FAQs

What is Pivot Tables, Charts & Heatmaps?

Pivot Tables, Charts & Heatmaps is a Jira dashboard app that helps teams organize, summarize, and visualize Jira data as multidimensional pivot reports.

It allows you to group work items by multiple fields, calculate counts, sums, percentages, and averages, and display the results as pivot tables, heatmaps, or charts directly on Jira dashboards.

Who is the app designed for?

The app is useful for Project Managers, Program Managers, Portfolio Managers, Product Owners, Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, Jira Administrators, ITSM Managers, Support Managers, Engineering Leads, PMOs, and reporting specialists.

It can be used by Scrum, Kanban, SAFe®, ITSM, product, development, operations, and business teams that need flexible reporting based on Jira data.

Which gadget is included in the app?

The app includes the Pivot Table & Pivot Chart gadget.

The same gadget can be configured to display:

• Regular pivot tables

• Table heatmaps

• Column heatmaps

• Row heatmaps

• Pivot charts

You can change the output type without having to create the report again.

Is a free trial available?

Yes. You can start a free 30-day trial from the app’s listing on the Atlassian Marketplace.

Do I need Jira administrator permissions to use the gadget?

A Jira administrator is generally required to install the app.

After installation, users with permission to create or edit Jira dashboards can add and configure the gadget. Users must also have permission to view the work items, projects, filters, and fields included in the report.

Do I need to know JQL?

No. You can create reports using a saved filter or by selecting epics or portfolio-level work items.

JQL is available when you need more precise control over the work items included in the report or want to combine data from multiple projects, teams, releases, or other scopes.

Which data sources can I use?

You can create a pivot table or pivot chart using:

• A saved Jira filter

• A JQL query

• One or more epics

• One or more portfolio-level work items, such as initiatives or themes

If you use a saved filter, make sure it is shared with everyone who needs to view the gadget.

Can I report across multiple projects or teams?

Yes. Use a saved filter or JQL query that returns work items from all the projects or teams that you want to include.

You can then use fields such as Project, Team, Assignee, Work Item Type, Status, or Status Category to separate and compare the results.

Can I create reports for specific epics or initiatives?

Yes. Epics and portfolio-level work items can be selected directly as data sources.

You can also create a filter or JQL query that returns the child work items and then use hierarchy fields to group the results by epic, initiative, or theme.

On Jira Cloud, supported hierarchy fields include:

• Parent Epic

• Parent of Epic

• Parent L3

The available fields depend on the hierarchy configured in your Jira instance.

Can I track epic, initiative, or project completion?

Yes. For example, you can group work by parent epic, initiative, theme, or project and split it by Status Category.

You can then calculate:

• Number of work items in each status category

• Percentage of work items in each status category

• Story Points in each status category

• Percentage of Story Points in each status category

This provides a summarized view of current progress based on the work items included in the report.

How do I configure the rows and columns?

First, select the Jira fields that you want to use in the report. You can then drag and drop those fields into the Rows and Columns areas of the output configuration.

Multiple fields can be placed in the Rows or Columns area to create a multidimensional report.

Can I use the same field in both rows and columns?

Yes. A field can be used in both areas.

If you drag a field from Rows to Columns, or from Columns to Rows, it will be added to the new area without being removed from the original one. This behavior allows the same field to be used in both places.

To remove the field from one area, drag it into the Unused Fields area.

Which calculations are available?

Depending on the selected data, you can use calculations such as:

• Count: Counts the work items in each category.

• Count as Fraction of Rows: Displays how the work-item count is distributed across the columns of each row.

• Sum: Adds the values from a selected numerical field, such as Story Points.

• Sum as Fraction of Rows: Displays how the total of a numerical field is distributed across the columns of each row.

You can also display totals, percentages, and averages in supported table outputs.

Which numerical fields can I sum?

You can sum supported numerical Jira fields, including:

• Story Points

• Original Time Estimate

• Time Spent

• Other numerical custom fields available in Jira

The field must first be added to the gadget’s selected Fields before it can be used in a Sum calculation.

Can I use custom Jira fields?

Yes. The gadget supports many standard and custom Jira fields.

The fields available for selection depend on your Jira configuration, field type, field context, product permissions, and the work items returned by the selected data source.

Can I include subtasks?

Yes. Simply enable Include sub-tasks option if you want the related subtasks to be included in the calculation.

How are multi-value fields handled?

Multi-value fields include fields such as: Labels, Fix Versions, Components, Approvers, etc.

Only one multi-value field can be selected in a gadget configuration at a time.

Which pivot-table formats are available?

The gadget supports:

• Table: A regular pivot table with rows, columns, and calculated values.

• Table Heatmap: Applies a heatmap across the entire table.

• Table Column Heatmap: Applies the heatmap relative to the values in each column.

• Table Row Heatmap: Applies the heatmap relative to the values in each row.

Use a regular table when exact values are the main focus. Use a heatmap when you want larger and smaller values to stand out visually.

Which pivot-chart types are available?

The available chart types include:

• Stacked and grouped column charts

• Stacked and grouped bar charts

• Line charts

• Dot charts

• Area charts

• Scatter charts

• Pie charts

Can I switch between a pivot table and a pivot chart?

Yes. Change the output type in the gadget configuration while keeping the same data source, fields, and calculation.

You may need to adjust the placement of fields or the chart type to make the information easier to interpret in the new format.

What is the difference between a pivot table and a pivot chart?

A pivot table organizes and summarizes data in rows and columns. It is useful when you need exact values, totals, percentages, or a detailed breakdown across several Jira fields.

A pivot chart presents the summarized data visually. It is useful for identifying patterns, comparing categories, and presenting information to stakeholders.

What do the heatmaps show?

Heatmaps use color intensity to emphasize the relative size of values within the table.

Depending on the selected heatmap type, values can be compared across the entire table, within each row, or within each column. This can help identify workload concentrations, dominant categories, unusual distributions, or areas requiring attention.

Heatmap colors do not represent a predefined good or bad result. Their meaning depends on the metric and context of the report.

Can I open the work items behind a table value?

Yes. Enable Make values clickable when possible to turn supported table values into links.

Clicking a value opens a Jira search containing the work items that contributed to that value.

Can I customize the colors?

Yes. You can select the base color used to generate the heatmap palette.

For pivot charts, you can allow colors to be assigned automatically or configure custom colors for individual chart series.

Is the gadget also available in Great Gadgets?

Yes. The Pivot Table & Pivot Chart gadget is also included in Great Gadgets for Jira, StonikByte’s complete Jira dashboard reporting suite.

Which app should I choose?

Choose Pivot Tables, Charts & Heatmaps when you need a focused solution for creating pivot tables, heatmaps, and pivot charts from Jira data.

Choose Great Gadgets for Jira when you also need velocity and throughput charts, burndown and burnup charts, release forecasts, WIP charts, cycle time and lead time reports, cumulative flow diagrams, time-in-status reports, custom KPIs, work breakdown structures, worklog reports, and other dashboard capabilities in one app.

Do I need the standalone app if I already have Great Gadgets?

No. If Great Gadgets is already installed and licensed, you can use the Pivot Table & Pivot Chart gadget included in that app.

Is Great Gadgets licensed separately?

Yes. Pivot Tables, Charts & Heatmaps and Great Gadgets for Jira are separate Atlassian Marketplace apps, each with its own installation and license.