How to Add People to JIRA Scrum Board?

How to Add People to a Jira Scrum Project

To give a team member access to a Jira Scrum board, add the person to the Jira project associated with that board and assign an appropriate project role. The exact labels may vary slightly between Jira Cloud interfaces, but the process normally starts from Project settings.

You must have permission to administer the project or manage its users and roles. If the required settings are unavailable, ask a Jira administrator or project administrator to add the person.

Step 1: Open the Scrum Project Settings

Sign in to Jira, open the Scrum project connected to the board, and click Project settings. Adding someone to a board generally means granting that person access to its underlying project.

The Project settings page opens. Select People, Access, or the equivalent user-management option shown for your project type.

Step 2: Open the Jira Project People Page

The People page lists users who already have access to the project and the roles assigned to them. If nobody has been added yet, Jira may display a message such as “There is no one in this project.” Click the Add people button in the upper-right area of the page.

Jira opens the Add people dialog.

Step 3: Find a Jira User by Name or Email Address

Enter the person’s name, group name, or email address. The available choices depend on your Jira site settings, user directory, product-access rules, and your own permissions.

Add an Existing Jira User by Name

Start typing the person’s name. Jira displays matching users in a suggestion list. Select the correct account rather than leaving only the typed text in the field.

Invite a Person by Email Address

Enter the complete email address. When Jira shows the address or matching account below the field, select it. If invitations are permitted on the site, Jira can invite a person who does not yet have an account.

Step 4: Assign the Correct Jira Project Role

Choose the project role that matches the person’s responsibilities, and then click Add. Common roles include members, developers, users, viewers, or administrators, although the available role names depend on the project’s configuration.

Do not assign the Administrators role merely because it appears as the default option. Project administrators can usually change project settings and manage access, so this role should be limited to people who need those permissions. For regular Scrum team members, select the standard member or developer role configured for the project.

Step 5: Complete the Jira Email Invitation

If the selected person already has the required Jira account and product access, the account may be added to the project immediately.

If the person is new to the Jira site, the People page may show an INVITED status next to the account. Jira sends an invitation to the email address entered during the previous step.

The invited person must open the email and follow its account-setup link. A first-time user may be asked to provide a name, create or confirm login credentials, and accept the invitation before opening the project.

After the person accepts the invitation, refresh the People page and verify that the account is active and assigned to the intended project role.

Verify Access to the Jira Scrum Board

Ask the user to open the project and its Scrum board. Confirm that the person can see the expected backlog, active sprint, and issues. Being listed on the People page does not always guarantee access to every board or issue because Jira permissions, issue security, and board filters can impose additional restrictions.

• Confirm that the user has access to the Jira product used by the project.
• Confirm that the assigned project role receives the required Browse Projects permission.
• Check whether the board filter includes projects the user cannot access.
• Check issue-security settings if only some issues are missing.
• Use a non-administrator role unless the user must manage project settings.

Why an Added User Cannot See the Scrum Board

If a person appears in the project but cannot open the Scrum board, review the following common causes:

• Invitation not accepted: The account may still have an invited or pending status.
• Missing product access: The user may have an account but no access to the required Jira product.
• Insufficient project permissions: The assigned role may not include permission to browse the project.
• Restricted board filter: The Scrum board may use a saved filter that the user cannot view or that references another restricted project.
• Issue security: Security levels may prevent the user from viewing particular issues even when the board itself opens.

Jira Scrum Board Access Questions

Can I add someone to only one Jira Scrum board?

Access is usually controlled through the project, project roles, permissions, and the board’s saved filter rather than through a simple board-member list. A Jira administrator may need to adjust the permission scheme or filter sharing when access must be limited to a particular board.

Why is the Add people button missing in Jira?

The button may be hidden when your account does not have permission to administer the project or manage project access. It may also appear under a differently named access page for another Jira project type.

Should every Scrum team member be a Jira project administrator?

No. Assign a regular member, user, or developer role unless the person needs to change project settings, roles, or access. Limiting administrator permissions reduces accidental configuration changes.

Can a Jira user be added without sending an invitation?

An existing user with the necessary site and product access can normally be added directly to the project. A new user generally needs an account invitation, subject to the organization’s Jira user-management policies.

Jira Scrum Project Access Summary

Open the Scrum project’s settings, select its People or Access page, add the user by name or email address, and assign the least-privileged role that meets the user’s responsibilities. After an invited user completes account setup, verify access to the project, Scrum board, backlog, and relevant issues. In this JIRA Tutorial, we learned how project membership, roles, permissions, and invitations work together when adding people to a Jira Scrum board.