Sharing Your Jira Roadmaps (Inside & Outside Jira)

[#1]

Sharing Jira roadmaps effectively seems to be a recurring challenge for many of us.

Getting the right view to the right people, whether they're licensed Jira users or external stakeholders, isn't always straightforward.

Here’s a practical guide breaking down the common methods for sharing roadmaps built in Jira Software, looking at how to do it and the typical pros and cons.

(Quick Refresher: Timeline vs. Plans)

Before we dive in, remember Jira's two main roadmap types influence your options:

• Timeline (Basic Roadmaps ): Built into all Cloud plans. Good for single-project, single-team epic timelines. Simple, but limited scope.
• Plans (Advanced Roadmaps): Premium/Enterprise feature. Needed for multi-project, multi-team planning, dependencies, capacity, and higher-level views (Initiatives etc.). More powerful, more complex.

Method 1: Sharing via Native Jira Links

How-To:

1. Open your Timeline or Plan view in Jira.
2. Click the Share button (usually top right).
3. Use the Copy link option.
4. Send this link to your intended viewer.

Pros:

• Quick and easy for sharing within Jira.
• View reflects your current filters/settings.

Cons:

• Strictly for licensed Jira users.
• Viewer needs correct project permissions (for Timeline) or complex layered permissions (for Plans: global Plan role + specific Plan access + underlying project access). Can be tricky to troubleshoot.
• Useless for sharing with non-Jira stakeholders. 

Method 2: Embedding in Confluence

How-To (Cloud):

1. Copy the URL of your Timeline or the Share link from your Plan (see above).
2. Paste the link directly onto a Confluence page. Smart Links handle the embed.

How-To (Data Center): Often requires the "Advanced Roadmaps for Jira in Confluence" app and using specific macros/links generated from Plans.

Pros:

• Displays live/near-live roadmap data within your Confluence documentation.
• Allows adding valuable context around the roadmap.

Cons:

• Viewer needs both Confluence access AND all the necessary Jira/Plan permissions (including a Jira license).
• Still doesn't solve for non-licensed viewers (internal or external). They'll likely see an error.

Method 3: Exporting Static Snapshots (PNG/CSV)

How-To (Image - PNG):

1. Configure your Timeline/Plan view as needed (filters!).
2. Find the ... > Export > Image (.png) option in the top-right.
3. Generate the PNG file.

How-To (Data - CSV):

1. Filter your Timeline/Plan view.
2. Find the ... > Export > Spreadsheet (.csv) option in the top-right.

Pros:

• Creates files (image or spreadsheet data) anyone can view, regardless of Jira access.
• PNGs are good for presentations/reports; CSVs for offline analysis.

Cons:

• Static! Outdated as soon as Jira data changes. Requires constant manual re-exporting.
• PNGs are non-interactive and have issue limits (e.g., 500 for Plans).
• CSVs lose the visual context and may require data cleanup

Method 4: Using Marketplace Apps

When native options have limitations (especially for external sharing or advanced visuals), the Marketplace offers various solutions. Apps can provide enhanced Gantt charts, portfolio views, specific methodology support (like SAFe®), or tackle sharing challenges.

General Approach: Apps usually require installation, configuration, and potentially have their own costs and permission schemes. Always use free trials!

Sharing your Roadmap with Released: If your main goal is sharing outside Jira without requiring viewer licenses, tools like Released (Cloud only) are a perfect solution:

How-To (using Released):

1. Access the app (via Jira's Apps menu).
2. Create a workspace and link relevant Jira projects.
3. Create a roadmap and filter/select issues (using JQL etc.).
4. Customize display options such as board/timeline view, columns and fields. 
5. Publish the view to a dedicated portal (public or restricted).
6. Share the portal link. Updates from Jira can be pulled in easily.

Pros: Can provide live/updated views for non-licensed users, with branding and curation options.

Cons: Usually involves extra subscription costs (although quite reasonable), and reliance on another tool/vendor. (Released is Cloud-only).

Key Considerations When Sharing:

Security: Always manage permissions carefully (least privilege principle). Be extremely cautious with anonymous access. Understand the security model of any Marketplace app.

Audience: Tailor the view (filters in Plans/apps) and the format (live embed, static image, external portal) to who needs to see it and what they need to know. Add context!

Choosing the Right Method (Quick Guide):

Internal Licensed Team: Native Links or Confluence Embeds work well. Consider apps like Released for centralized communication. 

Internal Non-Licensed: Native options struggle. Static Exports are the basic fallback. Consider Marketplace apps designed for this (like Released for example).

External Clients/Public: Static Exports are the simplest native approach (but stale). Dedicated external sharing tools (like Released) offer more dynamic solutions.

[__ Jimi Wikman]

Released is by far the best app I have ever used for sharing roadmaps and information externally.

[JG Meillaud _]

Hi,

I think "Static! Outdated as soon as Jira data changes." is actually a Pro

[Jens Schumacher - Released_so]

@JG Meillaud _ I don't disagree, as long as it's easy to publish another snapshot. Released does it that way instead of always showing what's "live".