Having a horizontal scroll in advanced roadmap

[manas Sahoo]

Hello,

I have started using the advanced roadmap tool for a project which is 1 year long. I see that the horizontal scrolling is not there and this means either I can have a view which is 1 year long and if a task is just 2 days estimation, it is almost impossible to see it on screen or I can just see 2 months view at a time and then I can't scroll. 

While there is a work around, the usability decreases significantly. Is this something others have experienced and have you found a specific way of dealing with this issue ?

KInd regards,

Manas

[Dave]

Hi @manas Sahoo ,

We're actually looking at introducing scrolling on the timeline, but I can't commit to if or when it will be available as there are quite a few edge cases.

It is possible to have the timeline configured in a number of different ways, there are some presets:

• 3 months
• 1 year
• Fit (which sets the timeline to be from the earliest release or issue start date to the latest release or issue end date

It is also possible to set up 2 types of custom timeframe:

• Fixed (where the dates never change)
• Relative (where the timeframe is relative to now, e.g. 2 weeks before now, 6 months after now)

When an issue bar is disappearing off the timeline you will see an arrow on it (by the edge of the timeline) that when you click on it will bring the end of the issue into view (and therefore adjusting the timeline).

I personally prefer to use the relative custom date range so that I can always see all of the current sprint (from 2 weeks in the past) and the next 6 sprints (to 12 weeks in the future). I find that gives me the right size of issues to work with... however, this is obviously variable based on the window/screen size you are using.

We also just assign sprints to story level issues and have dates inferred from the sprint dates rather than setting them directly on the issue. So all issue bars will be 2 weeks in length.

I'd be really interested to learn more about how you're using Advanced Roadmaps - i.e. are you planning a roadmap or are you reviewing an existing one? Are you setting dates using the timeline? Using auto-schedule?

From what you're describing my assumption is that you want to set a zoom level or scale that you're comfortable with and then scroll around in it? Is this correct? If so, given that the timeline section can vary in size, what would your expectations be when the timeline changes in size? Would you want the scale to remain the same or adjust for the new timeline width?

Regards,

Dave

[Sahoo Manas (SEIT)]

HI Dave,

just changing to my work email id and thank you for the detailed feedback. I have been going through the videos on youtube which were very informative. I had tried using these various ways of timeline you mentioned.  They are actually very helpful. 

However what I am after is what you mentioned at the end. If I can decide to have the timeline in days or weeks or months and then have the horizontal bar, the usability goes up quite a lot. So I think both are important, letting the user decide the unit on the timeline and having a horizontal scrollbar. 

I am actually setting up the first roadmap in my organization and I am a big fan of this tool. I have entered a lot of data already and I have noticed quite a few things which could be easy to fix(maybe not)  and increase the user experience. Would you like to have a chat and see how we are using it ?

KInd Regards

Manas

[Dave]

Thanks for that additional information @Sahoo Manas (SEIT) ... so just to clarify - your preference would be to set the width allocated to each unit (what you might call the zoom level) and then the timeframe displayed would be dependant upon the available width? (rather than the timeframe remaining constant and the unit width adjusting for the available space).

We're glad to here that you're enjoying Advanced Roadmaps... we definitely value any feedback we can get... I actually wouldn't be surprised that a lot of the improvements you have in mind are actually things we're desperately keen to make ourselves! We have a relatively small team and a large backlog of work that we'd like to tackle and have to carefully balance our priorities. I'll share this with our PM team and get them to reach out to you... I'd recommend leaving some feedback through the feedback collector (the "Give feedback" button at the top of the plan) initially to get the ball rolling as this gives us an easy way to get back in touch with you and start a more direct dialog,

Regards,

Dave

[Max Howarth]

Hi Dave,

Just to piggy back off this comment...it is a travesty that user's can't scroll on a the roadmap. How are we supposed to see the future in the units of time we want without the ability to scroll?

This is such a major oversight that I feel there should be a disclaimer on the product. There is lots of activity on the forums about this (e.g. https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Advanced-Roadmaps-questions/Why-can-I-not-scroll-horizontally-in-the-Roadmap-view/qaq-p/1401649) both from recently and many moths ago.

When can we expect to see such a feature? Has a request been submitted already?

Thanks,

Max

[Dave]

Hi @Max Howarth ,

As mentioned earlier in the thread - this is something that we're currently working on at the moment, but I can't say when it will be available.

I do understand that there might be a preference for scrolling to explore the timeline (if you're a consumer of a plan), but from a planning point of view I personally have never needed this feature as I just need to know what's happening in the current sprint and then plan 6 or so sprints in the future and find that with the custom relative date setting I never need to scroll.

It is possible to explore the timeline via the various presets for the timeline, as well as having the option to configure as many different views of time frames (quite handy to combine with hierarchy ranges to work on short, medium and longer term planning) as well as use the arrows on issues to adjust the timeline for specific issues.

As you point out there are quite a few people interested in having this feature which is why we're working on it. Unfortunately we typically don't commit to any dates when something will be available as that can often just set people up for disappointment if things get delayed for any reason,

Regards,

Dave