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Concept of a field
Introduction
The App visualizes information based on the integrations you have set up. Values of fields in Jira, Trello, etc., have to be mapped to fields available within the App. Information about the data source can be listed in the “origin” column and shown as an appropriate icon.
There are two possible field options:
native external tool fields - they display the value from an external platform; if the value is unavailable, it is left empty (if a column is supposed to display Jira “Start Date,” nothing can be displayed for a Trello task - the task doesn’t exist in Jira, so the App can’t find a value for it)
built-in fields.
Built-in fields can take information from various external platforms and map it to a built-in field, effectively letting you see a single column showing values for multiple types of tasks coming from a multitude of external platforms and from native BigPicture elements.
When adding a column, the icon on the right indicates what data will be shown - will it be based on a value of a Jira field, Trello field, or is it a built-in field (the last option in the picture above).
In the below example, three icon columns have been added to show the difference between them.
Left = Jira
Middle = Trello
Right = Built-in
The Jira icon column displays values coming from Jira only. This means that for Trello cards and Basic tasks, nothing is displayed.
The Trello icon column displays values coming from Trello only. This means that for Jira issues and Basic tasks, nothing is displayed.
The Built-in icon column displays all values; it finds the appropriate field value in both Jira and Trello and displays them. Native BigPicture Basic tasks are also included.
Hover your cursor over any field value to see the present setup of the column.
For example, the “Assignee” column below uses a built-in field.
Custom fields created at the BigPicture installation
When you install BigPicture, the App will automatically create the following custom fields:
Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Baseline end date | Date Picker | Baseline end date field used by SoftwarePlant plugins |
Baseline start date | Date Picker | Baseline start date field used by SoftwarePlant plugins |
End date | Date Picker | End date field used by SoftwarePlant plugins |
Progress | Number Field | Progress field used by SoftwarePlant plugins (BigPicture, BigGantt) |
Start date | Date Picker | Start date field used by SoftwarePlant plugins |
Task mode | Select List (single choice) | Task mode field used by SoftwarePlant plugins |
Task progress | Number Field | Progress field used by SoftwarePlant plugins (BigPicture, BigGantt) |
Risk consequence | Select List (single choice) | Risk Consequence field used by BigPicture plugin |
Risk probability | Select List (single choice) | Risk Probability field used by BigPicture plugin |
Program Increment | Text Field (single line) | Program Increment field created by BigPicture |
You can check these fields by navigating to Jira administration (cog icon) > Issues > Custome fields and searching by SoftwarePlant or BigPicture.
Mapping Options for Built-in Fields
Built-in fields can function in the following ways:
configurable fields (e.g., End Date)
non-configurable fields (e.g., summary)
native App fields (don’t correspond to any external tool)
fields that vary depending on the external platform (for example, mapping of a field can be changed for Jira but not for Trello; or a field exists in one external platform but not in another)
Configurable Fields
For some fields, you can select what value you want to use.
For example, on the App Configuration > General > Fields page, you define synchronization rules - “End date” could be mapped to Jira “Due date” field → in such case, the built-in end date of the App effectively displays the same value as Jira due date.
Available options vary across external platforms (something can be ‘mappable’ in Jira but not in Trello). You can change the mapping of an “End date” for Jira and decide to use the “Due date” Jira value as an end date, but you can’t change the settings for Trello.
Effectively, the built-in “End date” field will display:
For Jira, what has been specified in the App Configuration (in the example below, “Due date” has been used)
Trello due date (Trello doesn’t have an “End Date” - due date will always be used to populate the built-in “End date” field)
Non-Configurable Fields
You can’t change the mapping.
For example, Summary in Jira = summary built-in, and this cannot be changed. You can’t decide that a built-in “summary” will display “description” or anything else. The built-in summary will always display the same value as the Jira summary.
Native App Fields
The field exists only in the App and can’t be found in Jira, Trello, or any other connected tool.
For example, the “Color”, and “Task ID” fields.
