a field for calculating how much time has passed from the task's creation to its closure

[Varvara K.]

I need a solution to track the time elapsed between task creation and completion.
It's imperative that it be on my dashboard built using standard Jira tools. I've already tested many plugins, but they all only load the time after you open the task and wait.

[Iryna Komarnitska_SaaSJet_ · Accepted solution]

Hi @Varvara K. ,

You can do this with a marketplace app without having to open each issue and “wait” for the value to be calculated, using Time in Status by SaaSJet (I work on this product).

What you want to measure

You’re essentially looking for Lead Time:

time from issue creation → until it reaches a final status (Done/Closed/Resolved).

Time in Status provides this also as a Jira custom field, which means:

• It can be added to standard Jira dashboards (Filter Results, Issue Statistics, etc.).

• It updates in the background – you don’t have to open each issue manually.

How it works in Time in Status

1. Create a Time in Status custom field

   • On your company-managed board, open the menu in the top-right and select Time in Status Agile Board.

   • Create a new custom field (e.g. Lead time or Age).

   • Choose the working calendar (24/7 or only working hours).

2. Configure “creation → closure” time

   • Select the option to group statuses.

   • Add all workflow statuses except the final one (e.g. everything except Done/ Closed/ Resolved).
     This gives you precisely the duration from when the task appears in the workflow until it is completed.

3. Attach the field to screens & cards

   • As a Jira admin: go to Jira settings → Work items → Custom fields, find your new field and associate it to the relevant screens.

   • In Board settings → Card layout, add the field so you can see the value on cards if needed.

4. Use it on standard Jira dashboards

   • Create a filter with the issues you want.

   • On your dashboard, add gadgets like Filter Results, Issue Statistics, or Two-Dimensional Filter Statistics and:

     • Select that filter.

     • Include your Time in Status field in the Columns to display or as the statistics field (depending on gadget).

About the “only after opening the issue” problem

You mentioned a key limitation of many apps:

“they all only load the time after you open the task and wait”

Time in Status custom fields are calculated automatically, not only when you open an issue:

• They refresh in the background roughly once per hour.

• They recalculate right after a status change.

• They also refresh when an issue is opened (if the field is on the layout), but you don’t need to open each issue for the dashboard to show meaningful values.

So your dashboard gadgets will display “creation → closure” time for issues without you manually triggering calculations.

Small notes:

• Creating these custom fields requires Jira admin permissions.

• This integration works for company-managed projects.

Well, of course, you can see what you are asking about in the reports and charts in the Time in Status app, but as far as I understand, you are more interested in the custom field.

I hope it will be useful for you!

[Danut M _StonikByte_]

Hi @Varvara K.,

Jira Service Management has a "Time to resolution" field that is automatically calculated.

You could try using the Filter Results gadget of Jira configured with a filter that returns the resolved issues.

As a result, you will get the issues displayed along with their Time to Resolution on your Jira dashboard.  

It is not very clear to me how Jira calculates this field value. But maybe you can figure this out and this proves to be all you need.

If this Jira field is not good enough, you could consider using a plugin. If you want to try one, our Great Gadgets app offers some gadgets that you can configure to calculate the time between issue creation and the entrance in a done status (so the "Time to Resolution") for the issues in filter / JQL. These gadgets are:

• Control Chart gadget - show issues in a plot-chart by time to resolution
• Histogram Chart gadget - shows the distribution of time to resolution 
• Cycle Time Trend gadget - shows the average time to resolution and trend
• Time in Status gadget - can shows the average or total time in "in progress" and/or new statuses, eventually split by assignee

This is an example of Control Chart gadget configured to show the issues by time to resolution. 

The gadget can display a Data tab with individual issues and their time to resolution, which can be exported in CSV.

Danut 

[Rahul_RVS]

Hi @Varvara K. 

You can use Jira Rest API's to extract this data or if you would be interested in a mktplace app for this requirement, you can try out

Time in Status Reports 

With this app you generate time in each workflow status for multiple issues with multiple filter and grouping options. Also the "Time between Statuses" report can easily extract the information needed. 

More details here.

Disclaimer : I am part of the app team for this add-on

[Rustem Shiriiazdanov _Actonic_]

Hi @Varvara K. ,

You may use any built-in charts or plugins showing Lead Time (and/or Cycle time as bonus) since Lead time reports perfectly show time between task/ticket creation and it's closure. I recently recorded a video of how to achieve that with standard Jira reports. As mentioned in this topic before, however, most of the built-in options are for in-project (in-space) usage, so you may fail trying to use them in Jira dashboard.

So I may recommend using automation which will be triggered on ticket closure, and will calculate the difference between ticket creation date and it's closure date. Alternatively, if you are still up to trying plugins, I may recommend a product developed by my team - Report Builder for Jira, as it has a built-in Lead time and Cycle time report which you could totally use in your Jira Dashboard. 

Regards,

Rustem,

Actonic Products

[Kristian Walker _Adaptavist_]

Hi Rahul,

If you have ScriptRunner for Jira Cloud installed, then you could create a Scripted field to calculate the value and store it on an issue. 

You could write a script to check the changelog and get the times out of this since the issue was created til it transitioned to done. 

We also have some examples  here that show how to check the issue changelog in scripted fields that you can use as a reference to write the script that you require. 

If you need further help creating the expression, then you can raise a support request here and the ScriptRunner support team can help with this. 

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Kristian

[Birkan Yildiz _OBSS_]

Hey @Varvara K. 

Native Jira dashboards don't have a built-in field that auto-calculates "elapsed time" retroactively without complex automation.

Timepiece - Time in Status for Jira’s Duration Between Statuses report is perfect for this. It allows you to define a metric by simply selecting a starting point, such as Issue Creation and an Ending point (e.g., Closed).

Total Visibility: It calculates the total duration between your start and end points, regardless of the path the issue took in between.

Dashboard Ready: You can place this report directly on your Jira Dashboard as a gadget.

Plus, Timepiece uses your Jira history. That means you can immediately create reports for past issues after installation.

You can check Timepiece on the Atlassian Marketplace. Hope this helps you get the metric you need on your dashboard.

Full disclosure: I'm on the team that makes Timepiece - Time in Status for Jira.

[Rilwan Ahmed]

Hi @Varvara K. ,

If you have scriptrunner plugin, then you can create it using scripted field option. 

[Zyxerun6]

If you rely purely on the “Closed” transition, make sure all issue types and workflows go through that transition reliably. Otherwise your field remains blank.