Agile Teams

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A solution to Jira Cloud UI’s limitations for agile teams

Issue Matrix for Jira Cloud improves how agile teams work by overcoming Jira Cloud's limitations. It makes access to actionable data easier by eliminating the need to navigate through multiple UI pages and waste valuable time.

Issue Matrix enhances Jira issue views and makes the issues easier to read. It displays additional information from subtasks or linked issues in a separate Issue Matrix panel, eliminating the need to open each issue individually to check or compare data. This saves you time and allows you to focus on what truly matters.

Jira Cloud default visualization of sub-tasks in issues

Let’s look into how Jira visualizes subtasks in issues:

• The panel labeled Subtasks has a generic title that might not match the project's specific process. 

• Each issue type is represented by a small, unrecognizable icon.

• Column data lacks clear headings to explain its content.

• It's not possible to include custom fields in this view.

You can see what the default issue view in Jira Software looks like in the picture below.

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Fine-tune your agile practices with Issue Matrix

Issue Matrix, designed by a team of agile product developers, integrates seamlessly with Jira Cloud’s agile environment. It offers different matrix types you can create and configure to match your teams' needs.

Issue Matrix types

Different matrix types allow you to show different issue types on the issue view screen. You can even have multiple matrices showing different issue types in the same issue view. For example, one matrix can show linked issues, another can show sub-tasks.

The available Issue Matrix types are:

• Sub-task matrices show sub-tasks of the current issue.

• Issue Links matrices show issues linked to the current issue.

• Epic matrices show issues linked to the current Epic issue.

• JQL matrices show issues from a custom JQL query.

• Similar matrices show issues with a similar Summary/Description text.

Learn how to create and configure different Issue Matrix types

Improve the issue view for agile teams

Issue Matrix for Jira Cloud improves the issue view by allowing users to add information from other issues and have all the needed data on a single screen. The Issue Matrix panels significantly enhance the usability, structure, and content display of sub-tasks, linked issues, and issues in epics.

Let's explore the image below, showing an Issue Matrix within Jira Software. In this illustration, the Issue Matrix has three matrix panels - two sub-task panels and one issue links panel. Each of these panels displays:

• User-friendly panel names: Users can tailor the titles of these matrix panels to their preference. In the example, the panels are named after the types of issues they contain: QA Tasks, Development Tasks, and Issue Links Matrix.

• Customizable column headers: The titles at the top of the columns can display the names of custom fields or any name users prefer. In the example, the headers show info like Issue Type, Key, Summary, Status, Assignee, Fix versions, and more.

When configuring a matrix panel you can additionally use extra filters with extended JQL, and set a default sort order of the data.

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Content features for better flexibility and information display

Issue Matrix provides a set of options for the content displayed in the Issue Matrix panel. When configuring an Issue Matrix in a project, you can choose specific settings to control how the panel appears in an issue:

• Context - Define the projects and the issue types where the Issue Matrix panel will be shown.

• Types - Specify which issues to include in the Issue Matrix panel for each type.

• Filter JQL - Add a JQL query to further filter the issues shown in your sub-task, issue links, epic and similar matrices.

• Columns - Choose the columns to appear in the Issue Matrix table, optionally set headers and width for each column.

• Results - Choose the maximum number of issues that the Issue Matrix panel can show.

• Categories - Configure issue categories to organize and color code certain issues.

• Sort By - Define sorting criteria for the Issue Matrix table.

• Preview - Use the preview to see how the Issue Matrix panel will appear and to troubleshoot problems.

• Inline Editing - Enable inline editing for any field in the Issue Matrix table.

Learn more about the options when creating an Issue Matrix

In the video below, you can see an example matrix configuration in a software development project.

Advanced JQL Contextual Linking

For agile teams, the advanced contextual linking can be a very helpful feature. It allows users to compare fields in the current issue with values in other issues. For example, users can easily find all issues in a specific project that share a common value, such as:

• System fields like Reporter, Assignee, Component, Fix version, Status, and more.

• Custom fields like Customer request type, Multi-group picker, Text field, and others.

This extension of the JQL syntax can be used in JQL-type Issue Matrices and the JQL filter configuration in Sub-Task, Issue Links, Epic and Similar Issue Matrices.

Learn more about our JQL extension

Use inline editing for enhanced productivity

Inline editing lets users quickly update multiple issues right in an Issue Matrix panel without leaving the current page. For example, you can change estimates for all sub-tasks in an Issue Matrix panel without opening each issue individually.

You can directly update Jira fields such as Summary, Status, Assignee, and more within the Issue Matrix panel. To see the full list of fields you can edit, visit our documentation on the inline editing capabilities Issue Matrix for Jira Cloud offers.

Enhance your agile boards with Issue Matrix

The Issue Matrix panels are visualized in Jira’s project boards too. You can make it easier for your Scrum and Kanban teams to work with tasks on their project boards by using Issue Matrix’s features like contextual linking and inline editing.

Once you configure and enable an Issue Matrix panel for a project, it'll show up on the issue views and boards in the project. You don't have to click around to find the Issue Matrix panel - it's there on the boards by default.

Issue Matrix in Scrum boards

See an example of the Issue Matrix panel on a Scrum board in the following image.

Issue Matrices in Kanban boards

See an example of the Issue Matrix panel on a Kanban board in the following image.