Some native fields, such as “Milestone,” can be mapped to external tools in Configuration.
Fields that vary depending on the external tool
Some fields, depending on the external platform, may not have an easy corresponding value. For example, Assignee is easily found in Jira (the built-in field can display the value), but Trello doesn’t have a corresponding field (members can be added to a card, but no single person is assigned). This is why a built-in Assignee column will not display any value for Trello cards. Basic Tasks also don’t have an assignee that could be listed in the column.
Built-in fields matrix
The table below provides you with an overview of how built-in fields function in the App.
Task Attribute | Mapped to External Platform | Mapped to External Platform | Available for Basic Tasks | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Icon | YES | NO | YES | If an icon is not available on the external platform, the default icon will be used (same as for Basic Tasks) |
Key | YES | NO | YES | The built-in “Key” column will aggregate issue/task/card keys from different platforms and display them in a single column. A “Key” field cannot be modified to display any different value. |
Summary | YES | NO | YES | A built-in summary field cannot be removed. The mapping of the field can’t be changed. |
Start date | YES | YES | YES | The mapping of the start date (built-in) field for Jira can be changed in the App Configuration. Trello cards don’t have a start date. A built-in field uses the due date value (effectively, built-in field start and end dates of Trello cards are both mapped to Trello due date). Basic Task dates are displayed in a built-in Start date column. |
End date | YES | YES | YES | |
Baseline start date | YES | YES | YES | |
Baseline end date | YES | YES | YES | |
Progress | YES | YES | YES | |
Milestone | YES | YES | YES | Native App field. It exists only as a built-in field, but its value can be mapped to display a Jira value. |
Period mode | YES | YES | YES | |
Color | NO | NO | YES | Native App field. It can’t be mapped to display values from external tools. |
Task ID | NO | NO | YES | Native App field. It can’t be mapped to display values from external tools. |
Assignee | YES | NO | NO | |
Skills | NO | NO | YES | Native App field. It can’t be mapped to display values from external tools. |
Status | YES | NO | NO | |
Duration Calendar Days | NO | NO | YES | Based on the number of calendar days (start to end date).
|
Duration working days | NO | NO | YES | Based on the number of working days (non-working days excluded).
|
Outline level | NO | NO | YES | Dynamically built Data Type - the values aren't permanently associated with tasks; the field value adjusts to reflect WBS changes. Display Options:
Outline level → shows how deep the task is in the tree structure (WBS). Sequential Index → shows where the task is located in the WBS structure (similar to the notation of the table of contents in the book) Note: filtering does not affect the Sequential Index. |
Overdue Start/End Date | NO | NO | NO | The Overdue Start Date field calculates the difference between the current task Start Date (when status category is To Do).
|
Team | NO | NO | YES | The Team field is based on the Team data type. Team created in BigPicture is visible in a column view on Gantt and Scope modules and is inline edited. The field can also be used even not synchronized. Check App Configuration > General > Fields > General mapping.
|
Workload Contouring Mode | NO | NO | YES | The Workload contouring allows to spread the effort of the task over its duration. There are three automatic options and one manual mode to choose from.
|
Basic Tasks
A built-in field lets you easily visualize all data related to Basic tasks native to the BigPicture App itself. Some values, such as Assignee, are not available (because this attribute doesn’t exist for them), but all existing attributes of Basic Tasks can be displayed using built-in fields.
Custom fields from third-party Jira apps in BigPicture and BigGantt
Depending on the functionality of a given plugin, custom fields based on third-party Jira apps may have limited or different functionality in the Cloud version of the product. For example, Traffic Lights can be displayed only as a text field.
JMCF duration field
Jira Misc Custom Fields (duration field) is visible in available fields for Column Views/Card Views.
The JMCF Duration is displayed in 24h mode
The JMCF Duration is blocked for inline editing even though it is mapped to the Estimation Data Type, which allows for inline editing. This is due to the fact that the JMCF Duration field is a scripted field, which means that it displays the results of calculations involving other fields.