Ultimate Guide to Jira Roadmap: 30 Most Popular Questions for 2025

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Whether you're new to Jira or a seasoned project manager, understanding how to create and manage a roadmap is essential for streamlined project planning. Jira Roadmap helps you visualize project goals, timelines, and tasks, making it an invaluable tool for teams of all sizes. In this detailed guide, we'll explore everything you need to know about Jira Roadmaps, answer the most frequently asked questions, and introduce you to Planyway—a solution that will elevate your Jira roadmap experience.

Basics

1. What is a Jira Roadmap?

A Jira Roadmap is a visual planning tool that enables teams to map out and track the progression of a project. It provides a high-level view of milestones, tasks, and deadlines. It can display items like epics, stories, and releases, helping project managers and teams visualize the sequence of tasks over time. Roadmaps in Jira help teams prioritize work, identify dependencies, and ensure alignment with broader organizational goals.

2. How do I create a roadmap in Jira?

To create a roadmap in Jira:

• Open your project and navigate to the Timeline tab.
  

• Create Epics and other issues and assign them start and end dates.
  

• Adjust the timeline, dependencies, and priority for each issue as needed.
  

3. How can I customize my Jira roadmap view?

If you want to achieve more flexibility over your roadmap, try the Planyway for Jira plugin. The app will let you group your timeline by team members, teams, projects, epics, and components. 

4. What is the difference between a basic and advanced roadmap in Jira?

• Basic Roadmap (now called Timeline): Available in Jira Software (Cloud and Data Center), it allows teams to visualize tasks and timelines, track progress, and organize work using epics and issues.
  
  

• Advanced Planning (Plans): Available in Jira Software Premium, it offers more powerful features like:
  

  • Cross-project planning.

  • Cross-team planning

  • Managing dependencies.

  • Capacity planning.

  • Team and stakeholder reporting.

5. How do I manage dependencies between tasks in Jira roadmaps?

You can manage dependencies by:

• Linking issues: In the Jira roadmap, you can create issue links to represent dependencies between tasks.
  

• Visualizing dependencies: Jira’s roadmap view will automatically show these links, making it easier to track how the completion of one task affects another.
  

• Advanced Planning: In Jira Premium, dependencies are more robustly managed with visualization tools for more complex projects.

6. Can I track milestones using Jira roadmaps?

Jira roadmaps do not have an official feature for milestones. As a workaround you may use Releases and see them on your roadmap or create a Milestone issue type.

If you’re ok with the third-party app, you may visualize milestones with Planyway plugin.

7 What are epics, and how are they used in Jira roadmaps?

Epics are large bodies of work that can be broken down into smaller tasks or stories. In a Jira roadmap, epics are used to represent significant milestones or deliverables in the project timeline. They help visualize the larger picture of your project while tracking smaller, incremental tasks.

Here is more about epics in Jira.

8. How do I manage releases within Jira roadmaps?

To manage releases:

• Use versions to associate tasks and epics with specific release cycles.
  

• Track release progress in the roadmap, use the "Release Burndown" or "Release Status" chart.
  
  
  

9. How can I filter and search for specific items in my Jira roadmap?

Jira allows you to filter your roadmap by:

• Project.
  

• Issue Type (e.g., Epic, Story, Bug).
  

• Priority.
  

• Assignee. You can also use the search bar to quickly locate specific issues or milestones.

10. How do I handle sprints and iterations within Jira roadmaps?

You can create sprints in Jira and assign them to specific timelines in your roadmap. Each sprint should have its own set of tasks that align with your overall project goals. In Planyway you can track sprints visually as bars on the roadmap.

11. How do I use Jira roadmaps for portfolio management?

Portfolio management in Jira roadmaps involves tracking multiple projects in one view, using Advanced Roadmaps to manage timelines, resources, and dependencies across various initiatives. In Planyway you have the chance to connect any number of Jira projects to any roadmap view to manage them all together. Plus, there is a view that lets you see each project in the individual lane.

Resource and capacity planning with Jira Roadmap

12. How do I handle resource allocation in Jira roadmaps?

Resource allocation is handled by:

• Assigning tasks to specific team members

• Tracking capacity in Advanced Roadmaps to ensure the workload is balanced.

• Monitoring progress through the roadmap to ensure that resources are being efficiently used.
  

With Planyway plugin you can get a more visual approach to the resource management so that you can easily see who is doing what by when, track deadlines, and even balance workload to prevent over and under allocation. 

13. How do I prioritize tasks within my Jira roadmap?

You can prioritize tasks by:

• Setting start and due dates for tasks.

• Assigning priority levels (High, Medium, Low).

• Using swimlanes to categorize issues by priority.

• Visualizing dependencies to ensure critical tasks are completed first.

14. Can I create Gantt charts using Jira roadmaps?

Yes, Jira roadmaps allow you to create a simplified version of a Gantt chart. You can visualize tasks and dependencies over time with a timeline view. However, for more advanced Gantt chart features, consider using plugins like BigPicture or Advanced Roadmaps.

