Get Started with Issue Matrix

Improve default issue views in Jira

Issue Matrix for Jira Cloud will save you and your teams time searching for and collecting all the information you need in your Jira Cloud site. You no longer need to navigate through many different Jira pages to get the full picture.

You can have complete information about a project’s progress in a single issue.

Show custom set of issues and details

Once installed and configured, Issue Matrix appears as an additional panel in your issue view pages in Jira. It allows you to display a custom set of issues when viewing the current issue. "Custom" means that, in the configuration, you can specify what kind of issues and details the Issue Matrix panel will display.

Supported project types

You can use Issue Matrix Cloud for company-managed and self-managed projects. This means that you can create matrices in both project types.

Show Issue Matrix in chosen issue types

You also can choose the issue types where the Issue Matrix panel will be shown. Say you want to configure a specific matrix only for stories and defects, not epics and new features, for example. This feature lets you display different matrices for the different issue types.

Show issues not directly linked

The issues you can display in a matrix might not be directly linked to the current issue. Basically, you can show different issues from your project not necessarily linked to the current issue.

To spare you the effort to create Issue Matrix configurations in each of your projects, we’ve added the possibility to link one configuration to multiple projects. In a nutshell, create one Issue Matrix configuration in a project and then, list the rest of the projects where you want to display a matrix panel.

This feature allows you to save time and effort, and make room for the rest of your daily tasks.

For more details, visit the Link Matrix to Multiple Projects document.

Issue Matrix types

There are five Issue Matrix types you can create: Sub-tasks, Issue links, Epic, JQL, and Similar. This allows you to have panels containing different issue types based on the current issue type. Additionally, you can have multiple panels containing different issue types and content within a single issue.

Visit the Concept and Use Cases documents to learn more about Issue Matrix' benefits.

Sub-task Matrix

Creating a Matrix of this type allows you to display subset or all sub-tasks of the current issue and provide additional information not available in the default sub-tasks panel.
In the configuration, you can specify whether you would like to view all sub-tasks or only certain sub-task types like development, quality assurance, or documentation tasks, for example.

Go through the Sub-task Matrix document to learn how to create such matrices.

When you have an Issue Links Matrix, the Issue Matrix panel shows all issue link types linked to the current issue or sub-set of them.

For example, you might want to view only the issues which block the currently open issue or the issues which are duplicates. You can choose which issue links the Issue Matrix panel will include. You can have additional information for the issue links, which is not present in the default issue view.

Go through the Issue Links Matrix document to learn how to create such matrices.

Epic Matrix

If you would like to view custom information for issues in your Epics, the Epic Issue Matrix is what you need. You can configure the panel to contain only the Issues linked to the current issue of type Epic. It won't show up at non-epic issues.

We designed this matrix to be as close as possible to the standard Issues In Epic panel in Jira and, at the same time, enhance it with columns chosen by you (additional information).

Go through the Epic Matrix document to learn how to create such matrices.

JQL Matrix

With a JQL Matrix, you can have a panel showing the issues returned by a JQL query defined in the configuration. You can customize the panel to include your desired headers, columns, and information.

The JQL Matrix is ​​a powerful tool because it allows you to display issues that are semantically related by a common criterion, but are not directly related to the current issue or to each other.

Go through the JQL Matrix document to learn how to create such matrices.

Extended JQL supported

Issue Matrix Cloud now provides support for an extension to the JQL syntax similar to Issue Matrix Server. The extension allows comparing issue fields with the values stored in the currently viewed issue.

For more information, visit the JQL Extension document.

Similar Matrix

The Similar Matrix helps you quickly find issues similar to the current issue. To detect similarities, it compares the current issue's Summary text with the text in the Summary and/or Description fields of other issues. The best matching issues are displayed in the matrix panel. These issues are ranked by a Similarity index, with the most similar ones appearing at the top.

The Similar Matrix only looks for similarities in the text of the issues, and doesn't take into account any other factors. So, issues with similar text may be displayed in the matrix panel even if they are not related in any other way to the current issue.

The Similar Matrix can be helpful in many ways. For example, you can:

  • identify recurring problems, leading to more efficient resolution of customer issues in Jira Service Management,

  • use it to quickly find similar issues in large and complex projects,

  • identify patterns and trends across your projects, and discover areas for improvement,

  • identify duplicated issues, reduce redundancy, and improve the overall quality of your data in Jira.

Go through the Similar Matrix document to learn how to create such matrices.

Quick actions

Depending on the Matrix type, there are three quick actions you can use from the Issue Matrix panel:

  1. For Sub-task matrices, you can create sub-tasks.

  2. For Epic matrices, you can create issues in еpics.

  3. For Issue Links matrices, you can create issue links.

One of the significant differences between Epic and Issue Links matrices is what the "plus" button represents. In an Epic Matrix, it opens the create issue form, while in Issue Links Matrix, it opens the create link dialogue.

You can learn more about these actions in the Quick Actions article.