How to create custom level of hierarchy above Portfolio Epic in JIRA Data center?

[Digvijay Singh Gehlot]

Hi Community,

I want to create a custom level of hierarchy above the Portfolio Epic in JIRA data center.

My use-case is:

• Currently, we have Epics > Features > Tasks > Sub-tasks where we follow Parent-Child process from top to bottom in a hierarchy.
• We want to introduce a new Initiative as Intake Request and want to put above of Portfolio Epic. 
• In my JIRA data center instance and under Manage apps, I could see Advanced Roadmaps for JIRA and in Hierarchy configurations, I can create a new level, but it also says "Changes to the hierarchy will apply to all existing plans".

Here, I only want to add the new level in a specific project, not disturbing already existing Parent-Child flow (i.e. Epic > Feature > Task > Sub-task) with the above use-case. 

I also followed the below articles and video for reference but I need to understand how I can configure a new hierarchy level above epic for a specific project in JIRA data center instance:

https://confluence.atlassian.com/adminjiraserver/configuring-custom-field-contexts-1047552717.html

https://confluence.atlassian.com/jirasoftwareserver/configure-your-jira-software-instance-for-advanced-roadmaps-1044784156.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1TvgkwGnLE

Please guide further with detailed explanation on how to configure a custom hierarchy level above epic in Jira datancenter.

Thanks

[Hans Polder _Devoteam_]

@Digvijay Singh Gehlot ,

Basically, if you only want to add a layer above the layer that is currently the highest, it won't affect your existing data or Plans.

It would only affect it in the way that in a Plan, you would now have the option to select issues from "Epic+1-layer > sub-task" instead of "Epic-layer > sub-task". 

Do you have a test/acceptance environment you could play around with to make this change?

Also:

- Which version of Jira Data Center are you using?

- As I understand, you already have a custom hierarchy (the 'Feature' issue type below Epic). Is that correct? Also, did you use the 'Terminology' feature in Jira Admin System Settings to apply any changes already?

[Digvijay Singh Gehlot]

Hi @Hans Polder _Devoteam_ 

Thank you for your message.

I have JIRA data center QA environment with version 9.4.20.

I am able to create a new level of hierarchy above Epic as Initiative and linked it with an issue type as Intake Request.

Later, I looked for "Terminology" option in Jira Admin System Settings and could see that Sprint(s) and Epic(s) are defined there. But I would like to ask, is there any impact of Terminology option when configuring a custom Hierarchy Level?

After creating a new custom level as Initiative and placing it above Epic, I am able to link it with a specific project and it's Issue Type scheme, Issue Type Screen scheme, etc.

Now, I have further concerns as below:

• Earlier, I was using a Standard Issue Type (where I have not defined it as Epic/ Feature/ Task/ Sub-task in Advanced Roadmaps) in the specific project.
• With that Standard Issue Type, I was able to create an issue with custom fields and once the issue created, I was showing the values of custom fields present in that issue on Dashboard.
• Now, when I changed the Standard Issue Type with the Initiative, and creating a new issue, the issue is not reflecting on the Dashboard. (Blank values are showing under Custom Field columns although the values are present in Custom fields)
• I have done all the necessary checks like updated the Issue Type scheme, screen and issue type screen schemes, field configurations, update issue filter for Dashboard gadget "Filter Results", etc. but I am still not able to see the issues created with Intake Request (linked with Initiative level).
• However, values in system fields are appearing on Dashboard like Summary, Description.

Could you please guide me where exactly I am making the mistake when creating a new level as Initiative above the Epic and then using it in specific project as I am not able to show the values of custom fields (created with Initiative) on the Dashboard?

Please let me know if you need any additional details.

Thanks  

[Hans Polder _Devoteam_]

Hi,

Thanks for your elaborate reply!

• The Terminology is related since you have a layer below Epic. So, I was curious to learn if you used this function, or not. Could you share a screenshot of this screen, as well as the hierarchy configuration settings?
• Generally, for Data Center, my advice would be to first do a full reindex to rule out any issues there.