Understanding "Time Spent" vs "Σ Time Spent" in Jira

[#1]

Time Spent

• Definition: This field shows the amount of work (in hours, minutes, etc.) that has been logged directly on a specific work item.

• Scope: Only includes work logged on that particular work item.

• Example: If you log 4 hours of work on a Story, the Time Spent for that Story is 4 hours.

Σ Time Spent (Sum Time Spent)

• Definition: This field displays the total time spent on the parent work item and all its child work items (i.e., it is a roll-up or sum).

• Scope: Includes the time logged on the parent work item plus all its child.

• Example: If a Story has 4 hours logged directly, and its three sub-tasks have 3, 2, and 1 hours logged respectively, then:

  • The Story’s Time Spent = 4 hours

  • The Story’s Σ Time Spent = 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10 hours

  • Each sub-task’s Σ Time Spent = its own time spent (since sub-tasks don’t have children).

  • The same logic applies to Hierarchy level 1, and their children are set at levels 0 and -1.

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Key Points

• Time Spent is for the individual work item only.

• Σ Time Spent is the aggregate for the work item and all its sub-tasks.

• In exports (like CSV), only the direct Time Spent is included by default; you must add the Σ Time Spent column to see the roll-up 2 3.

• Σ Time Spent is not searchable in JQL, but Time Spent is

[Susan Hauth _Jira Queen_]

Thanks Rahul, great article that explains one of those mysteries we see in Jira!!

[Dave Mathijs]

Thanks @Rahul Kumar to confirm that Σ Time Spent is the aggregate for the issue + all its sub-tasks.

[Tomislav Tobijas]

Quite useful information!

We've played with this last month and noted that Σ Time Spent applies to all levels, not necessarily level 0 and -1.
I guess we could say that this behavior works for an item (parent) and all child items.

Also, this info was added to the following feature suggestion: JRACLOUD-70150: Sub-tasks no longer have their estimate and time tracked on the parent issue for the new Full View Issue experience (for all those who are like me and would expect that aggregate field contains sum of all items/hierarchies below and not just 1 level under) 👀

[Svetlin]

It makes more sense when taking in consideration that Σ (the Greek letter sigma) is usually used to denote a sum in mathematics. It kind of says in this context, "the sum of all sums", taking into account all child work items.