Meet the new BigPicture navigation
A faster, smarter, and more intuitive way to work is here. We’ve redesigned BigPicture navigation to give you a smoother experience and better access to what matters most.
→ Discover what’s new, explore key improvements, and review feature name updates on the New navigation page.
→ The rollout will happen gradually, and the previous navigation will be retired in September 2026.
Create box
Create a new box (old navigation)
You can create a new box in multiple ways. You can find detailed instructions on the following pages:
Box creation: Rules
Before you start creating a new box, keep these key rules in mind.
Box creation validation
Boxes can create hierarchies. Before you create a new box, make sure the parent-child relationships you're trying to create are valid.
The following things determine how you can nest boxes:
In the box type configuration, you decide the possible parents of each Box type. Parent box types determine how to build the box hierarchy (nest boxes) and prevent users from making mistakes and mixing methodologies
Each Box type has scope type settings (None, Own scope, Sub-scope)
Sequentiality (box type settings)
Possible parent box types
Parent Box types determine how you can build the Box hierarchy.
Scope type
How the scope types affect box nesting:
Sequentiality
Sequentiality settings affect same-level Boxes (can potentially prevent box periods from overlapping).
Auto bottom-up and auto scope-based boxes are never sequential - they can always overlap.
Only "manual" and "auto top-down" Boxes can be sequential—if set to 'sequential,' same-level sequential Boxes can't overlap.
Period mode
Box type period mode can affect if a new child Box can be created with a specified start/date.
Period of a new box vs. child box period mode
Newly created boxes don't have any children, so they can't be affected by them.
Period of a new box vs. parent box period mode
An "auto top-down" parent →
limits the period of an "auto top-down" child box
child boxes in "manual"/ "auto scope-based" period mode are not affected
"auto bottom-up" child overrides an "auto top-down" parent
Effects of the parent box period mode on a child Box period are outlined in the table below.
Parent Box → | New Box (child) |
|---|---|
auto bottom-up | unaffected (regardless of child period mode) |
auto scope-based | unaffected (regardless of child period mode) |
auto top-down | An "auto top-down" parent limits the period of an "auto top-down" child |
manual | unaffected (regardless of child period mode) |
Create a new box (new navigation)
You can create a new box in multiple ways. Detailed instructions can be found on the following pages:
Box creation: Rules
With boxes, you can build complex box hierarchies.
Before you create a new box, make sure the parent-child relationships you are trying to form are valid.
The following aspects determine whether you can or cannot nest boxes of one type under another:
Parent box types - you can nest a child box only under a parent box. Hierarchies cannot be formed without parents. This guards from making mistakes and mixing methodologies.
Scope type - each box has one specific scope type (None, Own scope, Sub-scope) that allows or prevents nesting under specific scope types.
Sequentiality controls the logical order in which boxes are organized.
Box period mode affects box start/end dates, which in turn can affect child boxes.
Possible parent box types
Parent box types determine which box type can be a parent box, so that you can build the box hierarchy.
Scope type
Box scope types also affect box nesting.
Sequentiality
Sequentiality settings affect same-level boxes (which can potentially prevent box periods from overlapping).
Auto bottom-up and auto scope-based boxes are never sequential; they can always overlap.
Only the boxes in the manual and auto top-down period modes can be sequential. If the boxes are set to sequential, then the same-level boxes cannot overlap.
Period mode
A box type period mode can affect whether a new child box can be created with a specified start/date.
Period of a new box vs. child box period mode
Newly created boxes have no children, so they cannot be affected by them.
Period of a new box vs. parent box period mode
An auto top-down parent →
limits the period of an auto top-down child box.
child boxes in the manual/ auto scope-based period mode are not affected.
auto bottom-up child overrides an auto top-down parent.
The effects of the parent box period mode on the child box period are outlined in the table below.
Parent Box → | New Box (child) |
|---|---|
Auto bottom-up | Unaffected (regardless of the child's period mode) |
Auto scope-based | Unaffected (regardless of the child’s period mode) |
Auto top-down |
|
Manual | Unaffected (regardless of child period mode) |