How do you simplify access to rank features and stories in Align?

[Jyotsna Manikantan]

Hi,

I am with a very large enterprise account. we have automated access for our users to give them full portfolio permissions to remove the administrative burden.

In my observation, Align seems to be designed for a manual-human-administrative work flow --that in order to be able to rank and prioritize features, people need to be manually added to the programs and teams. This is clearly not scalable and for large accounts, this defies the common sense approach as it not only creates a scenario that needs administration to get started, but also demands follow through administration when people move across projects and teams.

• Does Atlassian use your own product - i.e., Align for your team?
• What is the short term plan to remove this manual administration that could be falsely perceived as control?
• Are you tracking enhancements to this space to simplify access? 
• Does anyone else have this challenge? How do you solve for it?

Yes already raised to support and did not go anywhere, hence reaching out here.

Thank you.

[Rich Sparks · Accepted solution]

One other item to consider: Jira Align does have API's that are available for updating many of the items in Jira Align. There are API's for updating users (to add them to teams), so you may be able to do this programmatically as well, assuming you have some sort of team directory outside of Jira Align. You can read more about the APIs here:

https://help.jiraalign.com/hc/en-us/articles/360045371954-Getting-started-with-the-REST-API-2-0

[Jyotsna Manikantan]

Thank you, looking into this...really appreciate the link. 

[Rae Gibbs]

Thanks @Rich Sparks !  Was hoping someone with some more API knowledge would weigh in on that.

[Rae Gibbs · Accepted solution]

@Jyotsna Manikantan Thank you for your question.  You are correct that users need to be added to the program in order to be able to rank features in the backlog.  This is to limit those that are not a member of the program from ranking features (mostly accidentally).  For those that haven't been trained, they sometimes don't understand that when the move things around in the backlog, it impacts the backlog for everyone and not just them.  Also, program membership is required to schedule features on the Program Board.  I have not heard of any enhancements to change this.  However, there have been requests to manage prioritization of backlogs by system role permissions as opposed to program membership.  At this time, there is no workaround and users must be added to the program to prioritize backlogs.  If you want the ability for all users to be able to do this, you can just hit the button to add all users to programs on the Portfolio Members tab.

[Jyotsna Manikantan]

Hey thanks for quick response...I wish I could.

Even though we have set up portfolios  with solutions and programs within, the drop down of user assignment has no respect for the user's home portfolio...it shows everything that is in our enterprise. That is not what we are looking for, think you may have connected to that already.

Our ask is very simple and here is example:

• 100 users assigned to Portfolio A - at portfolio members access level.
• Assign the same 100 users to all the programs within Portfolio A - in one go and not do this 100 times - once for each user.

what is the simplest way to accomplish this? thoughts? 

[Rae Gibbs]

If you go to Portfolios in the Admin console, select the portfolio, then go to the Members tab, you will see a button at the bottom to push users to programs in that portfolio.  This will add them to all programs.  If you don't want to add all of the users to all of the programs, then you would have to go the program and add them individually.  I'm not sure if there may be an API option to add users to programs that would be easier.  I would have to defer to one of my colleagues that works more with API to weigh in on that.

[Jyotsna Manikantan]

Thanks, I am looking into this now...

so in your view, users belonging to a specific portfolio - when we use this push option, they will be assigned to all the solutions and programs within that portfolio

is that how you see this to work?

[Rae Gibbs]

It will push all of the users to all of the programs in that portfolio.

[Jyotsna Manikantan]

cool option.

Little disappointed that it can't work for us because our portfolio has a mix of product and non-product users... only product owners and product managers can prioritize in our working model  - we don't use system roles as our teams are multi-functional...got to keep looking

[Jyotsna Manikantan]

Related question: how is the permission of this push controlled or managed? trying to see if we can detect where it lives to explore adjustments...

[Rae Gibbs]

Being able to add users to programs is a system role permission.  It's under the Administration toggle.  Programs is the toggle to be turned on to allow a system role to do this.

[Rae Gibbs]

@Jyotsna Manikantan I missed one of your replies above where you mentioned that you don't use system roles.  Every user in Jira Align is assigned a system role.  There is no way to add users without this.  This controls what they are able to view and what permissions they have in the tool.