Is there a method to group multiple fixversions into one instance?

Question

I am in need to find a way to group more than two fixversions (i.e. Jan/01 Release, Jan/02 Release, Jan/03 release) into one bucket (i.e. January) so that I can then use "January" for grouping in Jira structure.  I am looking into reflecting all deliverable for the year by the month we are delivering.

If there are other fields (e.g. due date) that I could look at, I am open for suggestions.  Thank you.

Egor Tasa [ALM Works] · Answer

Hi Rebeca,

I am glad solution worked for you.

Your comments on the changes are spot on. Currently formula columns, that are used in other columns or grouping are actually lending their code, rather than reference to the column - thus it is possible to delete column while still grouping, but changes to the existing column's code do not reflect in grouping or reference. Formula columns that are deleted are no longer available for selection, you would have to recreate them (I recommend saving the code in some outside text file). It is also possible to store the columns in a View, but it depends on the level of access you have to that view, though you always can create your own version of public view and reference it instead of public version.

Regards,

Egor

Rebeca Salgado · Answer

Hi Egor, thank you for the advise, it worked.  Took me few tries but I got it to work.  I ended using the IF formula.  Like you mentioned, took me a bit to include all release versions but I got them in.

As per the grouping, that also worked based on the formula fields, few learnings from this:

* Every time I adjusted the formula, the adjustments didn't reproduce under the grouping.  Eventually I figured, I had to go back into the grouping settings and reselect the field, as it was creating multiple instances of the "formula".
* As I had created the new formula column and utilized it for the structure grouping, I didn't see need to continue displaying it as a column under the structure so I removed it.  I was unable to find it again, as I needed to make more adjustments to the formula so had to start the process again.

Perhaps there are steps in the process that I missed but if not, hope others find it useful.

Egor Tasa [ALM Works] · Answer

Hi Rebeca,

Sorry if I misunderstand your request, but since you mentioned Jira structure, I assume you are talking about our app Structure for Jira. If not, sorry again, though my proposed solution may still be useful.

What I suggest is that you can use a formula in the structure populated by insert generator containing JQL for the list of issues in question. And then group by formula's results. For it you would have to create a new formula column. The formula itself depends on what is your naming convention for fix versions. If they are as described above Jan/01 Release, Jan/02 Release, Feb/05  Release then one of the simplest approaches would be:

LEFT(fixVersion, 3)

This will produce results as Jan, Feb, Mar etc. After which you can group by Text Attribute and select the column, containing the formula. This will arrange issues in the structure into groups named Jan, Feb, Mar.

If actual naming is different, there are other solutions, including straightforward:

CASE(fixVersion, "name_of_version1", "Jan 19", "version_name_2", "Jan 19", "fix_version_name_3", "Feb 19")

This is a bit tedious (and slow), but even if there is no direct way to parse the name, such approach can be taken.

Alternatively, you may want to look at  resolution date of the issue, if it corresponds to release in any way (in general it doesn't, but it depends on the workflow) or maybe last updated date. These are less reliable.

Hopefully, I've been able to help. Please, let me know if you have additional questions.

Sorry again if I've been incorrect in my assumption that this is related to Structure.

Regards,
Egor Tasa

ALM Works