Advanced Roadmaps vs Timelines in Jira Cloud: What You Need to Know

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Hi Atlassian Community! 

If you’re working in Jira Software Cloud, you might have noticed that both Timelines and Advanced Roadmaps (part of Jira Premium/Enterprise) offer ways to visualize and plan your work.

A common question many teams face is:

“When should we use the built-in project-level Timelines, and when do we need the full power of Advanced Roadmaps?”

Based on hands-on experience across multiple environments - from feature team planning to cross-team coordination - here’s a breakdown of how they differ and when to use each.

What Is Timeline in Jira Cloud?
Timeline is a built-in feature in Jira Software Cloud project. It provides a lightweight, visual planning view, perfect for:

• Displaying epics and their child issues
• Tracking start and due dates
• Visualizing simple dependencies
• Staying within a single project context

It’s ideal for teams who want a fast, easy way to manage upcoming work.

What Is Advanced Roadmaps?
Advanced Roadmaps is a powerful planning tool included with Jira Software Premium and Enterprise. It supports:

• Multi-project planning
• Custom hierarchies like Initiative -> Epic -> Story
• Capacity planning for teams
• Cross-team dependency management
• Scenario planning for “what-if” delivery forecasting

It’s designed for program-level visibility, making it ideal for organizations managing multiple teams and complex initiatives.

When to Use Timelines
Use Timelines when:

• You’re managing work within a single project
• You want a quick Gantt-style view of epics and tasks
• You don’t need cross-team or multi-project visibility
• You prefer lightweight planning with minimal setup

Example: A scrum team wants to visualize their quarterly epics and related stories.

When to Use Advanced Roadmaps
Use Advanced Roadmaps when:

• You’re managing work across multiple teams or projects
• You need Initiative -> Epic -> Story tracking
• You want to visualize cross-project dependencies
• You’re planning by capacity or across shared releases
• You require what-if scenarios for roadmap forecasting

Example: A product organization wants to track company-wide initiatives delivered by multiple teams working in separate Jira projects.

Real-World Insight
In practice, many teams use both features together:

Timelines help individual teams plan and track delivery at the epic/story level.
Advanced Roadmaps give leadership and program managers a portfolio-level view with custom hierarchies, capacity, and timelines.

Together, they support a team-to-strategy connection inside Jira Cloud.

Final Thoughts
Timelines are a great entry point for roadmap visualization in Jira Cloud. They’re simple, fast, and built into every company-managed project.

But if you need:

• Cross-project coordination
• Initiative tracking
• Advanced dependency or capacity planning

…then Advanced Roadmaps is your best bet.

Both tools have their place - it depends on your planning complexity and audience.