# Goals and Atlassian projects

Bring the bigger picture onto your board. BetterBoard shows the goals and Atlassian projects linked to your Jira work items, so you can see what each piece of work contributes to without leaving the board.

You can show these links on cards, use them for grouping or columns, filter to specific goals and projects, and highlight work that needs attention.

> **Note**
>
> An **Atlassian project** is the project linked through Jira's **Atlassian Project** field. It is separate from the Jira spaces you add to a board. To combine work from several Jira spaces, see [Multi-space boards](/betterboard/board-setup/multi-space-boards/).

## Show goals and projects on cards

1. Open **Display → Fields**.
2. Add **Goals**, **Atlassian Project**, or both to **Fields in view**.
3. Select **Save** in the board toolbar.

Linked goals and projects appear by name on each card. Hover over or focus a chip to see more detail, including the status, target date, and latest posted update when available. Hover over the update's relative time, such as “2 weeks ago”, to see its exact date and time. Use **Open goal** or **Open project** to open the full page in Atlassian.

## Group work by goal or project

In **Display**, choose **Goals** or **Atlassian Project** as the grouping field, then save. Each linked goal or project gets its own swimlane. You can keep Status as your column field to see progress within each initiative.

A work item linked to several goals appears in each goal's swimlane. Work items without a link appear under **No value**. You can group by goals or projects without also showing that field on cards. Hover over a group heading for details, or select its linked name to open the goal or project.

To use goals or projects as columns instead, open **Display → Columns**, choose the field, and use **Add value** in each column to select the links you want to include. You can combine several goals or projects in one column. See [Columns and grouping](/betterboard/shape-the-board/columns-grouping/) for the full setup.

> **Note**
>
> Goal and project links are read only in BetterBoard. To link or unlink a work item, edit it in Jira. Dragging a card between goal or project groups or columns cannot change those links, and creating work items directly in these columns is not supported.

## Filter to specific goals or projects

Open **Filter → Add filter**, choose **Goals** or **Atlassian Project**, and search for the values you want.

- **Is any of** shows work linked to any selected goal or project.
- **Is none of** excludes the selected links.
- **Is empty** / **is not empty** finds work without or with a link.
- For **Goals**, **includes all of** finds work linked to every selected goal.

Select **Save** in the board toolbar to keep the filter with the board.

## Find work by goal or project status

Choose **Atlassian Goal Status** or **Atlassian Project Status** when adding a filter. These describe the linked goal or project, independently of the work item's own Jira status.

For example, filter **Atlassian Project Status → is any of → At risk, Off track** to focus on work supporting projects that need attention.

Status choices are **Pending**, **On track**, **At risk**, **Off track**, **Completed**, **Paused**, **Cancelled**, and **Archived**. Use **is none of** to exclude selected statuses. When a work item has several goals, **is any of** matches if at least one goal has a selected status; **is none of** requires all linked goals to have a known status outside your selection.

Work with no linked goal or project, or whose status cannot be read, does not match a status filter. A goal without a recorded status is not automatically treated as Pending. Use the Goals or Atlassian Project field's **is empty** filter to find unlinked work.

## Highlight work with card colors

Open **Display → Card colors** and add a **Single color** rule. Choose a specific goal or project as the condition, or use **Atlassian Goal Status** or **Atlassian Project Status** to highlight work by status.

For example, give work linked to an at-risk project an amber side line, or work linked to an off-track goal a red background. Status conditions work even when the Goals or Atlassian Project field is not displayed on the card. Status fields are available for filters and color rules; they are not separate card fields, grouping fields, or column fields.

See [Card colors](/betterboard/shape-the-board/card-colors/) for effects and rule order.

## Availability and app updates

Available goals and projects depend on your Jira setup and your access in Atlassian. If a linked item cannot be read, its details may be unavailable.

If BetterBoard shows **Update BetterBoard**, open the notice to see which features need an update. A Jira administrator can complete it using **Update**; other users can use **Copy request** to ask their administrator. Some updates enable the goal or project details, while others enable their status or latest updates.

Saved fields, filters, and mappings are kept while access is unavailable. If your columns or a status filter depend on that access, board results may be unavailable until the update is completed.