Recap: Atlassian’s New Navigation Launch and key product team insights

[#1]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for joining the AMA for the Beta launch of Atlassian’s new navigation with our Senior Product Manager, Kristin Perchal. We hope the session gave you valuable insights into the key experience updates and answered your pressing questions.

For those who couldn’t make it, we’ve got you covered!

➡️ Watch the recording

We’re actively monitoring Community discussions and other channels to address questions about the new navigation. As part of our ongoing support, we’ve put together an FAQ section—and we’ll keep adding to it as more questions come up ⬇️

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Question	Response/Answer
Is the new navigation manually enabled by a Jira admin?	For the new navigation to be enabled, the Jira admin will have to sign up and provide the tenant ID or site URL. We’re enabling the new navigation at the site level. All users on the site URL will have the new navigation enabled. After you sign up via the survey, we’ll enable it for the tenant ID or site URL you’ve provided. If it's a production site, every user on the site has the ability to opt out via Jira Labs. If it’s a sandbox site, you cannot opt out. However, you can fill out this form or send an email to kperchal@atlassian.com to disable the new navigation for your tenant ID or site URL.
Is there a way to enable the new navigation at the user level?	No, the new navigation is enabled at the site level. However, you can sign up for a testing site and get comfortable with it before rolling it out to the larger organization.
What is the basis on which sites are selected for the early access program?	For the Early Access Program (EAP), we were looking for sites with high usage (monthly active users) with multiple products across various industries and segments that represent the majority of Atlassian’s customer base. For the Beta launch, there are no restrictions and anyone can sign up to experience the new navigation.
How long will the opt out be available at the user level?	Our goal is to create a navigation that will make it easier for all teams to find and move work forward. As such, we will continue to let users opt in and out of the experience until we’re confident in the new experience. To make that decision, we will look at the adoption and usage patterns for different people and different role types.
How can I turn on/off the new navigation?	Since the new navigation is enabled at the site level, all users on the site URL will have the new navigation enabled by default. To turn on/off the new navigation: From the top right corner, select Settings > General settings. Under Jira Labs, you can toggle the switch on/off for New look and feel. Refresh the page. Note: Turning on/off the new navigation via Jira Labs will only affect you and not all users on the site.
What is the proposed timeline for Beta? When will it end and when will the new navigation go to GA?	Our goals for the Beta launch are to: Understand the scalability across different use cases Collect feedback from different cohorts of customers Ensure customers feel supported Make the necessary change management tools available for their organizations As we work our way through the Beta launch and gather insights for the above, we’ll move on to GA. We anticipate GA to be around March to June 2025
What does the admin experience look like in the new navigation?	To give you an overview of the admin experience in new navigation, watch the demo here.
Why can’t I see the Jira Labs under Settings for my site?	We have disabled the option to opt out for the below cohort: Sites on the Free edition Sandbox sites New users who’ve never used the old navigation in their sites before While we’ve disabled opt out, you can fill out this form or send an email to kperchal@atlassian.com to disable the new navigation for your tenant ID or site URL.
I’m unsure if I want to expose my entire organization to the new navigation without exploring it first. What can I do?	You can sign up as a new user and create an Atlassian account. You’ll experience the new navigation, and once you’re comfortable with the experience, you can sign up with your organization’s site here.
When will I get Beta for my site?	We’re cautiously rolling out the new navigation to Beta participants in waves until mid February 2025. Participants who registered before 1:00 PM on December 19th, 2024 (AEDT), will have access to the new navigation for their instance by December 20th, 2024 (AEDT). For those who register after this date, you haven't missed out! The Beta rollout will resume during the week of January 6th, 2025.

If you haven’t signed up for the Beta launch, simply click the link below to join us and experience the new navigation firsthand.

➡️ Sign up now

Thank you for your continued engagement and feedback. Together, let’s make this transition as smooth and impactful as possible.

Cheers,
The Atlassian navigation team

[Yatish Madhav]

Thanks @Varsha Patel - i logged a ticket to opt in on my test site but it doesnt look like it is active on there yet. Any way to follow up? I cant seem to find an email or a way to follow up or check?

Thanks for the Loom videos - looks like that will help!

Thank you

[Jeremiah Rappley]

This information is super helpful, thank you @Varsha Patel

I received an email back in October inviting me to join the open beta. I signed up with my testing site but I never received a response and still don't see the navigation enabled. How can I follow up to get this enabled?

[Gary Spross]

@Varsha Patel, the demos are great, but I didn't see anything regarding how the Jira settings menus (System, Products, Projects, Issues, & Apps) will look. I imagine these will have an updated look and feel as well? Can you provide a video showcasing what those screens will look like?

[Apryl Harris]

Hello,
My org has several projects with multiple boards. In the old nav it was very easy to see and get to each board in a project. However, in the new nav, I do NOT see how to select each new board from the project level. 

I am sure there I am missing it on the board. Please advise. 

Thank you.

Note: please disregard this question. I found it. I tried to delete this comment but couldn't.

[Joni Johnson]

Thank you @Varsha Patel -  I do like the new look and feel though it does take some getting used to after working with Jira for over a decade.

NEVER MIND - I found it!

The current app switcher menu allowed the admins to add custom links in the More section. In viewing the new look and feel, I wasn't able to locate those custom links we setup. How will these "custom links" going to show and work in the new look and feel? NEVER MIND - I see there is still an App Switcher Menu and they display there.

