Duplicate a box and scope

On this page:

1 Duplicating a Box
- 1.1 Steps
- 1.2 What is duplicated
- 1.3 Box type defaults and templates
- 1.4 Inherited settings
2 Clone Scope
- 2.1 Steps
- 2.2 Which data can be clonned
- 2.3 Clone failure - required fields
3 Export and import using Jira
4 Import from a file

Duplicating a Box

You can create a new box by duplicating an existing box.

When you duplicate a box, the box configuration is copied. BigPictuer copies as much of the box setup as possible. Box type settings and defaults are ignored in favor of the exact setup of the Box you are making a copy of.

Steps

Activate the actions menu
1. by clicking on the three dots menu icon on the right OR
2. by right-clicking on a box row
Select Duplicate configuration. A box creation pop-up appears.

The following fields are pre-filled:
- Type (can’t be changed)
- Name
- Icon
- Start date
- End date
- Jira Projects (not required)
  - available only for project boxes (can’t be filled in for boxes without their own scope, such as portfolio). Box scope can be adjusted later in a box configuration.
Click Create

What is duplicated

Settings	Result

Settings	Result
Box scope	Not copied. The scope configuration is not copied. Box content is not replicated (projects, tasks, issues etc).
Sub boxes	Not copied Child boxes are not duplicated.
Reports	Not copied Existing reports are not duplicated.
Objectives	Not copied Existing objectives are not duplicated.
Box settings	The following box settings are duplicated: Modules - the list of active/inactive modules Task structure Scheduling Task scheduling mode Task scheduling mode per task type Task period alignment Workload contouring settings Box roles Column views and card views (for Overview, Gantt, Scope, Board, and Risks modules) task templates Baselines permissions settings box lead
Box type settings	The following are the same for all boxes of a given type and can’t be modified for individual boxes: Scope type Sequentiality Box period mode Scheduling Story points Story point conversion ratio enabled/disabled teams enabled (inherited and manually created)

Box type defaults and templates

When you duplicate a box, settings are duplicated directly from the box you are making a copy of. Box type templates are ignored.

Applies to:

Box roles
Column views and card views
Task templates

Default task templates are configured for the “LeSS Requirement Area” box type.

When a box is duplicated, default task templates of a box type are ignored. The actual task templates from a box are copied.

Inherited settings

Inherited settings are based on a position in a box tree and can’t be duplicated.

Clone Scope

Scope cloning creates duplicates of tasks. This action creates tasks in a box you are currently in.

Steps

Configure the box scope - cloned issues will be added to a Jira project listed in scope definition.

Click the + button (available in Gantt and Scope modules)
Select Clone existing scope. A pop-up appears.

Select:
1. A box that contains tasks to be copied (source of tasks)
2. A Jira project the duplicates will be created in (target project)

Click Clone

Which data can be clonned

Data	Cloning result (Yes / No)

Data	Cloning result (Yes / No)
Jira issue	yes
Basic tasks	no
Issue types	if possible When possible, the new issue has the same type as the one being copied. Epics and sub-tasks are cloned as the default issue type. This means that after cloning, your new project doesn’t have any epics or sub-tasks. If Jira setup allows, the new issues are cloned with the same issue type. Otherwise, the default issue type is used.
Task structure	No Structure builders aren’t cloned: Epics and sub-tasks are cloned as the default issue type. Therefore, it is not possible for an epic-based structure to be automatically recreated. The position of tasks manually moved can’t be recreated. Basic tasks aren’t cloned. Therefore, task structure based on basic tasks can’t be recreated. Versions, Components, and Sprints aren’t cloned and are not added to the target project during cloning. Therefore, the structure based on those elements cannot be automatically recreated.
Dependencies	yes
Summary	yes
Start / End date	yes The position of tasks on the timeline is preserved. Data is cloned according to field mapping.
Baseline start/end date	yes
Other fields besides Summary and synchronized date fields	no Examples: priority assignee labels team
Skills	no
Manual Colors	yes
Milestones (based on Jira issues)	yes
Milestones (based on basic tasks)	no
Estimates	Original estimate yes Story points no Remaining estimate no Time spent no
Status	no The initial status of a project workflow is applied to all copied tasks.
Version, Component, Sprint.	no During cloning, only Jira issues are created. BigPicture does not make any other changes in the target Jira project. No other items, such as versions, components, or sprints, are created.
Scheduling mode	no The scheduling mode of duplicated tasks is set based configuration of the target box.

Clone failure - required fields

For a Jira issue to be created, all required fields must be filled in. The required fields are based on Jira settings and can vary from project to project.

During cloning, BigPicture copies a limited number of fields. If any required fields in the target project aren’t filled in during cloning, issues can’t be created.

Solution 1: make fields optional (adjust Jira settings)

Solution 2: import issues instead of cloning the scope

Export and import using Jira

You can use Jira to duplicate tasks:

Export the issues using Jira
Import data to the new target project

Import from a file

Requires BigTemplate app.

Use BigPicture to import data from:

mpp
mpx
csv
xlsx
xlsx
ods

Prepare the export file
Set up a Jira project to which the tasks will be added to
Create a new Jira project. Make sure to use the 'create with shared configuration option' to make sure the new project is capable of storing the same data that is present in the exported CSV file.
Add the new project to box scope
Run import