Summary

In Jira Align there is a relationship between the Points, T-Shirt sizes and Member Weeks fields applied to features that is controlled by the Estimation Conversions.         

The settings for Estimation Conversions for Jira Align features are set under  Jira Align > Settings / Administration >  Platform > Portfolio > Estimation Conversions 

How to initially set the estimate settings relating to T-Shirt Size, Member Weeks and Story Points is covered by the information in Configure estimation settings. However, that article does not fully cover changing / updating the estimation settings in a Jira integrated configuration where the existing settings are already used in the production environment. 

This article discusses how to change the settings, the effects seen after making the changes and follow up actions that may be needed.

Environment

Jira Align

Solution

In the Details Panel of a feature, only one of the fields for  Points, T-Shirt sizes and Member Weeks is visible at a time. The other two fields are hidden but can be subject to background adjustments based on the Estimation Conversions. Such adjustments can be seen in the audit logs. Which of the three fields is set as visible is configuring by the Estimation System that is Portfolio specific and set in  Jira Align > Settings / Administration > Platform > Portfolio Specific Configuration

The default Estimation System  that is applied to newly created Portfolios can be set in Jira Align > Settings / Administration > (Settings) Platform > Portfolio

As there are two clear scenarios when updating the settings, the solution will be broken into these different scenarios

Scenario 1 - How to change the Estimation Conversions values against the existing list of T-Shirt sizes in Jira Align

1. Go to Jira Align > Settings / Administration > Platform > Portfolio > Estimation Conversions: Manage Here (link)

2. In the Work Item dropdown choose Feature (Note: this field honours the Platform Terminology settings)

3. Adjust the settings for As a general standard, how many story Points does a person deliver in one week? (at the top) and the Member Weeks values on each row as required
        

4. When done click the Save button

5. Click Continue on the confirmation pop-up
        
6. The previous screen will refresh and if you scroll to the top a warning will be displayed indicating that the changes may take up to 30 minutes
   

7. Jira Align will then automatically adjust any of the Points, Member Weeks and T-Shirt sizes for all features based on the value for the current setting of the Estimation System under Jira Align > Administration > (Settings) Platform > Portfolio OR Jira Align > Administration > (Settings) Platform > Portfolio Specific Configuration

Scenario 1 - Effects seen after changing the Estimation Conversion settings

• In the background, the automatic adjustment performed by Jira Align changes the values of either one of both of the hidden fields, based on the new Estimation Conversions and the current setting for the visible field that is set as the Portfolio Estimation System 

• The automatic adjustment performed by Jira Align can be tracked by checking Jira Align > Administration > (Logs) Changes

  • On saving the change to the settings a log entry is created for the Estimation Conversion Change and recorded as being made by the user that changed the settings. This entry defines when the process to make the changes began:
    

  • As the affected features are adjusted, log entries for each feature will be created and recorded against a user called "Jira Align System". These entries are also recorded in the audit log of the features:
    
• The warning message (seen in Step 6) will be removed when the process has finished (re-opening the screen with the message is needed to see this removal)

• Since the change in the 10.109.x release Jira Align does no longer syncs background of these hidden fields into Jira. Note: Direct changes made by an end user to the visible field, as set in the Estimation Settings are synced to Jira 

• Updates performed in Jira after such changes can change the values set in the fields in Jira Align. 

Scenario 1 - Follow-up Actions

After such a change, checks should be made to ensure all affected features have the correct value set in the field specified for the Estimation System. While the value itself should not be changed by the process (as it is the hidden fields that change their values) there are likely to be business reasons why the visible value in the affected features needs adjusting.

Scenario 2 - How to add, delete or rename a T-Shirt size (Jira Align Changes)

These three actions have been grouped together as the required follow-up actions are similar for all three.

1. Go to Jira Align > Settings / Administration > Platform > Portfolio > Estimation Conversions: Manage Here (link)

2. In the Work Item dropdown choose Feature (Note: this field honours the Platform Terminology settings)

3. To change the name of a T-Shirt Size, replace the text in the applicable T-Shirt Size box with the new text

4. To delete a T-Shirt Size, use the red cross ( X ) at the end of the row

5. To add a new T-Shirt Size use the + Add new size link located below the list (scroll down if necessary)

6. Adjust the order values as needed

7. When done click the Save button

8. If the Estimation System is set to T-Shirt and the T-Shirt field is synchronized to Jira, then adjust the Jira configuration as discussed in the Follow-up Actions section below

Scenario 2 - Effects of adding, deleting or modifying the configured T-Shirt Size details (without making changes in Jira)

• Setting the T-Shirt Size, Points or Member Weeks in Jira Align to a value that results in a T-Shirt size that does exist in Jira will still sync

• Setting the T-Shirt Size, Points or Member Weeks in Jira Align to a value that results in a T-Shirt size that does not exist in Jira will not sync and very shortly afterwards the Jira Align values will be set back to the previous values by the Jira Connector. The audit log for the feature should report that External System failed to update the Jira epic
  

• If the current T-Shirt Size value set on a feature has been renamed, then features set to the T-Shirt Size at the time will show the rename of the value, but the epics in Jira will still show the original size name

• If the current T-Shirt Size value set on a feature is deleted then, that feature will default to No Estimate (which will never sync to Jira even if a size of ‘No estimate’ has been configured in Jira)

Scenario 2 - Follow-up Actions-(if T-Shirt is set as the Estimation System and T-Shirts are integrated to Jira)

1. In Jira, go to Jira Administration / Settings > Custom Fields

2. Locate the custom field for the T-Shirts (possibly using the search box)

3. Click the … icon at the end of the row and select Configure / Contexts and Default Values

4. Click Edit Options

5. Correct the options in Jira so that they match the list of T-Shirts configured in the Estimation Conversions settings in Jira Align

6. Once all corrections have been made, click Done

7. Any features / epics originally set to a now-deleted T-Shirt Size will need to be set to the correct size.

8. Any features that have been assigned to a T-Shirt Size that could not sync to Jira (after the changes were made to the Estimation Conversions and Jira custom field options) will need to be set to the correct size in Jira

9. Any features where both the T-Shirt Size in Jira Align and the same option in the custom field in Jira were renamed (without any deletions) will not need further action.

10. Operational staff may need to be made aware of points 7, 8 & 9

If both the Estimation Conversions calculation values (numeric values) and the list of T-Shirt names are changed at the same time, then both the effects seen and follow-up steps for both scenarios will be applicable.

Related Content:

Configure estimation settings

Changes to Feature Sync and Estimation Conversions

Release Notes for 10.109.X