Concept of a field

The App visualizes information based on the integrations you have set up. Values of fields in Jira, Trello, etc., have to be mapped to fields available within the App. Information about the data source can be listed in the “origin” column and shown as an appropriate icon.

There are two possible field options:

native external tool fields - they display the value from an external platform; if the value is unavailable, it is left empty (if a column is supposed to display Jira “Start Date,” nothing can be displayed for a Trello task - the task doesn’t exist in Jira, so the App can’t find a value for it)
Built-in fields

In BigPicture 8, we have added “built-in” fields, which are capable of taking information from various external platforms and mapping them to a built-in field, effectively letting you see a single column showing values for multiple types of tasks coming from a multitude of external platforms and from native BigPicture elements.

For example, the scope of the “EMEA Initiative” Box consists of Jira issues, Trello cards, and Basic tasks. When you try to add an “Icon” column, the App presents you with the following options:

When adding a column, the icon on the right indicates what data will be shown - will it be based on a value of a Jira field, Trello field, or is it a built-in field (the last option in the picture above).

In the below example, three icon columns have been added to show the difference between them.

Left = Jira
Middle = Trello
Right = Built-in

The Jira icon column displays values coming from Jira only. This means that for Trello cards and Basic tasks, nothing is displayed.

The Trello icon column displays values coming from Trello only. This means that for Jira issues and Basic tasks, nothing is displayed.

The Built-in icon column displays all values; it finds the appropriate field value in both Jira and Trello and displays them. Native BigPicture Basic tasks are also included.

Hover your cursor over any field value to see the present setup of the column.

For example, the “Assignee” column below uses a built-in field.

Custom fields created at the BigPicture installation

When you install BigPicture, the App will automatically create the following custom fields:

Name	Type	Description
Baseline end date	Date Picker	Baseline end date field used by SoftwarePlant plugins
Baseline start date	Date Picker	Baseline start date field used by SoftwarePlant plugins
End date	Date Picker	End date field used by SoftwarePlant plugins
Progress	Number Field	Progress field used by SoftwarePlant plugins (BigPicture, BigGantt)
Start date	Date Picker	Start date field used by SoftwarePlant plugins
Task mode	Select List (single choice)	Task mode field used by SoftwarePlant plugins
Task progress	Number Field	Progress field used by SoftwarePlant plugins (BigPicture, BigGantt)
Risk consequence	Select List (single choice)	Risk Consequence field used by BigPicture plugin (only issues with both Risk Probability and Risk Consequence values selected will appear in Risk Matrix)
Risk probability	Select List (single choice)	Risk Probability field used by BigPicture plugin (only issues with both Risk Probability and Risk Consequence values selected will appear in Risk Matrix)
Program Increment	Text Field (single line)	Program Increment field created by BigPicture

You can check these fields by navigating to Jira administration (cog icon) > Issues > Custome fields and search by SoftwarePlant or BigPicture.

Mapping Options for Built-in Fields

Built-in fields can function in the following ways:

configurable fields (e.g., End Date)
non-configurable fields (e.g., summary)
native App fields (don’t correspond to any external tool)
fields that vary depending on the external platform (for example, mapping of a field can be changed for Jira but not for Trello; or a field exists in one external platform but not in another)

Configurable Fields

For some fields, you can select what value you want to use.

For example, on the App Configuration > General > Fields page, you define synchronization rules - “End date” could be mapped to Jira “Due date” field → in such case, the built-in end date of the App effectively displays the same value as Jira due date.

Available options vary across external platforms (something can be ‘mappable’ in Jira but not in Trello). You can change the mapping of an “End date” for Jira and decide to use the “Due date” Jira value as an end date, but you can’t change settings for Trello.
Effectively, the built-in “End date” field will display:

For Jira, what has been specified in the App Configuration (in the example below, “Due date” has been used)
Trello due date (Trello doesn’t have an “End Date” - due date will always be used to populate the built-in “End date” field)

Click here to expand...

“Due date” exists in Jira and Trello. There is no built-in due date field.

Jira “Due date” column displays Jira values. Trello “Due date” column displays Trello values. The Basic task won’t be included in any of those.

When you add the built-in “End date” column:

Non-Configurable Fields

You can’t change the mapping.

For example, Summary in Jira = summary built-in, and this cannot be changed. You can’t decide that a built-in “summary” will display “description” or anything else. The built-in summary will always display the same value as the Jira summary.

Native App Fields

The field exists only in the App and can’t be found in Jira, Trello, or any other connected tool.

For example, the “Color” field.

Some native fields, such as “Milestone,” can be mapped to external tools in Configuration.

