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Using the Roadmap


Roadmaps for Agile boards



Once the Epic Roadmap has been installed, each available board in Jira will have an associated roadmap. The roadmap timeline will display Epic Issues and Issues under the Epics based on the selected board's filter. With additional boards and filters, you can create and manage multi-project Epic Roadmaps and views.

Boards in projects

After you installed the app, each available board in a project will have an associated roadmap if the given project explicitly appears in a board filter (eg. "project in (a, b, c)"). Basically, if a board appears in the project board selector, it will also have a roadmap in that project. 

These roadmaps that are available in projects will use the settings that you configured in the board settings

Users can view and select the desired roadmap from the drop-down list located in the upper-left corner.

Boards without projects

Boards that not visible in the projects also have a roadmap by default. These roadmaps will work almost the same way as the roadmaps in projects, but there are limitations due to the lack of project context.

These roadmaps will use the settings that you configured in the global settings by default. 


You can easily open the board/roadmap configuration from the roadmap with the settings button.


Timeline



  • The roadmap timeline will display Epic Issues and Issues under the Epics based on the selected board's filter
    • The roadmap will display the Summary of the Issues by default.
    • By default, the timeline will display:
      • The last year
      • The current year
      • The next year
    • You can change the order of the Epis Issues (and the Issues under them) by simple drag and drop
  • Each Epic and Issue has a bar, representing a date range. The date range will have your configured fields as Start and End date.
    • If an Issue doesn't have a set start or end date, the ends of the horizontal bar will appear rounded. 
    • If no start date is set, the epic will automatically begin on the day the first issue was added.
    • If no end date is set, the epic will automatically end one month from the day it was created.
  • You can change the date range easily
    • Drag its left and right edges to adjust the date range
    • Drag the bar and move it left or right to change the date range
  • Bars and their dates will become more transparent once their due date has passed.
  • You can manage your Issue bars on Quarterly, Monthly and Weekly timeline view
  • You can navigate forward and backward on the timeline using the slider. Use the Today button to navigate to the current date.

(warning) *The roadmap displays up to the first 1000 Epic Issues based on the Created Date. If your filter contains more than a thousand Epics, we recommend filtering them down.


Linked issues under Epics

You can display, manage and schedule issues linked under Epic issues on the timeline. An icon will appear for each Epic issue that has linked issues. Clicking on this icon opens the Epic issue. The Epic column on the left side will display the linked issues.


Filtering



Date range filter

You can set the displayed timeline for the Epics and Issues with the date range picker 

  • Select the desired start date and end date for the timeline
  • By default, the timeline will display: the last year, the current year, the next year
  • Click on the "Reset filter" button to set the timeline to the default view

You can use the search field to search and filter for Epics or linked Issues based on their Issue key and summary.

Other filters

You can filter the Epic and the linked Issues on the roadmap based on the following Issue fields/properties:

  • Assignee
  • Status
  • Issue type
  • Affected/Fixed version(s)
  • Sprint
  • Component(s)

When a filter is selected, the roadmap will display Epic Issues and/or Issues in Epics that are match the filter.


Quick filters

You can filter the Epic and linked Issues on the roadmap with your boards' Quick filters. 

  • Select the desired Quick filter and the roadmap will only display the Epics based on it.
  • You can select multiple quick filters at the same time.
  • (warning) Epics cannot be sorted manually if a quick filter is applied.


View Options



Hide Completed Epics

When this options is checked, Epics with "Done" status category (and their linked Issues) won't be shown on the roadmap timeline.



Show Epics only

When this options is checked, only the Epic Issues will be shown on the roadmap timeline.



More Details

You can display additional information about the Issues on the timeline with the Options button:

  • Show Status
  • Show Dates
  • Show Progress
  • Show Issue Key
  • Show Dependencies
  • Show Markers
  • Show Assignee
  • Show Sprints
  • Show Duration
  • Show Epic Name
  • Show Behind Schedule
  • Show Priority

Show Status

If this option is checked, the statues of the Issues will be displayed on the timeline next to their summary.

Show Dates

If this option is checked, the Start and End dates of the Issues will always be visible on the timeline next to the bars.

Show Progress

If this option is checked, the progress of the Epics will be visible below the Epic Summary.

