Columns and grouping

BetterBoard gives you two ways to organise work items visually: Columns and Grouping (swimlanes). They work differently and are configured independently.

Columns and grouping at a glance

Columns are vertical. Choose Field values to map values into named columns, or Dates to organise work into months or quarters automatically. With field-value columns, you choose their names and which values belong in each one. For example, “In Development”, “In Code Review”, and “In QA” can all map to a single “In Progress” column. Renaming a column changes its board label, not the field values in Jira.

Grouping (swimlanes) creates horizontal rows where each row maps directly to a unique field value. The row label is always the field value itself and cannot be renamed. Only one grouping field can be active at a time.

Columns

Choosing a board type

Open Display and select the column count next to Columns to open Configure columns. Under Board type, choose:

• Field values for workflow stages, priorities, teams, or other field values. You name the columns and map values into them.
• Dates for a roadmap organised into months or quarters. Work appears in the column matching its selected date, and the visible periods move forward automatically.

You can switch between the two modes. BetterBoard keeps your field-value columns and mappings separately from your date settings, so switching back restores your previous layout.

Return to the board and select Save in the toolbar to keep your changes.

Choosing a column field

1. Open Display and select the column count next to Columns to open Configure columns.
2. Choose Field values under Board type, then choose a field under Select field. On a multi-space board, each space has its own selector.
3. Map values to your columns, then return to the board and select Save in the toolbar.

You can use fields such as Status, Priority, Assignee, Sprint, Labels, versions, select custom fields, Goals, and Atlassian Project. Free-text, number, Assets, and SLA fields are not available as column fields.

Starting layouts

On a single-space board, choosing a new column field gives you a starting layout:

Selected field	Starting columns
Status with up to five statuses	One column per status.
Status with more than five statuses	Statuses combined into To Do, In Progress, and Done categories. An Other column appears if needed.
Another field with a complete list of up to five options	One column per option.
A field with more options, or one where you search for values	Two empty columns for you to configure.

These are starting points. You can rename columns, combine values, and add or remove columns to fit your workflow.

Mapping field options to columns

For fields with a short list of available options, values appear in Unassigned values. Drag a value into a column, or click the value and choose its destination. For larger lists or searchable fields, use the + button (Add value) inside a column to find and select values.

A value belongs to one column at a time for that space. Moving it to another column removes its previous mapping. You can map several values to one column, such as “In Development”, “In Review”, and “In QA” under “In Progress”.

To stop including a value, use its remove button or drag it back to Unassigned values where available.

Unassigned values stay off the board. Work items that do not match any mapped value are hidden. For example, leaving Done unmapped hides completed work. Removing a mapping changes this board’s view; it does not delete or change work items in Jira.

Adding and naming columns

Use Add column to create an empty column. When a value picker is offered, choose Empty column or select a value to create a column with that value already mapped. You can also drag a value onto the Add column area.

The first value added to an empty column becomes its title. If the column already had a name, an Undo action lets you restore that name while keeping the value mapped. Adding more values to a populated column keeps its title. Click the title to rename it at any time.

A field-value board can have 1–25 columns. Use the column’s remove button to delete a column. Its values become unassigned unless you move them elsewhere.

Ordering columns and values

Drag a column by its handle to change the left-to-right order. Drag values within a column to change their order too.

For fields that support updates, dropping a work item into a column uses the first mapped value for that work item’s space. Put the status or option you want to use by default at the top. Jira workflow and edit permissions still apply.

Changing the column field

BetterBoard asks you to confirm before replacing an existing layout or mappings:

• On a single-space board, changing the field replaces the columns and mappings with a starting layout for the new field.
• On a multi-space board, changing one space’s field clears only that space’s mappings. Column names, column order, and other spaces’ mappings stay in place. Map the new field’s values into the shared columns.

Reopening the configuration or loading new options does not rebuild your layout. If a new Jira option appears, map it to a column when you want to include it.

Columns across multiple spaces

All spaces share the same column names and order, but each space can use its own column field and mappings. Space icons distinguish values from different spaces.

For example, your Scrum space’s “In Review” and your JSM space’s “Waiting for customer” can both map to an “In Progress” column. You can also use different fields, such as Status in one space and Priority in another.

Labels are shared across spaces that use Labels as their column field. Moving or removing a label’s mapping applies to all of those spaces.

Select Save in the board toolbar to keep your column configuration.

Empty columns

Columns with no work items remain visible on the board. Hiding empty columns is not yet supported.

Work in progress limits

Set a card limit for a column to spot when it contains too much work. Open Display → Work in progress limits, enable Show column WIP controls, then use the WIP control in the column heading. Limits warn when exceeded and let you highlight matching cards; they do not block card moves.

See WIP limits for column setup, rules based on conditions, and how cards are counted.

Date columns

Date columns use the dates already stored on your work items. You do not need a separate month or quarter field to maintain.

