Configure Dependencies in Jira for your plan
This page refers to the advanced planning features that are only available as part of Jira Cloud Premium and Enterprise.
The processes described in this section are only possible with Jira administrator permissions.
By default, dependencies in your plan treat all work item links as though they have the Blocks work item link type. In order to use custom work item links, they must be created and defined by an administrator.
This is a two step process.
1. Configure your work item link
Navigate to the Jira admin panel using the icon in the upper right and select Work items.
In the left hand sidebar, select Work item linking under Work item features.
Make sure that work item linking is set to ON. If it's not, select Activate to enable it.
Once activated, you can edit the Name, Outward description, and Inward description of an existing work item link by selecting Edit from the right column. Use Update to save your changes.
To add a new link, define the name of your new work item link and the descriptions using the fields under the Add New Link Type header. Use Add to save it.
Read more about work item linking.
2. Apply that configuration to your plan
Navigate to the Jira admin panel using the icon in the upper right and select Products.
Go to Dependencies on the left side nav. Add a work item linking type using the dropdown menu, or remove it with the x that appears in the box. Use Swap on the right side to invert the dependent relationship.
Select Save changes.
These changes will apply to dependencies in all plans in your instance.
You also have the option of deciding whether your plan uses concurrent or sequential dependencies. With Sequential dependencies selected, work items scheduled to the same sprint show as being off-track dependencies. Read more the differences between sequential and concurrent dependencies.
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