Creating and Managing a Product Roadmap in Jira

[Chuck Foster]

Hello,  We currently manage a roadmap outside of Jira with projects assigned to quarters similar to this: https://image.slidesharecdn.com/product-roadmaphowtocreateaneffectiveone-140926123131-phpapp02/95/product-roadmap-an-8-step-process-to-create-and-effective-and-compelling-roadmap-for-your-product-36-638.jpg?cb=1411735429  

We then use Epics, Stories, and Tasks in Jira to assign the work to sprints and track progress until they are put into a monthly release.

The problem arises when it's time to update the roadmap with statuses and schedule new projects.  We have duplication of work and having to look in different places.

What is the best way to also manage our product roadmap with it's associated Epics, Stories, and Tasks within Jira?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Drew Heasman]

There is a feature request here to add the missing Roadmaps feature to Classic projects: https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/JSWCLOUD-17214

[Tarun Sapra]

Helo Chuck,

You can you "Portfolio" plugin by Atlassian, it's exaclty meant for roadmap tracking. We are also usign the same, I have divided the project into Phases and these Phases are parent types of Epics and the whole hierarchy can easily be configured in Porfolio. Fix/versions of projects act as releases and releases can be configured in portfolio across projects as well i.e. each release having issues from across various projects.

https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/portfolio/agile-roadmap-planning

[Chuck Foster]

Cool.  I'm checking out a webinar tomorrow on Portolio.

[Chuck Foster]

Hi Tarun,

Thanks for the recommendation, but based off the number of Jira users we have I don't think we'll be able to use Portfolio.  Any ideas of other tools or methods within Jira Software?

[Marc Colangelo]

I know this is an old post....

The only "free" option is using Confluence road map feature.  Portfolio does give you live plan which is great.  I have also been testing BigPicture which has a MS Project feel to it if you are looking for project planning. Both do require licensing and cost can mount if you are over the 10 user threshold....

[Chuck Foster]

@Marc Colangelo, thanks.  BigPicture looks nice, but you're right - it will get expensive for us.  Also, we're not using Confluence.

[Bree Davies]

Hi @Chuck Foster

We've just released a new (and free!) roadmapping feature in the new Jira project experience. It only displays epics but could be worth a try to see if it meets your needs. Find out more here. 

Cheers,
Bree

[Chuck Foster]

Thanks @Bree Davies ! That looks sweet, but I'm not finding the roadmap button from the project menu.  Can you point me in the right direction?

[Chuck Foster]

@Bree Davies, I figured it out.  We're not using next-gen.  Any plans for this to come to classic?  There are features of classic that don't exist yet in next-gen that prevent us from switching.

[Bree Davies]

Hi @Chuck Foster - unfortunately we have no plans to bring this to classic at this time. What are the features you're currently waiting on in next-gen?

Thanks,
Bree

[Chuck Foster]

Hi @Bree Davies, I think the main feature is customized workflows.  Here's a screen grab of our existing workflow: https://www.screencast.com/t/y07vLoPvYQV

Also, one thing that worries me about switching is that we use 1 project for all of our work with components representing features/business-units/clients because we need to be able to move tickets around between clients/projects.

Thanks for continuing to engage with us on this.  I'd be super-pumped to try this roadmapping feature.

[Ronald Sochocki]

Is there a way to export the Roadmap view to PDF/Word/Excel?

Ron

[Drew Heasman]

@Bree Davies - in addition to custom workflows, our organisation relies heavily on Issue Security within all projects.

[Bree Davies]

@Ronald Sochocki - this feature is on the roadmap for our roadmap (!) so keep an eye out for it very soon. 

@Drew Heasman - this is good to know, thanks for calling it out. Could you please provide an example use case of how you use issue level permissions in your company?

[Drew Heasman]

@Bree Davies - we open our Jira instance for clients to use to track their projects and raise issues. We use issue level permissions to ensure they cannot view the projects of other clients and comment visibility to ensure internal only information is not client facing.

This is just one example where the current next gen project type is not suitable for us, I could probably find many more if I had the time.

I don't agree with the stance of adding features into the next gen project type only - you'll end up with two half baked project types with a set of features that are unique to each.

The next gen project type, as I understand it, is intended to offer a subset of features of the fully fledged classic project type (which has all the features).

The advantage of the next gen type needs to be usability and simplicity - not having some extra features and missing others.

---

I worry about more forked project types in future, that will inevitably make Jira harder to maintain and administer, as (even in the same project) some users will need next gen project features, others need classic, and others the next next gen project type, when it's added.

