Atlassian just dropped something I've been waiting years for — Formula Custom Fields in Jira Cloud. This is rolling out now in open beta, and it's a genuine game-changer for how we handle calculated data in Jira. Let me break down what this means for you and why I'm excited about it. What Are Formula Fields? Think of them as Excel formulas, but native to Jira. You create a custom field that automatically calculates values based on other fields in your issue. No more manual calculations, no more "I forgot to update that field" moments. Real-world examples: - Risk scoring — multiply Probability × Impact to get an automatic risk rating - Cost calculations — Hours Estimated × Hourly Rate = Project Cost - Effort rollups — sum multiple effort fields into a single total - Date estimates — calculate target dates based on other date fields - Business impact scores — combine multiple factors into one weighted score The formula runs automatically. The field updates itself. You just read the result. How It Works Formula fields are a new custom field type. You set up the formula once, and Jira calculates the output for every issue where that field exists. Key things to understand: The fields are read-only — they display calculated values, you can't manually override them. This is actually a good thing because it means your data stays consistent. Formulas work within a single issue — you can't pull data from child issues or linked issues (yet). So if you're hoping to roll up Story Points from subtasks to a parent, that's not what this does. This calculates values from fields on the same issue. Once you pick an output type (number, text, date), you can't change it — you'd need to create a new formula field. So plan ahead. What's Available Now (December 2025) If you're on a team-managed project (Business, Software, or Service), you can start using this today: - Reference number custom fields and integers - Use mathematical operators and functions - Output as numbers, currency, or percentages - See results on issues and in the All Work view

I'm completely refreshing the community with new 2026 content. Next 30 days: - ✅ This and next week: Assets Mastery 2026 - ✅ Week 2-3: Confluence Crash Course 2026 - ✅ Week 3-4: Multi-Project Visibility Mastery - ✅ Plus: Weekly live Q&A every Wednesday 2 PM All content = updated UI, real enterprise examples, Python automation scripts. Founding members: You're locked in at current rates forever. Even as prices go up for new members. First course drops Monday. Let's go. 🚀

Hey team! Atlassian just announced some big news - Jira and Confluence Data Center will reach end of life on March 28, 2029. The Quick Timeline: - Dec 2025 - No new DC apps in Marketplace - March 2026 - No DC sales for new customers - March 2028 - Existing customers can't expand DC - March 2029 - Game over for DC Why the change? Simple: 99% of Atlassian customers are already on Cloud or migrating there (including 75% of enterprise customers). The market has spoken - Cloud wins for speed, cost, and AI features. What this means for you: If you're on DC, you've got 3.5 years to migrate. Sounds like plenty of time, but trust me - complex migrations take longer than you think, especially with: - Custom configurations - Integrations - Large datasets - Training needs My advice? Don't wait until 2028. Start planning now while you have options and aren't competing with everyone else scrambling at the last minute. Currently helping several organizations with their DC → Cloud migrations. If you're facing this transition and want to chat strategy, drop me a DM. Happy to share what I'm seeing work (and what to avoid). Anyone else dealing with this announcement? What's your timeline looking like? P.S. - Bitbucket DC gets special treatment with a hybrid license option, so source code folks have more flexibility.

Most teams struggle with project visibility across multiple initiatives. You've probably tried timelines, dashboards, and various reporting tricks, but here's the truth: if you need real roadmapping power in Jira, Plans is the game-changer you're missing. Plans is part of Jira Premium, and yes, it doubles your licensing cost compared to Standard. But after implementing it for enterprise clients, I can tell you when it's worth every penny - and when it's overkill for your needs. Why Plans Beats Timeline: Jira's timeline is decent, but it has major limitations. Timeline only supports issues linked to epics, doesn't support initiatives in team-managed projects, and can't import tasks from other projects. Plans solves all these problems while adding powerful reporting capabilities that turn it into more than just a roadmap tool. Getting Started: You can't mix Standard and Premium licenses - it's all or nothing for your entire organization. Atlassian usually offers 30-day trials, which is enough time to properly evaluate. Start simple with one project, not multiple sources. You can create a demo plan that automatically generates a sample project, or connect to existing projects using boards, custom filters, or direct project selection. The Real Power: Plans supports any Jira project type - Scrum, Kanban, JSM, and business projects. I've got JSM clients using Plans for service roadmaps, which works brilliantly. The key feature is support for issue types above epics (initiatives), creating proper hierarchy for large-scale planning. However, initiatives require company-managed projects - team-managed projects can add them but won't show proper hierarchy. Visual Planning Magic: Everything is drag-and-drop visual. Move an initiative and all belonging epics move with it. You can create issues directly in Plans, change dates, adjust status, and plan scenarios A, B, or C. Critical point: changes exist only in Plans until you save/commit them to Jira. This planning mode lets you experiment without affecting live data.

After implementing JSM Assets for enterprise clients like BBC and Vodafone, I'm sharing the unfiltered truth about this CMDB tool - including why I have mixed feelings about it. JSM Assets lets you build a Configuration Management Database directly in Jira Service Management. Instead of agents typing "Dell Inspiron 15" into tickets, they select from your asset database. When someone reports a laptop issue, the ticket automatically links to that specific asset record, creating a complete audit trail. Getting Started: You need a Premium license - no way around this. The good news? I recently got a 60-day trial instead of the usual 30 days. Worth requesting to properly test the tool. The Brutal Truth About Limitations: Here's what Atlassian doesn't highlight. You cannot connect to AWS, Azure, or Microsoft Intune. If you need cloud infrastructure discovery, this won't work. The reporting is awful - slow, unreliable, and often returns no data even when assets exist. I've tested extensively and it's consistently disappointing. Also, you can't edit field names in the default templates. Want "Lease Details" instead of "Lease Contract"? You'll need to delete and recreate fields or start from scratch. Setup Process: Navigate to Assets from your JSM menu after activating Premium. You'll see three templates: IT Assets Management (comprehensive hardware/software setup), HR Assets (employee equipment), and Custom Schema (blank template). I recommend testing with IT Assets Management but using a blank schema for production to avoid field restrictions. The template gives you a solid hierarchy: Hardware → Computers → Laptops → Specific Models. Adding objects is simple - click the plus button, name your object, select an icon, and choose the parent category. You can configure unlimited custom attributes like purchase date, warranty expiration, cost center, and vendor details. Integration Magic: The real power comes from connecting assets to JSM request types. This needs two steps: create custom fields using AQL (Assets Query Language) to populate dropdowns from your asset database, then add these fields to your request forms.