Setting up months or quarters

1. Open Configure columns and choose Dates under Board type.
2. Choose Months or Quarters.
3. Under Select field, review the date field for each space. BetterBoard preselects Due date in Jira and Project target in Jira Product Discovery when available. Choose a field for any space without a selection.
4. Under Board columns, use the + and − controls at either end to add or remove earlier and upcoming periods.
5. Return to the board and select Save.

You can use supported Jira date and date-time fields and Jira Product Discovery date fields. Each space can use a different field, such as Due date for engineering work and Project target for discovery ideas. The selected field does not need to be displayed on cards.

A window that moves with your roadmap

Each period tile represents one board column. The current month or quarter is highlighted, and past periods are muted. You can show up to 25 periods, including the current period. The two sections in Planning are additional to that allowance.

The window is relative to the current period. For example, a board showing the previous month, this month, and the next two months advances automatically when a new month begins.

Set the financial year

Quarters follow the financial year of the space where the board lives, including on boards that pull work from other spaces. The default start month is January.

A space administrator can choose a start month under Space settings → Apps → BetterBoard → Board settings → Financial year. The preview shows the resulting quarters. For example, with a July start, Q1 covers July to September. Quarter headings and WIP labels show their month ranges and calendar years, including ranges that cross January.

To find the setting from your board, open Configure columns and choose Quarters. Use Set the financial year start month to open the space setting.

Where work appears

A work item’s selected date determines its column. Updating that date in Jira moves the item to its matching period automatically.

Jira Product Discovery can express an uncertain date as a month or quarter. BetterBoard uses the final date of the range to place the item in one column. For example, a range ending on 31 December appears in December on a monthly board. On a quarterly board, it appears in the quarter that contains 31 December under the space’s financial year.

Date-time fields use your Jira profile’s timezone. Dates without a time keep their calendar date.

Planning

Planning starts closed. Select Expand planning sidebar at the right edge of the date column headings to open it.

• No date contains work without a date in the selected field. Use Create work item here to add work without prefilling that date.
• Outside window contains work with a date before or after the periods shown. To schedule new work, use Create work item in a period column.

Drag a card from either section into a period to schedule it. Planning scrolls separately from the calendar and shows the same swimlane headings when grouping is on. You can collapse either Planning column and reopen the sidebar at its previous scroll position.

Moving and creating work

For editable date fields, dragging a work item into another period updates its date in Jira. A regular Jira date is set to the destination period’s last day. A single-day Jira Product Discovery date or a full-month or full-quarter range becomes the full destination period. Dragging an item into No date clears its selected date field.

Dragging can update writable fields when you have Jira edit permission. To move a card into Outside window, set its date in Jira to a date outside the visible periods.

Use Create work item in a period column to create work for that period. BetterBoard supplies the period’s last day for a regular date, or the full period for a Jira Product Discovery date. If all required information is available, select Create. If more information is needed, Continue… opens Jira’s creation dialog with the date prefilled.

If BetterBoard says it can’t set the date field for the chosen work type, select a compatible work type or use Jira’s global Create action. Changing work type in BetterBoard keeps the summary you entered.

Choose which completed items to show

On date boards and boards with status columns, open Display → Completed items and select an option. Select Save in the board toolbar to keep the choice with the view.

Option	Completed work shown
All	All completed items that match the view.
Past day, Past week, Past month	Items that moved into the Done status category within the past 1, 7, or 30 days, respectively.
Current sprint	Completed items in an active sprint. Spaces without a Sprint field show all matching completed items.
None	Hide work in the Done status category.

BetterBoard offers Current sprint when at least one included space has a Sprint field. On date boards, the completion window applies to the calendar and Planning, independently of the date field used to place cards.

Grouping (swimlanes)

Grouping adds a second dimension to your board by splitting work items into horizontal swimlanes. Each unique value of the grouping field becomes its own row. Swimlane labels always match the field value — they cannot be renamed.

Only one grouping field can be active at a time.

Supported grouping fields

These fields can be used for grouping:

• Status — one swimlane per workflow status
• Priority — Highest, High, Medium, Low, Lowest + No Priority
• Assignee — one swimlane per team member + Unassigned
• Work item Type — Bug, Story, Task, Epic, Sub-task
• Sprint — active, future, and recent closed sprints
• Labels — one swimlane per label
• Fix Version / Component — if configured in the space
• Single-select and checkbox custom fields
• Assets — one swimlane per linked object present on the board
• Goals / Atlassian Project — one swimlane per linked goal or project

An Assets field groups a work item under each of its linked objects. Work items without an object appear under No value. See Assets fields for how dragging between Assets groups updates the field.

Goals and Atlassian projects can be used for grouping or columns without displaying them on cards. A work item linked to several goals appears in each goal’s swimlane. These links are read only, so moving cards between those groups or columns cannot change them. See Goals and Atlassian projects for details and status filters.

Reordering swimlanes

Click the list icon to the left of the grouping field selector to enter reorder mode. Drag swimlanes into the order you prefer, then save.

For editable grouping fields, dragging a work item into a swimlane updates its field value in Jira immediately. Read-only grouping fields, including Goals and Atlassian Project, cannot be changed this way.