Fields that vary depending on the external tool

Some fields, depending on the external platform, may not have an easy corresponding value. For example, Assignee is easily found in Jira (the built-in field can display the value), but Trello doesn’t have a corresponding field (members can be added to a card, but no single person is assigned). This is why a built-in Assignee column will not display any value for Trello cards. Basic Tasks also don’t have an assignee that could be listed in the column.

Built-in fields matrix

The table below provides you with an overview of how built-in fields function in the App.

Task Attribute	Mapped to External Platform (non-configurable)	Mapped to External Platform (configurable)	Available for Basic Tasks (tasks that exist only in the App)	Comment
Icon	YES	NO	YES	If an icon is not available on the external platform, the default icon will be used (same as for Basic Tasks)
Key	YES	NO	YES	The built-in “Key” column will aggregate issue/task/card keys from different platforms and display them in a single column. A “Key” field cannot be modified to display any different value. Click here to expand...
Summary	YES	NO	YES	A built-in summary field cannot be removed. The mapping of the field can’t be changed. Click here to expand...
Start date	YES	YES	YES	The mapping of the start date (built-in) field for Jira can be changed in the App Configuration. Trello cards don’t have a start date. A built-in field uses the due date value (effectively, built-in field start and end dates of Trello cards are both mapped to Trello due date). Basic Task dates are displayed in a built-in Start date column. Click here to expand...
End date	YES	YES	YES
Baseline start date	YES	YES	YES
Baseline end date	YES	YES	YES
Progress	YES	YES	YES
Milestone	YES	YES	YES	Native App field. It exists only as a built-in field, but its value can be mapped to display a Jira value. Click here to expand...
Period mode	YES	YES	YES
Color	NO	NO	YES	Native App field. It can’t be mapped to display values from external tools.
Assignee	YES	NO	NO
Skills	NO	NO	YES	Native App field. It can’t be mapped to display values from external tools.
Status	YES	NO	NO
Duration Calendar Days	NO	NO	YES	Based on the number of calendar days (start to end date). counts all days between the start/end date (including weekends, holidays etc.) inline editing (NO)
Duration working days	NO	NO	YES	Based on the number of working days (non-working days excluded). counts days between the start/end date → excludes weekends, holidays, absences of an assignee etc. inline editing (YES)
Outline level	NO	NO	YES	Dynamically built Data Type - the values aren't permanently associated with tasks; the field value adjusts to reflect WBS changes. Display Options: indent level Sequential index Outline level → shows how deep the task is in the tree structure (WBS). Sequential Index → shows where the task is located in the WBS structure (similar to the notation of the table of contents in the book) Note: filtering does not affect the Sequential Index.
Overdue Start/End Date	NO	NO	NO	The Overdue Start Date field calculates the difference between the current task Start Date (when status category is To Do). Data type: number Only calculates full calendar days If the difference is larger than 0, the difference as a number of days is displayed as an integer If the difference is 0 or smaller, the field is blank If the status category is In Progress or Done, the field is blank No inline editing Aggregations: default Number data Type aggregations The Overdue End Date calculates the difference between the current task End Date (when status category is not Done). Data type: number Only calculates full calendar days If the difference is larger than 0, the difference as a number of days is displayed as an integer If the difference is 0 or smaller, the field is blank If the status category is Done, the field is blank No inline editing Aggregations: default Number data Type aggregations
Workload Contouring Mode	NO	NO	YES	The Workload contouring allows to spread the effort of the task over its duration. There are three automatic options and one manual mode to choose from. Flat Front-loaded Back-loaded Manual (only for BigPicture Enterprise)

Basic Tasks

A built-in field lets you easily visualize all data related to Basic tasks native to the BigPicture App itself. Some values, such as Assignee, are not available (because this attribute doesn’t exist for them), but all existing attributes of Basic Tasks can be displayed using built-in fields.

Custom fields from third-party Jira apps in BigPicture and BigGantt

Depending on the functionality of a given plugin, custom fields based on third-party Jira apps may have limited or different functionality in the Cloud version of the product. For example, Traffic Lights can be displayed only as a text field.

More information about the functioning of custom fields related to third-party apps can be found on the following page.

JMCF duration field

Jira Misc Custom Fields (duration field) is visible in available fields for Column Views/Card Views.

The JMCF Duration is displayed in 24h mode
The JMCF Duration is blocked for inline editing even though it is mapped to the Estimation Data Type, which allows for inline editing. This is due to the fact that the JMCF Duration field is a scripted field, which means that it displays results of calculations involving other fields.

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