⏳ What is the impact of replacing epic-link with parent on Jira hierarchy, JQL, and Time in Status?

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This article is about upcoming changes in Jira, specifically the replacement of the 'epic-link' and 'parent-link' fields with a single 'parent' field in Jira and how change will affect the Jira hierarchy, JQL, and Time in Status functionalities. 

Exploring New Issue Types and Hierarchy

Currently, the epic-link field connects issues from the base level (stories, bugs, and tasks) to epics, while the parent-link field connects epics to issues at higher levels. However, the upcoming update will replace both of these fields with the new 'parent' field. 

Estimated date of release: April 30

In Jira Software Premium, the 'Parent' field will also move to the breadcrumb, so there will be no need to configure the issue view for it to appear. The update will apply automatically to your Jira Software instance, so no action is required from you. 

Should I do something in Jira to move from Epic link to Parent link?
The following updates will apply automatically to your Jira Software instance, there will be no action required from you. The following changes apply to company-managed projects only. 

What place does the Parent link get in the hierarchy?

The epic-link field and parent-link fields will be replaced by a single parent field in the issue create experience. Consistent with current functionality, you will be able to exclude 'done' issues when searching for a parent, and the issue search results will only show issues from 1 level above.

Updates to the Parent JQL function 

Some small changes will be made to the JQL functions to reflect these updates. 

The parent JQL function will incorporate the functionality of the epiclink, parent link, and parentEpic functions. Most saved searches and JQL queries will continue to show the same results. However, in some cases, the results of JQL queries that include the parent JQL function may show more results than they previously did. 

❗️New updates may impact your existing saved filters if you’re using:❗️

• parent is empty
• parent is not empty
• parent = xyz
• parent != xyz
• parent in (xyz, abc)
• parent not in (xyz, abc)

NOTE: This update will only affect issues in company-managed projects. Issues in team-managed projects will not be affected.

Updates in Time in Status 

We are happy to inform you that the Time in Status add-on is fully prepared for the upcoming changes in Jira, and these updates will not affect your calculations. When Jira releases an update, Time in Status will automatically replace 'epic-link' with 'parent'.

You won't have to do anything manually or reconfigure any functionality, as the add-on will do it all by itself.

Takeaway:

It seems that Jira is rolling out a big update, and users still have many unanswered questions regarding the new features. As an add-on developer, we are available to assist you and answer any questions you may have. 

Additionally, we are delighted to offer you a 30-day trial of Time in Status, and our add-on is free for up to 10 users and compatible with all Jira updates 🙂