Split Jira Issues

In some cases, one Jira issue cannot be planned as a single continuous block of work.

For example:

• one user cannot work on the issue continuously for several days;

• the same issue needs to be planned across different dates;

• multiple users need to contribute to the same task;

• work needs to be distributed between several team members.

In these cases, ActivityTimeline allows you to split a Jira issue into issue parts and schedule each part separately.

Each issue part can have its own assignee, dates, and estimate, while still remaining connected to the original Jira issue.

Ways to Split Jira Issues

Split Jira Issues from ActivityTimeline

You can split issues directly from the Planner module.

Option 1: Split with Drag-and-Drop

To split an issue using drag-and-drop:

1. Find the issue on the timeline or in the Issue Panel.

2. Hold the Shift key.

3. Drag and drop the issue:

   • from one user’s timeline to another user’s timeline;

   • within the same user’s timeline but to a different date;

   • from the Issue Panel to the timeline.

ActivityTimeline will create an additional issue part.

Each issue part can be split again if needed.

Option 2: Split from the Issue Card

You can also split an issue from the Issue Card.

To do this:

1. Click the issue on the timeline.

2. Click Split on the Issue Card.

3. Select Create New Issue Part.

4. Choose the assignee.

5. Specify the dates.

6. Add an estimate for the new issue part.

7. Save the changes.

This option is useful when you want to create and configure an issue part manually without using drag-and-drop.

Split Jira Issues from the Jira Issue Page

Issue parts can also be viewed and managed directly from the Jira issue page.

Open the Jira issue and go to the Issue Split tab in the Activity section. From this tab, you can view existing issue parts, update hours, change assignees, adjust start and end dates, create new issue parts, delete issue parts, or merge all parts back together.

This is useful when you want to manage split work directly from Jira while keeping the planning data synchronized with ActivityTimeline.

Split Jira Issues Using a Jira Multi-User Picker Field

To show multiple people working on the same Jira issue and automatically split the task based on Jira data, you can use a User Picker (multiple users) custom field.

If you do not have such a field yet, you can create it in Jira:

1. Open Jira Settings.

2. Go to Issues.

3. Open Custom Fields.

4. Click Create New Custom Field.

5. Select Advanced Fields.

6. Choose User Picker (multiple users).

7. Add the custom field.

8. Add this field to the required Jira screens.

For example, the field can be called Collaborators.

To synchronize this field with ActivityTimeline:

1. Go to ActivityTimeline Configuration.

2. Open the Jira Integration page.

3. Find the Issue Collaborators setting.

4. Select the Jira multi-user picker field, for example Collaborators.

5. Save the configuration.

Once this field is mapped, users added to the Collaborators field in Jira will be reflected in ActivityTimeline. The issue will be automatically split into parts and scheduled on each participant’s timeline.

By default, the remaining estimate is split equally between all participants.

All changes made to issue parts in ActivityTimeline are synchronized with Jira, and changes made in Jira are reflected in ActivityTimeline.

Managing Issue Parts

You can review and manage all parts of a split issue from the Manage Issue Parts dialog.

To open it:

1. Click any part of the split issue on the timeline.

2. Select Manage Issue Parts.

In the Edit Issue Parts dialog, you can:

• change the assignee for each issue part;

• set different start and end dates;

• define a separate estimate for each part;

• create new issue parts;

• delete existing issue parts.

When estimates are updated for issue parts, ActivityTimeline updates the remaining estimate for each part and recalculates the total remaining estimate of the original Jira issue.

Issue Parts in Reports

The Manage Issue Parts dialog gives you a quick overview of all users assigned to the same Jira issue.

For deeper analysis, including total estimates and individual allocations, use the Project Resources Report - Issue Detailed report.

This report helps review how the work is distributed between users and how much effort is planned for each participant.

Limitations

Please note the following limitations:

• Split Issue is not supported for Story Point estimation.

• Integration through the Jira multi-user picker field is not supported for Team-managed projects.

For a full walkthrough, you can also refer to the video guide.