You can track the progress towards completion for Epics by hovering over the progress bar of an Epic. It will display the following information about the issues within the Epic:

  • number of done issues / all issues
  • number of unestimated issues 
  • roll up estimate for the issues
  • roll up remaining for the issues
  • the % of estimated work that has been completed 


Show Issue Key

If this option is checked, the Issue Key of the Epics will be visible next to their Summary.


Show Dependencies

If this option is checked, the Issue links will be visible between the Issue bars.


Show Markers

If this option is checked, the Date and Version markers will be visible on the timeline.


Show Assignee

If this option is checked, the current assignee of the Issues will be visible next to their Summary. Hovering the cursor above the assignee profile picture will show the username.


Show Sprints

If this option is checked, the Sprint markers will be visible on the timeline.


Show Duration

If this option is checked, the duration of the Issue will appear on the bar. The duration is the sum of the business days between the start and end dates (Monday through Friday).


Show Epic name

Select Show Epic name to display the name of the epic instead of its summary. Hovering the mouse cursor above the Epic will display the Epic name or the Epic summary depending this option's state.


Show Behind Schedule

If this option is checked, a red triangle will be visible on the Issues when the configured End Date of the issue is before today, and the Issue's status category is not "done".


Show Priority

If this option is checked, the Issue priority will be visible on the Epics and on the linked Issues.


Epic Order



Use default order

By default, Epic Roadmap will load the Epics in the order saved in the filter. After it, you can re-order these Epics with an easy drag and drop solution, and create your unique order in that roadmap. This order will be saved in the app for that roadmap each time you re-order the Epics.

Use board filter order

If you want to display the Epics in the order saved in your filter, you can select this option. Note however, that in this case, you won't be able change the order of the Epics displayed on the timeline.




Last updated timestamp



The interface will display who and when changed something last on the roadmap. (eg.: order, start date, due date)

(warning) This timestamp will not reflect if an epic was updated somewhere else, like on the Issue screen or on any board.


Markers



You can manage date markers to represent milestones or releases.

  • You can add, edit or remove custom date or version marker on the roadmap.
  • The name and the date will be displayed in a tooltip over the marker.
    • In case of version markers, the Project name will be also visible.

You can reschedule a milestone marker by simple moving it with drag and drop.

If there are multiple markers for the same date, the number of the markers will be displayed on the marker. In case of multiple markers, the marker color will be always grey.

To manage the markers, click on the number. Here you can:

  • view the date for them
  • edit the markers
  • delete the markers

Milestone Marker

You can add custom date markers to represent milestones or events.

  1. Click on the "Markers" button.
  2. Select "Milestone marker" tab
  3. Provide the name of the marker
  4. Select the date of the marker
  5. Select the color of the marker
  6. Click on "Add marker" button

You can also viewedit or remove your milestone markers here.

Version marker

You can add versions as markers to the roadmap. The marker will represent the verion's release date.

  1. Click on the "Markers" button.
  2. Select "Version marker" tab
  3. Select the version
  4. Select the color of the marker
  5. Click on "Add marker" button

You can also

  • view,
  • edit the color of this marker,
  • remove the version markers from the roadmap


Sprint marker


If there are available sprints for the board, you can display them on the roadmap. When using sprint markers, the interval between the sprint start and end date will be colored with orange color. The active sprints will be marked as "active" in the name.

If the board is not "Scrum" type, or there are no available sprints for the board, the markers cannot be shown and the option will be disabled in the display option dropdown.





Dependency lines



You can visualize dependencies between Issues

The Issue link between two Epics or Issues will be represented as a line on the Roadmap timeline. You can view the issue link type's name on the line, eg.: Blocks, Clones, etc. With the help of the dependency lines, you can view if one issue is blocking the progress of another, or two issue that impact one another.

The starting point of the lines depends on whether the links are configured as an outward or inward link. The outward link is always to the right of the bar and the inward is always to the left.

(warning) The line will turn red if the Issues' dates overlap.

View details about the dependencies

Click on the dependency name to view:

  • The Issue and its' due date of the outward-bound Issue
  • The Issue and its' start date of the inward-bound Issue
  • The outward link's name between the two Issues

(warning) The line will turn red if the Issues' dates overlap.



Create Epic Issue



To create an Epic Issue, click the + below the Epics in the first column.


Change Epic colors



Epic bars on the roadmap will be in the same color as in your Agile project.

To change the color of the Epic, you can

Issue bars under Epics will be always visible in the same color as their Epic Issue bars.



