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.
Link boxes to Key Results
Instead of linking multiple Jira work items to a Key Result individually, you can now organize them into a single box and link the entire box to the KR. As you add or remove tasks from the box, the KR’s progress will update automatically (for auto-KRs only) without the need to manually manage individual links.
Visit the Auto-KR page to learn how linked work items and linked boxes affect auto-KR’s progress.
You can link boxes of any scope type.
If the task appears in multiple boxes you have linked, each duplicate task will contribute to the progress of the Key Result.
Linked boxes help you visualize and track the work contributing to your Key Results. However, they can only affect the Key Result's progress when you convert a manual Key Result to an auto-KR.
Linking a box to a Key Result is not the same as linking an OKR to a box.
Below, you can find a video about linking boxes to a Key Result.
Permissions
To link a box to a particular KR, a user needs to be permitted to view or manage the box they want to link.
Users who are not permitted to view or manage a linked box will not see it under the respective KR on the OKR Overview page.
Link boxes to a new Key Result
Click the Link boxes button on the Key Result creation screen.
Edit linked boxes screen appears. Search for the boxes you want to link:
Search bar - Use a search bar to search for a Jira space name.
Parent box - Select a specific box from the list of available boxes.
Box type - Narrow down the list of boxes by their box type.
Box status - Narrow down the list of boxes by their status.
Check a box or boxes you want to link.
When you are happy with your results, click the Save button to finish the process.
The linked boxes appear under their respective Key Result.
To see the linked boxes on the OKR Overview page, you need to have the following options enabled:
Global option: Settings > General > Displaying connected boxes in the OKR Overview
Local (personal) option: View > Connected boxes
Add and manage boxes linked to an existing Key Result
You can add, change, or remove boxes you have already linked to a Key Result at any point by editing them.
Open the Edit linked boxes screen on one of the following:
KR context menu:
Open the context menu for a KR you want a link box to.
Select Edit linked boxes.
KR Details side panel:
Select the Key Result to open its details side panel.
Click More actions (…) and select Edit linked boxes.
KR Details page:
Open details for a KR you want to link a box to.
Scroll to the Linked work items & boxes section at the bottom of the page.
Click the Edit linked boxes button.
On the Edit linked boxes screen:
To link new boxes: Search for a specific box by its name, check it from the list, or show only the boxes of the specific scope type or box type (see steps 2-3 in the previous section).
To change the boxes currently linked: Clear the boxes you want to unlink and check the ones you want to link.
To remove all linked boxes: Clear all checked boxes.
When you are happy with your results, click the Save button to finish the process.
The change in linked boxes is reflected in the OKR Overview under the respective Key Result.
Limitations
You can link either Jira work items or boxes to one KR.
Linked boxes are not displayed in the Gantt module (even when the Objective & Key Result structure builder is active).