[Joni Johnson]

On the Jira Projects where you have multiple boards, I found how to see the different boards for a Jira Project. I am wondering if I missed something or if there are changes coming to improve the user experience. I select the project from view all projects which brings up one board. I refreshed my browser then saw the project in the recent section on the left navigation along with the other boards associated with it. It would be nice to have the project show in the left navigation when selected and viewed.  I also noticed you can see all the boards from Your Work and selecting the drop down on one of the most recent projects viewed. I currently use the "Your Work" drop down from the top menu to navigate since I switch between some many different Jira Boards and Jira Projects depending on what I am researching..

[Gary Spross]

@Varsha Patel, we've begun using the new navigation in our production instance. It's really great, but there are 2 things I'm not a fan of:

1. When I select "View all projects" and select a project, it opens in the main window, but the project doesn't appear in the "Recent" area until I do a refresh of my browser
   • This is annoying because to access the other boards within the project you need to be able to see the project in the sidebar to then select a different board
   • It's also needed to access the "Project settings"
   • Having a drop down selection for each of these items above the board being viewed would be helpful
2. When you navigate to the "Project settings", the sidebar changes to show the project settings. This makes sense, but I'd like a split in the sidebar so that I can see and utilize the main navigation items as well
   • When those items were along the top, they were always available
   • This sidebar menu could even be a pre-collapsed so it's at least available, but not taking up real estate within the sidebar
   • It would also be nice if the project settings back arrow allowed you to do so via a separate browser tab (like you can with any other "link")

[Vikrant Yadav]

New navigation bar not looks good to me. Now jira look and feels similar to other work management tools like Asana, Clickup these all tools have project and other stuff on side panel. 
Old navigation bar makes Jira different from other tools in the market. Now Jira is copying/implementing similar other tools available in market.  

[Yatish Madhav]

@Varsha Patel  - i am using the new nav and am liking the new UI along with it ...

Quick suggestion or request - Please can you provide stats and analytics of performance improvements in new vs old nav and UI that come along with this change?

I would like to motivate for and share this prior to it getting to GA with out teams. And I am curious if this change is in fact improving speed of Jira at all. This is also to make sure it is adopted smoothly in the org as users can be very hesitant to change.

Thank you

[Rick van Twillert _TMC_]

Not sure where to post this, but opening the board settings and once found, getting back, is not very intuitive:

Also, it would be great if the sidebar was a bit more dynamic. When creating a new project with shared settings, the project opens after creation, but isn't featured in the sidebar. Due to the new UI, there is no way to create a board at this point until you hard refresh the page, which is counter intuitive for most users.

[Trudy Claspill]

@Varsha Patel 

How do we report problems for this functionality?

My personal site is Free and the new navigation was applied to it. I can't open a support case because I don't pay for my subscription.

The problem:the navigation panel does not refresh/repaint reliably.

Sometimes when I navigate to Board Settings for an agile board the navigation panel does not refresh to show all the Board Settings options. I have to refresh the browser tab to get it to update.

When I go to the View All Projects page and select a different project the navigation panel on the left doesn't update to show the project I selected. I have to refresh the browser tab to get the panel to update.

[Gary Spross]

I second what both @Rick van Twillert _TMC_ and @Trudy Claspill mentioned. It's very annoying that the sidebar does not update with a newly opened project. It would also be helpful if the "Recents" section showed more than the last 5 items. Maybe this could be configurable?

I also find it more difficult to jump around like I used to with the old nav. I thought maybe it was just a need to get used to it, but the blank space along the top feels wasted. It would be more useful if shortcuts could be applied along the top bar.

[Trudy Claspill]

@Varsha Patel 

Where does one find the option for viewing Archived Issues in the new navigation?

This has been asked within the Jira Questions forum:

https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Jira-questions/View-Archived-Issues-in-new-navigation/qaq-p/2932354

[Brent Lee]

@Varsha Patel From what I can gather this will be enabled by default at the site level when this rolls out. Is there no way to have it disabled by default? We have hundreds of users that are not necessarily tech savvy and it will be a nightmare when this rolls out. It would be much better to select a group of people across teams to test it out and be available to help their own teams with questions as they turn it on. 

[James Rickards _Spark-Nel_]

I just read your article https://support.atlassian.com/jira-software-cloud/docs/what-is-the-new-navigation-in-jira/

It had screenshots of Jira and JSM's new navigation.

It said you were bringing consistency, yet in JSM the navigation seems to be in the side bar, but in Jira it's in the new horizontal project navigation bar. This is not consistent.

[Sanjay Samani]

I received the announcement email yesterday (3 Feb 2025). It is a bit confusing. It says the new navigation is going to roll out from March, which sounds like it is rolling out as a feature, and new customers will only get the new navigation.

There is then a link to Sign up which then appears to be the Beta, which presumably is running until March? 

After March, will we be able to control when we adopt the new navigation, by signing up in the same place. Or will sites be added automatically from March to June?

Is there a way that we can sign up for the new navigation, but switch it off for all users, except a few, so that we can prepare training and rollout and then manage the roll out to users once they've received training?

Essentially what level of control do we have over GA deployment?

[Jeremy Drexler]

Hi @Varsha Patel - I just went through the recording. Is the Atlassian team still planning on providing any enablement material that I can share with my group in preparation for the switch? Thanks

[Belto]

If you're experiencing any issues from third-party apps, please see JRACLOUD-92775 - Broken connect apps nested pages on instances with new navigation

[Katie McDaniel]

I'm really excited about the new look.

Are users still going to need to switch back and forth between Jira and Confluence? Or can they add spaces/pages in the sidebar as well?