Hi everyone, I'm new to Jira and my company is moving from Smartsheet. I'm used to using predecessors and 'actual duration' to create end-to-end project timelines. I've tried to find these features in Jira but haven't had much luck. * Is there a built-in way to manage predecessors (A must finish before B can start)? * How can I track the actual duration of a task (the time it takes from start to finish)? I understand Jira is more agile-focused, but I'm hoping to find a way to get this functionality. I'm open to using native features, automations, or even third-party apps. Any guidance would be much appreciated!

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Replicating Smartsheet's Gantt chart features (predecessors, duration) in Jira

Dennis Manalo

Hi everyone, I'm new to Jira and my company is moving from Smartsheet. I'm used to using predecessors and 'actual duration' to create end-to-end project timelines. I've tried to find these features in Jira but haven't had much luck.

Is there a built-in way to manage predecessors (A must finish before B can start)?
How can I track the actual duration of a task (the time it takes from start to finish)?

I understand Jira is more agile-focused, but I'm hoping to find a way to get this functionality. I'm open to using native features, automations, or even third-party apps. Any guidance would be much appreciated!

Accepted answers

Carlos Garcia Navarro

Hi @Dennis Manalo ,

Have you tried the timeline view for 'Plans'? You can create a plan on the left panel of Jira, and select the timeline and the dependencies view on the right:

Screenshot 2025-10-09 at 10.20.50 PM.png

All comments

Carlos Garcia Navarro

Hi @Dennis Manalo ,

Have you tried the timeline view for 'Plans'? You can create a plan on the left panel of Jira, and select the timeline and the dependencies view on the right:

Screenshot 2025-10-09 at 10.20.50 PM.png

Carlos Garcia Navarro

There are also some add-ons that may be helpful like:

Dennis Manalo

Thank you @Carlos Garcia Navarro!

I haven't tried this yet, but thank you for sharing this approach. Thanks also for the links to the add-ons.

Alessandro Cristiano - Ricksoft

Thanks for mentioning WBS Gantt-Chart for Jira, @Carlos Garcia Navarro 🙂

These are part of our core feature-sets @Dennis Manalo

Predecessor relationships are easily created by simply dragging and dropping a dependency line between the timelines of two tasks, and they are stored as a Work Item link between the Jira Work Items. This means that the information is easily visible both inside and outside the app.
And Duration is calculated on the fly, shows you the accumulation on the parent task, and has auto-adjustments by calculating Allocation, Duration, and Estimates if you need.

Please feel welcome to give it a try and add a new comment if you have any additional questions! Or contact our support team at https://ricksoft-support.atlassian.net/servicedesk

Hope that helps!

Kind regards,
Alessandro C. | Support Manager
Ricksoft Support Team

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