No due dates?

[Ben F]

I am new to Jira and wondering how it can be project management software when there is no apparent way to set a due date for anything. A project by definition has a start date and end date.  I have tried competing software and due dates are everywhere,,, like they should be.  Am I missing something?

[Ben F · Accepted solution]

Been searching the forums earliest today, found a lot of posts about Due Date and how it is missing, many  of the instructions to add it must be dated as they refer to links and steps that don’t seem to apply any longer.

Found it myself, still not sure why it’s not turned on by default, but here is how I did it:

To set Due Date for an Epic.

Create a project > create a epic .  Epic is created, but due date field is not present.

Now go to “Create” button on top of the screen.   Create > New window opens. Under “Issue Type” drop down select “Epic” >  New window opens, in that top corner is a button for “Configure Fields” click that > A list of fields is shown (due date is missing).  Click on link “Where is my field?’ > Type “Due Date” in search box >  Another window opens with a list of results, scroll down toward the bottom,   find “due date is not included…   …To solve this problem go to ….”  Click that link > A new screen opens displaying a list of fields, due date is not on it.   Scroll to the bottom to a dropdown box, choose “Due Date” from the dropdown box.  Due date is now added.  Drag around in the order you would like it to appear.

To set Due Date for a task:

Click on “Create” button on top of screen > New window opens. Under “Issue Type” drop down select “Task”.  Just click “create” at the bottom (in this case the “configure fields” button does not provide an options for “due date”). The window closes and you are back at your original view.  Click on an Epic, create a task under it. Once the task is generated click on it again to open it. Toward the bottom click on configure.  A menu appears on the right hand side, scroll to the bottom under “Previously Created Fields” you will see Due Date, click it on and it is added to the task.  Now due date option will appear on all tasks that you add

Maybe there is an easier way, but finding help on this topic has been harder than it should be.

[Dainora Bucyte]

If someone still wondering around where to find Due date, start date or other field.

Click on any created task -> Configure -> You will see at the top text "To add more fields, or configure field tabs for this screen, go to {Your screen name} " click on it->Add your fields. :)

[Vero Rivas]

Hi @Ben F 

   I do not know exactly what you mean by the date, I give you a screenshot of my Jira Cloud and the field is, you just have to fill it in, regardless of the way you want to use it.

  

   Sorry it's in Spanish, but my tour is configured in that language

Cheers

[Bastian Stehmann]

Hi @Ben F ,

Welcome to the community. 

Having a due date for a whole project doesn't make so much sense in my opinion as the due date is changed constantly. 

But if you want to use due dates for issues in your project, thats no problem and the due date is a default field.

If you want to use milestones  you could use the versions feature, and assign the issues to the version. 

[Jack Brickey]

Adding to this consider using an Epic (or Initiative if on Premium) for projects with end dates. Generally speaking, Projects in Jira are open ended  but don’t have to be.