Epic Progress
A Jira Cloud dashboard gadget. It lists the epics in a project or a JQL query, shows how much of each is done, and estimates when each will finish.
Comparing options? This comparison with ESU Lite and Jira's own reports lists what each one does.
Add it to a dashboard
- Open a dashboard and select Edit.
- Select Add gadget, search for Epic Progress, then select Add.
- Choose which epics to show and how to measure progress, then select Save.
To change the settings later, edit the dashboard, open the gadget's ⋯ menu and select Configure.
Settings
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Which epics | All open epics in a project, or epics returned by your own JQL query. JQL is checked when you save, and Jira's error is shown if it can't be used. |
| Measure progress by | Issues (done of total), Story points (points done of points estimated) or Time (hours logged of hours estimated, including sub-tasks). |
| Sort | Least complete first, most work remaining, due date, or backlog order. |
| Show up to | 1 to 50 epics. |
| Include completed epics | Also show epics whose status is done. |
| Show completion forecasts | Show the forecast line under each epic. |
Summary line
When the gadget shows two or more epics, a line at the top adds them up, for example 62% done · 5 epics · 1 at risk · 1 overdue. The percentage uses the measure you chose in the settings. Each flag appears with the number of epics that have it, and flags no epic has are left out.
What's left
Each epic with unfinished work has a What's left (N) link, where N is the number of open child issues. Select it to list them under the epic:
- In-progress issues come first, then to-do issues. Within each group the order is Jira's rank.
- Each row shows the status, the issue key, the summary, and the assignee or Unassigned. Select the key to open the issue.
- Only the first 15 open issues are listed. If there are more, a N more open in Jira link opens a Jira search for the rest.
Unestimated issues
When you measure by story points or time, an issue with no estimate can't count toward the bar, so the bar can look further along than the work is. The gadget says so next to the totals, for example 13 of 42 pts · 3 not estimated.
- A story point estimate of 0 counts as estimated.
- If nothing in the epic is estimated, the count is left out, because the line already reads No estimates.
Due dates and Target end
The gadget uses the epic's Due date. If an epic has no due date, it uses the Target end field from Jira Plans instead and labels it Target Nov 20 rather than Due Nov 20. The at-risk and overdue flags use whichever date is shown.
Forecasts
Each epic shows a line such as Likely done Nov 14 · 85% sure by Nov 27. The gadget looks at how many of the epic's issues were finished in each recent week, then runs 1,000 simulations of the remaining work at those weekly rates. Estimates aren't used.
Hover over the forecast line to see what it's based on, for example: Based on 11 issues finished in the last 6 weeks (about 1.8 a week), with 6 left. Likely is the middle of 1,000 simulated futures; 85% sure means 85 in 100 finish by then.
- Only weeks since work on the epic began are used, up to the last eight weeks.
- Forecasts need two weeks of history and at least three finished issues. Until then the gadget says so instead of guessing.
- Forecasts count issues, whichever measure you show.
Risk flags
| Flag | Meaning |
|---|---|
| At risk | The cautious (85%) forecast lands after the epic's due date or target end. |
| Overdue | The due date or target end has passed and work remains. |
| Stalled | Nothing in the epic has been finished in two weeks. |
| Scope growing | More issues were added than finished in the last two weeks. |
Select a flag to see the numbers behind it. For example:
- At risk: The 85% forecast is Nov 19, 26 days after the due date (Oct 24). The team has been finishing about 1.8 issues a week, and 9 issues are left.
- Overdue: The due date (Oct 17) passed 2 days ago, and 6 issues are still open.
- Stalled: No issue in this epic has been finished in the last two weeks. The last one was finished on Sep 30, 19 days ago.
- Scope growing: In the last two weeks, 5 issues were added and 2 finished, so the open work grew by 3.
An at-risk epic also gets a suggestion: how many open issues would have to move out of the epic for the 85% forecast to land on the date, or which date matches the current forecast. If even one remaining issue can't be finished in time at the current pace, it says so instead. The suggestion uses the same simulation as the forecast, counts issues rather than points, and assumes the team keeps its recent pace.
Good to know
- Works in company-managed and team-managed projects. Child issues are found through the Parent field.
- Story points are read from either "Story Points" or "Story point estimate", whichever your site uses.
- Time is measured against the original estimate. Remaining estimate isn't shown.
- Everyone sees only epics and issues they already have permission to view.
- Up to 3,000 child issues are counted per gadget. A note appears if that limit is reached.
- The gadget only reads Jira. It never changes issues.
Pricing
Free for up to 10 users. Above that it is priced per user and billed by Atlassian through the Marketplace. See the Marketplace listing for current prices.
Guide
How to show epic progress on a Jira Cloud dashboard, including the options built into Jira.
Your data
Epic Progress only reads Jira data to draw the gadget. It stores nothing of its own beyond the gadget settings Jira keeps for every dashboard, and no data leaves Atlassian. See the privacy policy.