Jira Dashboards are often the first thing users see when they log in—and often the last thing they understand well.
Despite their critical role in visualizing project health and team productivity, dashboards in Jira frequently become cluttered, duplicated, misnamed, or abandoned.
As a Jira administrator, I’ve seen firsthand how improper dashboard management can spiral into chaos.
In this article, I’ll outline common dashboard-related problems, dive into the importance of naming conventions, and share best practices.
I will also share a few Marketplace apps that can help to make a difference.
Dashboard proliferation is a common problem in very large Jira instances. Users often create dashboards for personal or specific purposes, but abandon them when the project ends.
Over time, when new dashboards are created without cleaning up the old leads to following issues:
Countless numbers of dashboards
Duplicate dashboards with slight variations
Dashboards no longer in use but still shared globally
Dashboards are often shared with “Everyone” or "Any Logged-in Users" expose sensitive data
Users unintentionally disclose confidential info via dashboard, filters or gadgets titles even without access to issues
Dashboards display errors due to deleted filters, projects, or mismatched permissions from the underlying filters
Legacy gadgets (like gadgets from old plugins) may not be compatible after many Jira version upgrades
Compare the dashboard names on the left and right. Which ones do you think is better? Can you identify the improvement?
Approach 1
|
Approach 2
|
---|---|
DRC | DRC: Testing Dashboard |
2025 Tracking | SUPPORT: Tracking (2025) |
PMO Project | ITPMO: Project Dashboard |
Project Overview | MCHART: Project Overview |
Sprint Planning | DFOLDER: Sprint Planning |
Monthly Project Review | ACJ: Project Review (Monthly) |
IT Dept Quarterly KPI Review | [ITD]: KPI Review (Quarterly) |
IT Dept Annual KPI Review | [ITD]: KPI Review (Annual) |
Jira Usage Analysis Report Section A | [ITD]: Jira Usage Analysis - Part A |
From the examples below, you will realize that naming dashboards effectively is crucial for enhancing usability, facilitating discovery, and improving overall team collaboration.
A consistent naming scheme can
Based on extensive experience across multiple organizations, I recommend the following hierarchical naming convention for Jira Dashboards
Project Key/Business Unit: Purpose - Sub-purpose (Timeframe/Status)
Component
|
Description
|
---|---|
Project Key/Business Unit: |
|
Purpose |
|
- Sub-purpose |
|
(Timeframe/Status) |
|
Do you see a better picture now?
Approach 2
|
---|
DRC: Testing Dashboard |
DFOLDER: Sprint Planning |
SUPPORT: Tracking (2025) |
[ITD]: KPI Review (Quarterly) |
[ITD]: Jira Usage Analysis - Part A |
The naming structure encompasses the following principles
To be fair, there is a reason why people prefers short names for dashboards. It is due to the Jira's UI design.
Long names are either partially obstructed or truncated due to the width of the side bar or menu bar.
This issue is addressed with the ability to define aliases for dashboards. The full name of the dashboard is no longer necessary when additional context is available through other forms
Another common issue of outdated dashboards is because the dashboard can only be edited by the owner who has left the organization.
The only way is for Jira Admins to take over the ownership of the dashboards.
This usually does not happens because
I have also included a possible solution to this problem in the best practices below.
Conduct workshops or provide documentation on:
Every shared dashboard must have an active owner. Remove or reassign when someone leaves.
Restrict dashboard sharing to specific groups/projects unless needed
Maintain a set of officially sanctioned dashboards (e.g., project health, SLA performance, sprint reports).
Review dashboards at least once every 6 - 12 months.
Identify unused, orphaned or duplicate dashboards for housekeeping
Here are some Jira apps which are useful for working with dashboards.
App
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Key Benefits
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Better PDF Exporter for Jira |
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Dashboard Assistant for Jira Cloud |
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Dashboard Folders for Jira |
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Menu Gadgets |
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Rich Filters for Jira Dashboards |
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Dashboard management represents a critical but often overlooked aspect of Jira administration. As administrators, we play a key role in enabling scalable visibility, performance, and usability for all teams.
By enforcing clear naming conventions, regularly auditing dashboards, and using the right tooling, you can keep Jira dashboards streamlined, secure, and genuinely useful.
The strategy of combining folders (for macro-organization) with strict naming (for micro-clarity) will provide a foundation for building a sustainable dashboard ecosystem that will serve your organization effectively as it grows and evolves.
Do remember that dashboard management is not a one-time initiative but an ongoing process that requires continuous attention and refinement.
Hua Soon SIM _Akeles_
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