We've already seen a divergence in feature sets between Cloud and Server, so I don't think my fears are unfounded.

[Drew Heasman]

@Bree Davies - any response?

[Drew Heasman]

@Bree Davies bump

[Drew Heasman]

@Bree Davies bump

[Steven Vande Ryse]

@Bree Davies Any update?

[Ahmed Bayyari]

I also looked at BigPicture but it was very costly. I ended up signing up for a free trial with https://www.productplan.com/help/features/jira/ to have a roadmap feature. We have over 100 projects and over 300 users on an on-premise server, all using the classic version. So getting plugins like BigPicture or Portfolio cost thousands even if it's just for one person/project due to their absurd server licensing policies. With ProductPlan we are able to license it for whatever number of users needing it. All other users that don't have a license can still view the roadmaps, they just can't edit them. So far it was easy to integrate and set up.

[Jason_Hawkins]

@Bree Davies it would be great to receive a response to @Steven Vande Ryse

Can you also please answer this question:

Is the reason why there is no road-mapping feature for Jira's classic projects because Atlassian wants to force it's users towards using Portfolio for Jira? If that is the case, I'm not sure how wise the decision it. I definitely see value in Portfolio for Jira, however the added costs outweigh the benefits. As a PM who would really like to find a more seamless way to 'roll up' our issues into a roadmap format that can be shared with executives, I have pushed for Portolio internally. The cost-benefit just isn't there. 

What is more frustrating for me as a user is that the next-gen projects have a built in (simplistic) road-mapping tool AND confluence has a (low-functionality) roadmapping tool as well. The next gen roadmapping tool only allows you to play with Epics, which is fine in my opinion (and I would be very happy to at least have access to this in classic projects). The Confluence roadmapping tool doesn't even allow you to link a Jira issue (it only lets you link a Confluence page)! Why is that?

If you are trying to direct your users with similar needs to Portfolio, please make that clear. Secondly, I would recommend adjusting your pricing strategy for Portfolio as I don't believe the ROI is there.

Thanks

[philas]

For Releaseplanning i dont think that Portfolio and BigPicture can be used: 

https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Jira-Core-questions/Re-Re-Is-it-possible-to-create-a-view-for-all-releases/qaq-p/1217305/comment-id/46562#M46562

[Severin Nussli]

@Bree Davies 

I was also looking for a solution for the Classic Project, The next-gen project roadmap would be good enougth. 

what we miss most in the nextgen project (beside different other minor functionalities):

- Possibility to link issues in the epic from other classic Projects
- Creating multiple filterbased boards. 
- Custom workflows

We are not working Project based (i never did also not in other companies) because we are in Product development, so the project wont ever end. But we have multiple products wich we track in different Projects because off different release cycles while the sprint cycles are the same. In one sprint there is a mix of tasks in different Products. Next-Gen doesn't allow you to do that. 

I would also not recommend to force the people to the nextgen project if they need the full features. The one and only thing i miss in my classic project ist the roadmap feature. Otherwise i would be happy.  So in my opinien stick to next-gen simplicity and add full features in classic as @Drew Heasman pointet out very well.

thanks

[Aron Gombas _Midori_]

@Ronald Sochocki To export the portfolio items (all types) to PDF and Excel, you can use the Better PDF Exporter and Better Excel Exporter apps. It does not export the portfolio view, but the items using a customizable template.

Something like this:

[Marcin Geb _SoftwarePlant_]

As for BigPicture, it's a portfolio management app, more than the two roadmapping modules it has (Scope, Board, Resources, Risks, Reports, Teams). Currently the cheapest of its class from Marketplace. More on roadmaps in BP: https://softwareplant.com/jira-product-roadmap/

[Josh Frank]

We've just introduced a new Jira Software roadmaps solution today: Advanced Roadmaps. We've taken the best of our product formerly known as Portfolio for Jira Cloud and gave it a major refresh. Here's the announcement post for folks that want to learn more. 

[Drew Heasman]

@Josh Frank

Just wanted to comment so that people are aware, Jira has a free implementation of Roadmaps (minus the advanced features) - available for the Next Gen and Classic projects.

There should be no need to pay extra for basic roadmaps.

[Josh Frank]

@Drew Heasman That's right that we have a basic roadmap available in next-gen projects today. One thing to clarify is the roadmap is not available yet on classic projects (it's coming soon). Next-gen roadmaps is optimized to help individual teams with planning and Advanced Roadmaps is optimized for cross-team planning (although it can work perfectly well for individual teams as well). Check out our new Jira Software roadmaps page comparing the two roadmap offerings side by side.  

