Question about stack ranking on Agile boards and the Global Rank Field Type

[Shawn Beeson]

I have using a "Centralized" backlog in a JIRA Cloud project that contains issue types that span multiple products.

I created a custom 'Our Product' field that I use to slice the backlog into multiple Agile "Planning Boards" where I have created different filtered (by Product) planning views that are specific to each product. 

I would like individual Product Managers to be able to stack rank their own individual Product Backlogs from the these product specific planning boards, and then I would like our Portfolio Manager to be able to apply a truly global rank (across all products) on a separate Portfolio planning board that is filtered to show ALL backlog items.

What is the easiest way to accomplish this?  Is the "Global Rank" field type for custom fields, board specific? or do I need to create a custom "Global Rank" filed type for each product?

[WeAreAllJustinNow]

Hi there,

If you use JIRA Agile's ranking functionality (moving your stories/issues/tickets/bugs around on a planning board via drag and drop), the rank that is written to the database for that particular story/issue/etc is absolute, meaning it applies for all boards that contain that issue.  It will be placed in order in relation to the other issues on that board.

So, if you intend on allowing users to rank issues on their own boards AND then have another user apply a different ranking to the same issue, you will indeed need to create a custom field on your stories/issues/etc where you can enter in a numeric value.  The board that you then create for your Portfolio Manager will have to use a filter query that uses this custom field to sort by.   Keep in mind that this means that the PM's board will not be able to use the drag and drop functionality for ranking.  They will need to individually edit each story and enter in a number.  If you have a large number of item on a board, this could get quite cumbersome.

If you do decide to create the new custom field for JIRA Agile, I would also advise that you call it something other than Global Rank.  This could cause you some issues later on down the line.  

I obviously have no knowledge of your business processes, but I would like to at least mention my concern about allowing your Product Managers to have separate rankings than the Portfolio Manager.  From an outsider's perspective, this seems problematic as it sets up a scenario where the Product Manager's priority is different than your Portfolio Manager's when it seems like the two should be sharing priorities.  This makes me think that the Portfolio Manager is using JIRA Agile in a manner that is different than what it it intended, which is fine, but it also means that, in the end, JIRA Agile is going to fall short of your organization's needs and expectations.  Have you considered looking into using JIRA Portfolio?  This is a bit of a guess on my part, but it seems like this tool may be more in line with what your Portfolio Manager may be needing.  Your Product team can use JIRA Agile for their day-to-day management and your Portfolio Manager can use Portfolio for their planning needs.