Similar Matrix

Owned by Comala Publishing for Confluence Cloud
Last updated: Jul 20, 2023 by Julver Petrova
4 min read

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How the Similar Matrix Works

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.

Similarity Index

In the issue view, the Similar Matrix will display the columns you've configured, plus an extra one called Similarity. The Similarity column contains an index number that shows how closely each issue in the matrix panel matches the current issue. A higher number means a better match between the current issue's Summary text and the Summary/Description of the displayed issue.

When viewing the similarity scores between different issues, it's important to understand that these scores are relative to each other, rather than being absolute measurements. For example, if you see one issue with a similarity score of "10" and another with a score of "2," it doesn't necessarily mean that the second issue has five times less similarity than the first.

The Similarity index also determines the order of the issues, with the most similar issues appearing at the top of the matrix panel.

Create a Similar Matrix

To create Similar Matrices:

  1. On your Jira Cloud instance, navigate to your Project settings or Project settings->Apps for team-managed projects.

  2. On the left menu, choose Issue Matrix Configuration.

  3. On the Issue Matrices page, click the Add Matrix button.

  4. From the list, choose the Similar Matrix type.

  5. On the Add Matrix page, you can set configuration options to build the matrix panel you want to see in your issue.

  6. Context > Linked Projects: Choose the projects where you want the matrix panel to appear. By default, the Issue Matrix configuration is linked to the current project only. If you add more than one project in the Projects to link field, you will create a multi-project configuration. The Issue Matrix configuration and panel will appear in all linked projects.

    With multi-project issue matrices, changes to the Issue Matrix configuration in one of the projects will affect the rest of the projects.

  7. Context > Issue Types: After specifying the linked projects, choose issue types for each of them in the Context > Issue Types section.
    Keep in mind, that the different projects might be associated with different issue types. For that reason, for each project, you need to choose the issue types where you would like to show the Issue Matrix panel.

  8. Type > Search for similarities: Select the issue fields where Issue Matrix will look for similarities with the current issue's Summary field. You can choose to search in other issues' Summary, Description fields, or both. By default, the search is performed in all projects where you have read access. The Similar Matrix will compare the current issue’s Summary with all other issues in Jira, and show the best matching ones in the matrix panel. You can specify the maximum number of issues (up to 20) to be shown in the matrix panel.
    You can also add a Filter JQL query to additionally filter the issues displayed in the matrix.

  9. Data > Columns: Configure the width and headers of the columns that the Issue Matrix will display. The columns correspond to custom fields from your Jira Cloud instance. The panel will visualize the values of the custom fields for each issue (see the screenshot below).

  10. Data > Categories (optional): Use JQL to set color categories for organizing your issues. In the matrix panel, colored squares will appear on the left of issues that belong to a specific category. Note that each issue can only have one category (see the screenshot below).

  11. Preview matrix - click the Preview button and simply enter or choose an issue key to see how the Issue Matrix panel will appear in the issue view screen. The preview can also help you identify reasons why the panel doesn’t appear in the issue. Learn more in the Preview document.

  12. Save the configuration.

The new Similar Matrix will appear at the bottom of the list on the Issue Matrices page.