15. Can I set up notifications for changes in my Jira roadmap?

Yes, you can set up notifications in Jira to alert you to changes in general. For example, you can receive notifications when tasks are updated, when a milestone is reached, or when a new issue is added. Here’s more detail. 

16. Can I use Jira roadmaps to track project budgets and resources?

While Jira is primarily designed for task tracking, you can manage resources through Advanced Roadmaps or use plugins to integrate budget tracking and resource management features. In Planyway you can use time tracking to calculate efforts and then make reports to track budget and invoice clients.

17. How do I collaborate with team members using Jira roadmaps?

Collaboration in Jira is facilitated by:

• Sharing the roadmap with team members.
  

• Assigning tasks to different team members and tracking their progress.
  

• Using comments and @mentions to communicate about specific issues or updates on the roadmap.

Sharing Jira roadmap

18. Is it possible to share Jira roadmaps with stakeholders outside of Jira?

Yes, Jira roadmaps can be shared by exporting them as PDFs or using third-party tools like Planyway to embed or export them to external platforms. You can also share a read-only link for stakeholders to access the roadmap directly.

19. How do I present my Jira roadmap to stakeholders effectively?

Present your Jira roadmap by:

• Exporting it to a readable format like PDF.
  

• Sharing it in Confluence or via a direct link.
  

• Regularly updating the roadmap to reflect progress.
  
  

Integrations

21. Can I integrate Jira roadmaps with third-party calendar applications?

Yes, you can integrate Jira roadmaps with third-party calendar apps like Google Calendar or Outlook to synchronize tasks and deadlines. For Google Calendar integration you may consider Google Calendar+ for Jira and Issue Events. For Outlook: Outlook Connector for Jira and Microsoft 365 for Jira. 

21. Can I integrate Jira roadmaps with other tools like Confluence?

Yes, Jira can be integrated with Confluence. You can embed Jira roadmaps in Confluence pages, allowing stakeholders to view real-time project updates and roadmaps directly from Confluence. This ensures a seamless flow of information and avoids switching between platforms.

21. Can I import data from other project management tools into Jira roadmaps?

Yes, you can use Jira’s import feature to synchronize data from external tools. Here’s the detailed guide to explore further.

23. Can I export my Jira roadmap to other formats like PDF or Excel?

Yes, Jira roadmaps can be exported to PDF or Excel formats. This can be done directly from Jira’s roadmap view or by using third-party tools like Planyway.

Advanced tips

24. How do I handle cross-functional projects using Jira roadmaps?

You could create Epics in your main project and put under them all the necessary tasks or stories from the other projects. Once done, track the overall progress at the Epic level, while each individual team still works on their own tasks/projects that belong to the Epics.

You can use Jira's native gadgets or reports to track Epics or simply visualize work on a roadmap grouped by Epics with the Planyway app.

25. How do I handle changes in project scope using Jira roadmaps?

To handle scope changes:

• Reassess the timeline: Adjust the roadmap as new tasks or milestones are added.
  

• Update dependencies: Make sure any new changes reflect the impact on other tasks.
  

• Communicate with stakeholders: Ensure that everyone is aware of changes to scope.
  
  

26. What are some common challenges when using Jira roadmaps, and how can I overcome them?

Challenges include:

• Overcomplicating the roadmap: Keep it simple by focusing on high-level tasks.
  

• Inaccurate data: Ensure that team members regularly update the roadmap.
  

• Managing dependencies: Use Advanced Roadmaps to handle complex dependencies effectively.
  
  

27. Can I use Jira roadmaps for agile project management?

Yes, Jira roadmaps are designed for agile teams. They allow you to plan sprints, releases, and track progress using the agile framework of epics, stories, and tasks.

28. What is the role of labels and components in Jira roadmaps?

Labels and components help organize issues in your roadmap by categorizing them based on common themes or areas of the project. This makes it easier to filter and prioritize tasks. If you use Planyway roadmap, you have the option to group you roadmap by components.

29. What are the benefits of using a roadmap in Jira?

Jira Roadmaps help project managers:

• Visualize Project Progress: easily track the progress of tasks, milestones, and epics.
  

• Prioritize Work: plan and prioritize tasks across teams or projects.
  

• Coordinate Teams: align teams and stakeholders on the project timeline.
  

• Improve Transparency: provide visibility into project status for everyone involved.
  

• Ensure Timely Delivery: stay on top of deadlines and dependencies.
  
  

30. What are some best practices for using Jira roadmaps effectively?

• Keep the roadmap updated regularly.
  

• Use Epics to represent milestones or deliverables.
  

• Break down complex tasks into smaller, actionable items.
  

• Leverage dependencies to manage cross-team collaboration.
  

• Regularly review and adjust priorities as the project progresses.
  

[Faizal Rahman]

This explains well on Roadmaps and how to use it.