Using Statistical Markers to Group Issues

Note that this page only applies if you are using the Classic Boards (which are no longer being actively developed; read more).

If your project administrator has configured statistics (e.g. story points, time tracking), you can set statistical markers on your Planning Board to help you see how much work can be assigned to a particular version, component or assignee.

A typical scenario where you would use a statistical marker is:

• You have set up story points for your project. (A story point is just a custom statistic named "Story Point".)
• You have configured a maximum capacity of Story Point values for your versions.
• You want to assign issues from your backlog to a version based on issue ranking and your team's velocity (story point capacity per sprint).

Note that, if your project is using the 'Scrum' project template, the following custom statistics will have been configured by default: "Story Points", "Standard Issue Count", "Business Value" and "Time Remaining". However, you will only be able to use these if your administrator has configured them to show markers. Please refer to Configuring a Custom Statistic for details on how to show a statistical marker (note that only administrators can do this).

To use a statistical marker on your Planning Board,

1. Log into JIRA or navigate to your dashboard, if you are already logged in.
2. Select Agile > Classic in the top navigation bar. Then select Classic Planning Board from the drop-down below the project name.
3. Select your project from the project dropdown at the top left of the Planning Board, if it is not already selected. The Planning Board will refresh with information for your project.
4. Display the issues for your selected version/component/assignee by clicking the header of the relevant box in the right column (e.g. click 'Unscheduled' to display the issues in your backlog).
   You may also find it easier to view your issues as a list rather than as cards.
5. Use a context to sort your issues by the Rank field.
   Note that the Rank field will only be available if your administrator has configured it for your project, as described in Configuring your General Project Settings.
6. Click the icon next to the desired statistic (e.g. 'Story Points', 'Time estimate'), in the box for the currently displayed version/component/assignee. The page will refresh and display a statistical marker (i.e. grey separator row) against your issues (see 'Statistical Marker Example' screenshot below). The statistical marker will have a number on the right of the separator row (editable by project administrators only) indicating the statistical value that you are grouping your issue by (e.g. 12 story points). The marker will be placed just above the first issue on the project board that will cause this statistical value to be exceeded.
   Note that statistics will only be visible if your administrator has configured them to show markers, as described in Configuring a Custom Statistic.
   Screenshot: Statistical Marker
   
   ¹ Name of the statistic being used as a marker
   ² Capacity — 'Max' value of statistic
   ³ Marker Value — Value currently being used to determine position of marker
   • If the Capacity and the Marker Value are not the same then an arrow appears between the two. Clicking the arrow will reset the Marker Value to the Capacity.
   • If a 'texture' symbol appears in the middle of the bar, then you can:
     • drag the bar up or down to set a temporary value for the Marker Value — that is, to set a value for just the current version/component/assignee, not change the Marker Value permanently for all versions/components/assignees.
     • drag the bar into a given box to associate all the issues above the bar with that box's version/component/assignee.

     • hold down the <CTRL> key and drag the bar into a given box to associate all the issues below the bar with that box's version/component/assignee.

       Example

       Consider the scenario where you want to assign issues from your backlog (unscheduled issues) to a version. You know that your team only has the capacity to do 12 story points worth of work for a version. You can display the statistical marker for 12 story points against your list of unscheduled issues on the Planning Board. The marker will display just above the first issue that will exceed the 12 story point limit. Hence, everything above the line can be dragged and dropped to the desired version without exceeding the team's capacity. See the 'Statistical Marker Example' screenshot below for an example of this scenario.

7. (project administrators only) To change the value of the statistic being grouped against, edit the value in the textbox on the right of the statistical marker row and press Enter (on your keyboard). You can also set the value to the capacity (i.e. max values specified when configuring the statistic for your Planning Board). The Planning Board will refresh and the statistical marker will be moved accordingly.

Screenshot: Statistical Marker Example