How to Build Cross-Project Jira Dashboards with Quick Filters for Jira Dashboards

If your work involves tasks across multiple Jira projects, you’ve likely experienced the challenge of maintaining a clear overview. While Jira dashboards are a helpful tool for tracking work, managing multiple dashboards or projects can quickly become overwhelming.

This article will guide you through building a dynamic, interactive dashboard that allows you to track issues across multiple Jira projects. The solution involves using two key gadgets from the app Quick Filters for Jira Dashboards:

• Quick Filter Results Gadget

• Quick Controller Gadget

By the end of this setup, you’ll have a basic but flexible dashboard that can be filtered dynamically by Jira projects. 

If you want to view a more advanced cross-project dashboard, check out our demo dashboards.

Why Use a Cross-Project Dashboard?

When managing work across multiple projects, it’s often necessary to combine data into a single view. A cross-project dashboard enables you to:

• Focus on specific projects or teams as needed.

• View progress across all projects in one place.

• Adapt to changes dynamically without needing separate dashboards for every scenario.

This approach is especially useful for team leads, department heads, or anyone involved in work across projects.

Step-by-Step: Building a Cross-Project Dashboard

1. Add the Gadgets to Your Dashboard

After installing Quick Filters for Jira Dashboards:

1. Open the dashboard where you want to add the functionality and click Edit your dashboard.

2. Search for and add the Quick Filter Results Gadget.

3. Search for and add the Quick Controller Gadget.

2. Configure the Quick Filter Results Gadget

This gadget will display the issues you want to view on your dashboard. It works similar like the native “Filter Results” gadget. To configure it:

1. Open the gadget configuration (this will appear automatically after adding the gadget).

2. Choose a source filter that includes all relevant issues, regardless of their project.

   • If you already have a saved filter for these issues, select it.

   • Alternatively, you can use a JQL query. For example:

     project IN ("Project A", "Project B", "Project C") ORDER BY updated DESC  

3. Save the configuration.

3. Configure the Quick Controller Gadget

This gadget allows you to dynamically filter the data displayed in the Quick Filter Results Gadget. To set it up:

1. Open the gadget configuration (this will appear automatically after adding the gadget).

2. Under Add Filter, select the field you want to filter by (e.g., “project”).

3. Choose the type of filter you’d like to use, such as a dropdown menu.

4. Save the configuration.

Tip: If you don’t want all projects from your Jira instance to appear in the dropdown, use a Base JQL to filter for only those relevant to you.

For example:

project IN ("Project A", "Project B", "Project C")  

Testing Your Dashboard

Once the gadgets are configured, test the setup by using the dropdown filter in the Quick Controller Gadget to narrow down the displayed results.

For example:

• Select a specific project to view only its tasks.

• Remove the filter to see tasks from all projects again.

Expanding Your Dashboard

The setup described above is a simple starting point. You can further enhance your dashboard by:

• Adding additional gadgets, such as:

  • Quick Issue Statistics Gadget for tracking numerical values like story points or time spent.

  • Quick Bar Chart Gadget to compare data visually (e.g., by components or custom fields).

  • Quick Filter Counts Gadget to display counts or alerts.

You can find a complete list of all Quick Gadgets in our documentation. Of course, they can all be dynamically filtered with the Quick Controller gadget.

If you need to track numerical Jira fields like Story Points, Original Estimates, or Time Spent, Quick Filters for Jira Dashboards can automatically sum up these fields for you.

• Including more filters in the Quick Controller Gadget, such as:

  • Sprints

  • Epics

  • Teams

You can use the Quick Controller Gadget to activate multiple filters simultaneously, such as filtering by project and sprint at the same time.

Conclusion

A cross-project dashboard can simplify your work by providing a centralized, dynamic view of all your tasks, regardless of the projects they belong to. By using the Quick Filters for Jira Dashboards app, you gain the flexibility to filter and adapt your dashboard as your needs evolve.