How can I provide a different view of features for the same project?

[Ivans Chou]

We are using Jira to manage software development for a larger system.  The board is organized in a way that reflects the software component "view" of the project and is working well for the team, but there is a desire to track the progress of the progress from a system functional view.

I'd like some way to provide this "alternate view" of the stories and tasks without any disruption to the team because all this data are already tracked by the Jira. I can create a second list of features that captures this "alternate view" of the system.  I thought that it would be possible to view the stories remapped to this alternate view on a second Jira board, but I forgot that the issue hierarchy requires that the issue can only have one parent so a single issue can't belong to two different features/epics.  I can link issues to the other feature list but how can I generate a reports based on the alternate/linked features, similar to how feature/epics are normally tracked  (# issues, # complete, unestimated, estimated)?

[Christos Markoulatos · Accepted solution]

Hi @Ivans Chou,

You’re right that Jira’s default hierarchy (Epic → Story → Sub-task) only allows one parent per issue, so you can’t natively show the same story under two different features. However, there are a few ways to achieve your goal of providing an alternate functional view without disrupting your team’s current setup:

Option 1: Use Advanced Roadmaps (Jira Premium/Data Center)

• Advanced Roadmaps lets you create custom hierarchy levels (e.g., Initiative → Feature → Epic → Story).
• You can group and filter issues by labels, components, or custom fields to create alternate views.
• This is ideal if you want a functional view vs. component view without duplicating issues.

Option 2: Use Issue Links + Dashboards

• Keep your current Epic hierarchy for the team.
• Create a second “Feature” issue type for your functional view.
• Link stories to these features using issue links (e.g., “relates to”).
• Build dashboard gadgets or JQL filters to report on linked issues (e.g., count, progress).
• Limitation: Jira doesn’t natively roll up progress for linked issues, so reporting will be manual or require an app.

Option 3: Marketplace Apps for Alternate Views

If you need dynamic roll-ups and multiple hierarchies, consider:

• Structure by Tempo – Build custom hierarchies and alternate views.
• BigPicture – Portfolio and dependency management.
• JXL for Jira – Spreadsheet-like views with grouping and sum-ups.

These apps allow you to group by any field or link type, giving you the flexibility Jira lacks out of the box.

References

Discover Advanced Roadmaps for Jira - Atlassian Documentation

Hope tis helps!

[Ivans Chou]

Option 1 is very attractive.  I'm currently attempting Option 2, but also trying to figure out how to export each JQL of the linked features to generate reports. Since our Jira is hosted, I need to see if I have the advanced roadmap available to me.  Somewhere in your suggestions is my answer.  I'll accept when I end up picking one.  Thanks.

[Ivans Chou]

I do not have access to Advanced Roadmaps.  I've taken Option 2.  I need to figure out how to do reporting of my newly linked features.  I can easily pull out the tasks using JQL.  I will be crossing that bridge in the next week or so.  Any suggestions on how to more easily accomplish the reporting is also welcome.  Thanks.

[Mary from Planyway]

As the alternative to Advanced Roadmaps, you can try Planyway for Jira. The app provides flexible roadmapping options and lets you view them grouped by users, teams, components, epics, projects, etc. 

[Joshua Brock]

Hi @Ivans Chou ...

Looks like you found a possible solution, awesome!

I will just throw our Agile Hive hat in the ring, as we include roadmapping, dependency management, PI planning, with direct and seamless integration with both DC and Cloud instances of Jira.

Joshua
Content & Technical Writer
Agile Hive