. An Epic must have at least one “child item” task for it to appear on the Kanban board. Both the Epic and task also need the correct Component set - this is what places them on the right board.
Sandbox
A practice area in Jira where you can try creating items, navigating and testing workflows without affecting real data. Anything you do in the sandbox stays there and does not appear on the live boards.
SharePoint
The Microsoft platform where the team’s files and folders are stored. Jira boards are aligned to SharePoint folders so work in Jira maps to where the related documents live.
Status
The stage an item is at in the workflow. Statuses show what is happening with the work, such as whether it is in progress, being reviewed, on hold or complete.
Sub-task
A smaller step within a task. Sub-tasks break down the work into the actions needed to complete the task, such as drafting copy, completing an internal review, sending content for approval or uploading a final version.
Task
An individual work item that needs to be completed as part of an Epic. A task should have a clear output, owner and status so the team can see what needs to be done and who is progressing it.
Viewer
A user who can read and comment on items but cannot create or move them. Roles are assigned by PIIT.
Watch task
A way to follow an item and receive updates without being the assignee or reporter. Select the eye icon on the task card to watch the task.
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