[Marcin Geb _SoftwarePlant_]

BigPicture was mentioned several times...

Pictured is one quarterly product roadmap available in BigPicture.

Another one is Gantt chart module that, starting BigPicture version 8, you can rename to 'Roadmap' ;)

You've got product roadmaps of BigPicture discussed here https://softwareplant.com/jira-product-roadmap/

ad The problem arises when it's time to update the roadmap with statuses and schedule new projects. We have duplication of work and having to look in different places.

There is bi-directional sync between Jira and BigPicture.

[Chuck Foster]

Anyone else looking for roadmaps on Classic Jira Projects?

You should check out Classy Roadmap who has roadmaps for classic Jira projects.  They have a free beta open right now.  You can sign up at http://classyroadmap.com.

[AD]

thank you!

[Drew Heasman]

Note Atlassian have confirmed they are looking to add roadmaps to classic projects: https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/JSWCLOUD-17214

[Chuck Foster]

@Drew Heasman , true.  I saw that as well, but who knows if/when they will move it to an actual roadmap item and then who knows if/when it will be delivered.  Don't get me wrong, I built Classy Roadmap initially for myself to better track and present our internal and external roadmaps.  Also, we do plan to charge a very small fee for it in the near future (based of Classy Roadmap users, not Atlassian users like other roadmapping tools).  But, as long as Atlassian can get the roadmap for classic projects right, it's best for all of us to use a single tool, right?

Also, I've noticed your comments on many roadmap related community questions.  Would you want to take a peek at Classy Roadmap and give us any feedback?

[Jack Brickey]

@Chuck Foster ,

I noted a lot of recent posts by you on the classy roadmap topic. I thought I would point out the following guidelines for vendor related posting. One key thing to avoid is redirecting folks off-Community to other vendor solutions. It is fine to share your opinion/recommendation. Of course if you were to work for Classy the rules run a bit deeper. 

Atlassian-Community-guidelines-for-Marketplace-vendors-and-partners

[Chuck Foster]

Thanks @Jack Brickey .  Just checked them out and I'll stay in bounds.

[Teagan]

Hi @Chuck Foster

We've created a simple and flexible roadmapping tool for Product Managers and their teams in Jira called Easy Agile Roadmaps for Jira. 

You can schedule all of your Jira issues onto the roadmap timeline and use 'Theme/Team' swimlanes to divide your roadmap into a way that makes sense for your team - for example, in the screenshot you attached to your question, you could add swimlanes to represent 'Outbound', 'Analytics' and 'Data Management'. 

Fix versions, marketing events and company milestones can all be visualised onto your roadmap to give your engineering and business teams context around what's coming up for the organisation. 

Let me know if you have any questions, I'd be happy to help! 

Thanks Chuck, 
Teagan [Easy Agile]

[Silvesta Ng]

From a bit of playing around with Roadmaps, everything looks manual. The Epic Roadmap is just whatever you set as the start date and the due date. It doesn't even roll-up start dates and due dates from Stories below it. Is this true?

[Thomas Homolka]

Is there any update on the Excel export functionality?

[Sushmalekha Birur]

Hi, 

Solved for a Classic Project! Jira now has Roadmap Beta. 

Go to your Project-->Select Board-->Board Settings-->Roadmap Beta-->Enable

[James Harper Jr.]

Highly recommend to try Craft for this.

I synced it with my project in JIRA and push everything to Craft. It helps me to figure out all stuff in one place

https://craft.io/

[CHAITRA KUMAR]

We have a situation in our company where we need to forecast/track multiple milestone dates for a single issue. Is there a way to be able to display the issues in rows and milestones in columns and the cell values in the table contain milestone dates?

Workflow would be a snapshot in time and would not help us with a field to track the dates of every single milestone beforehand.

Anybody encountered a similar situation?

Thanks in advance!

Regards

[Ahmed Bayyari]

I also looked at BigPicture but it was very costly. I ended up signing up for a free trial with https://www.productplan.com/help/features/jira/ to have a roadmap feature. We have over 100 projects and over 300 users on an on-premise server, all using the classic version. So getting plugins like BigPicture or Portfolio cost thousands even if it's just for one person/project due to their absurd server licensing policies. With ProductPlan we are able to license it for whatever number of users needing it. All other users that don't have a license can still view the roadmaps, they just can't edit them. So far it was easy to integrate and set up.