Epic details



Click on the Epic to view it in more detailOn this view the following fields can be displayed and edited:

  • Issue Key
  • Summary
  • Status
  • Epic Name
  • Start Date (the configured date field in roadmap settings)
  • Due Date (the configured date field in roadmap settings)
  • Estimated
  • Remaining
  • Logged (not editable)
  • Sprint
  • Story Points
  • Components
  • Labels
  • Affect versions(s)
  • Fixed versions(s)
  • Reporter
  • Assignee
  • Description
  • Issues in Epic
  • Linked Issues
  • Activity
    • Comment
    • Work Log
    • History

(info) These fields will be present in the details view only if they are visible (not hidden) in the project's Field Configuration.

(info) These fields will be editable on this view only if they are on the Edit Issue screen.


Issue details



Click on the Issue to view it in more detailOn this view the following fields can be displayed and edited:

  • Issue Key
  • Summary
  • Status
  • Epic Name
  • Start Date (the configured date field in roadmap settings)
  • Due Date (the configured date field in roadmap settings)
  • Estimated
  • Remaining
  • Logged (not editable)
  • Sprint
  • Story Points
  • Components
  • Labels
  • Affect versions(s)
  • Fixed versions(s)
  • Reporter
  • Assignee
  • Description
  • Sub-tasks
  • Linked Issues
  • Activity
    • Comment
    • Work Log
    • History

(info) These fields will be present in the details view only if they are visible (not hidden) in the project's Field Configuration.

(info) These fields will be editable on this view only if they are on the Edit Issue screen.



Issue actions


The following Issue actions are avaliable on the Epic Details view with the "..." menu:

  • View Issue

  • Edit

  • Log work

  • Agile Board

  • Add vote/Remove vote

  • Voters

  • Start watching/Stop watching

  • Watchers

  • Create sub-task

  • Move

  • Clone

  • Delete

  • Permission helper

  • Notification helper

You can also change the Issue status by simply clikcing on the status field.


Epic completion information

You can track the progress towards completion for Epics by hovering over the progress bar of an Epic. It will display the following information about the issues within the Epic:

  • number of done issues / all issues
  • number of unestimated issues 
  • roll up estimate for the issues
  • roll up remaining for the issues
  • the % of estimated work that has been completed 


You can view and add Epic link to Issues.

  1. Click on the + icon
  2. Select the Issue for the Epic Link
  3. Press "Link" button to save it

You can also remove the link by clicking on the X icon on the right side of the Issue.


You can view and link other Issues to the selected Epic or Issue.

  1. Click on the + icon
  2. Select the link type
  3. Select the Issue for linking
  4. Press "Link" button to save it

You can also remove the link by clicking on the X icon on the right side of the Issue.


Baselines



With the baseline feature, you can save snapshots about your current roadmap bars and then visualise them with the actual timeline bars. You can use these saved baselines to plan or review your roadmap.

Create and manage your baselines


You can create a baseline about your actual roadmap with a unique name.

The created baselines will be displayed in the “Baseline” menu with their names and date time in a descending order.

You can easily delete a baseline clicking on the trash icon.

Display baseline bars on your roadmap


You can select one of your created baseline to display the saved state of the bars. In this way, you can compare their schedule with the actual timeline bar schedule.

The earlier states of the bars for the Issues will be displayed with grey color on the roadmap. These bars are not movable/editable.

The “Show dates” and “Show duration” display options will also apply to baseline bars as well as current bars for ease of understanding.

Restore baseline


You can restore a selected baseline. As a result of the restore, all Issues' Start and End date will be restored on the roadmap based on the baseline.

(warning) NOTE: Restoring a baseline will always affect the Start and End dates currently set for the board / roadmap and will not be taken into account if the configured fields have changed.



Export



You can export your timeline to a PNG image with the Export button. The button will open the roadmap’s read-only export screen. This will load all timeline data on the screen and it might take a few minutes to finish. 

On the export dialog, select "Display Epic Links under Epic Issues" option if you want to display the linked issues under the Epic issues on the export screen. (warning) You cannot change this on the export screen.

When the export screen is ready, you can review it and download the timeline with the "Download" button to PNG image file.

The exported image will contain:

  • the timeline and Epics in the selected date interval
  • all information that you selected in the Options (markers, dates, etc.)