This article is part of our series on Lean Platforms, soon featuring as a chapter in our up and coming free, downloadable eBook

Issue tracking, critical for managing software development, is a tug-of-war between Developers and Stakeholders: 

💻 Developers want to keep things simple so they can focus on writing code, not dealing with extra process overhead. Tools like GitHub or Gitlab fit this mindset perfectly.  

‍💼 Stakeholders need structured progress tracking to manage timelines and ensure accountability, which is why tools like Jira are built for them.  

The problem is, Jira just doesn’t vibe with how developers work. Many teams find themselves spending hours updating tickets instead of writing code. Dependencies between issues are hard to track, and miscommunications multiply, leading to duplicated work and missed deadlines. Some teams try juggling both tools, but that usually ends up with a scattered setup, zero visibility, and deadlines getting blown. 

Teams need a way to bring these two worlds together, keeping things simple for developers while giving stakeholders clear visibility. The question is: how can this be done without adding more complexity or chaos? 

In this article, we’ll focus on GitHub and Jira as concrete examples. We’ll take a look at the two models of issue tracking, the hidden cost of tool misalignment and the chaos of mixing systems. Then we’ll see how organizations following Lean Platforms use BuildMaster to bridge the gap, syncing issues automatically and giving teams a single clear view of progress. 

The Two Worlds of Issue Tracking 

Issue tracking systems generally fall into two distinct categories; lightweight tools favored by developers and structured platforms preferred by stakeholders: 

Simplistic Checklist Systems (e.g., GitHub Issues) 

♥ Loved by:  Developers: 

GitHub Issues and similar tools are popular with developers because they’re simple and quick. The open/closed model feels natural, tagging is easy, and the interface stays out of the way of coding. These tools help devs stay focused without getting bogged down by extra process, making them great for fast-moving development teams.

⛔ Pain Points: 

The simplicity that devs love in these tools can frustrate stakeholders. They don’t have structured workflows, so tracking progress through stages or figuring out what’s actually ready for release is tough. Tags tend to get messy and inconsistent over time—some call it “tag hell.” Without clear visibility into the process, stakeholders are left clueless, and teams find it hard to gauge release readiness, which leads to confusion and missed expectations.

Workflow-Based Systems (e.g., Jira) 

♥ Loved by: Stakeholders: 

Jira and other structured tracking tools are built with stakeholders in mind. They offer clear workflows, detailed status updates, and auditing features. Managers and product owners get a solid view of how work moves through different stages, which is key for planning, keeping everyone accountable, and coordinating across teams. 

⛔ Pain Points: 

For devs, though, these systems can feel clunky and slow. The interface is often overwhelming, and constantly updating things manually is a hassle. This leads to skipped steps, outdated statuses, and devs just checking out. Plus, Jira’s rigid setup doesn’t scale well for small, fast-moving tasks, so it’s not great for the quick, iterative pace of modern development. As a result, developers often avoid it whenever they can. 

The Antipattern: Two Birds with One Stone 

To try and meet the needs of both developers and stakeholders, lots of teams try a dual-tool setup. Devs stick to GitHub, while stakeholders keep tabs in Jira. It sounds like it should work, but it ends up creating a messy, fragmented system where nobody has full visibility.

With updates happening in two separate places, information quickly becomes inconsistent. Devs get annoyed with duplicated work and switching contexts, while stakeholders are stuck with Jira dashboards that are often outdated or missing key details. The result? Siloed chaos, clashing priorities, busted communication, and a constant fight to stay on the same page. 

This disconnect causes more than just annoyance. Without a clear, shared view of what’s going on, updates fall through the cracks. Releases get delayed or go out with missing pieces. Devs burn out from chasing status updates or juggling two systems. Stakeholders get fed up with the lack of clarity and unmet expectations. In the end, nobody’s on the same page, and that misalignment can seriously mess with your release timelines.

BuildMaster: Unifying Simplicity and Structure 

A single source of truth 

BuildMaster bridges the gap between simplicity and structure by letting teams use Jira, GitHub, or both, without demanding a tradeoff. Developers can keep working in GitHub, stakeholders can stay in Jira, and both groups get exactly what they need. It centralizes real-time information so that everyone is aligned around the same workflow, regardless of which tool they prefer. Everyone works from the same real-time data, eliminating silos and miscommunication. 

BuildMaster makes Jira feel as lightweight and intuitive as GitHub for developers—while preserving the structured, auditable workflows that stakeholders rely on. It becomes a shared foundation that supports clarity and coordination across the whole organization.  It models your actual workflow by mirroring Jira-style pipelines while automating the tedious parts. Scripts can be written to move Issues automatically through stages as code is committed, tested, or deployed, eliminating the need for manual status updates.  

Developers see only what they need; one simple status per issue, while stakeholders gain full visibility through real-time dashboards. 

Every issue is tied to a release, and BuildMaster won’t let code deploy unless all related issues are marked as ready to do so.

Once deployed to production, issues are closed automatically. For lighter workflows, GitHub Issues can be integrated directly into this pipeline too, allowing teams to track everything in one place without losing agility or control. 

Bringing Two Worlds of Issue Tracking Together 

Too many teams are forced to choose between developer-friendly tools like GitHub Issues and stakeholder-oriented platforms like Jira. Some even try to split the difference by using both, but that usually creates a fragmented, siloed mess. The result isn’t just inefficiency—it’s demoralizing. Developers feel burdened by overhead, and stakeholders are left guessing from the lack of clarity and coordination. 

Organizations that follow a Lean Platforms methodology use BuildMaster to eliminate this tradeoff by connecting GitHub and Jira into a single, streamlined workflow. It automates issue updates, ties work directly to releases, and gives both developers and stakeholders a shared, real-time view of progress. Developers get the simplicity they need to stay productive; stakeholders get the structure and visibility they need to manage outcomes.  

The practices we covered here are just one of the ways that organizations use Lean Platforms to improve their workflow. Learn more about other tenants of Lean Platforms, including Dual Cadence Releases, Backlog Elimination, and Real Time Information Dashboards, in our free upcoming eBook, Lean Platforms: Engineering and Orchestration. Reserve your free copy now!

Want to discover how Lean Platforms allows you to roll out innovative updates to your applications while keeping stability and speed intact? Schedule a chat with one of our experts today!