Learn how to use versions in Jira

In this tutorial, we'll explain how to work with versions in Jira.

1. Navigate to your project.

2. In the project menu, click on Releases.

3. Click on Create version.

4. Select the Name text box and enter a name. Optionally, schedule a Start date and/or Release date, or add a Description of this version. Click Save.
   Version names are typically numeric, for example, 1.0 or 2.1.1. You could also consider using an internal codename.

Once you create a version, the Affects version and Fix version fields will become available on your issues. 

Affects version is the version in which a bug or problem was found. Although it can be useful for tracking problems, it isn't used very often in Jira.

Fix version is the version where you plan on releasing a feature or bugfix to customers. This field is used for release planning, monitoring progress and velocity, and is used widely in reporting. This is most likely the field you want.

1. Navigate to the project Backlog.

2. Open the Versions panel on the left.

3. Drag an issue to the version you want to add it to.

• Open the issue you want to add to a version.

• Find the Fix version/s field, and enter the version you want to add the issue to.

Jira gives you many tools you can use to check the progress of a version. We'll discuss a few of them here.

The timeline view in Jira brings your issues and releases into a single place where you can plan deliverables, track progress, and share updates with stakeholders. Once you’ve configured your timeline to show Releases, you will be able to see scheduled releases along the timeline and access important details about each release directly in the timeline view.

To show releases on your timeline:

1. Click View settings on the top right corner of your timeline

2. Check the box next to Releases

To plan and track releases on your timeline:

1. When planning future releases or tracking a release in progress, you can quickly determine the status of each release based on the release icon:
   
   a. A blue circle indicates the release is UNRELEASED and has not passed its release date
   b. A red circle with an exclamation point indicates the release is UNRELEASED and overdue
   c. A green circle with a checkmark indicates the release has been RELEASED

2. Use the Versions filter to display only the issues related to the selected release(s) on the timeline. This allows you to see all the work items related to a specific deliverable scheduled over time.
   

3. Click on any release icon to view important details such as progress, dates, and description. Optionally, check the box next to Highlight on timeline to visualize the release date on your timeline. This allows you to see how a specific deliverable is tracking towards its release date.
   
   a. Release status: this appears as UNRELEASED, RELEASED, or ARCHIVED.
   b. Release description: this describes the deliverables in your release and can be added upon release creation or edited in the Releases tab.
   c. Release progress bar: this reflects the statuses of issues assigned to the release and will automatically update as issue statuses change.
   d. Start date and release dates: the start and release dates scheduled for your release which can be edited in the Releases tab.
   e. Option to highlight release date on the timeline (shown as vertical blue line)
   
   

The release hub provides a place for you to manage all your releases. It also gives you information on the status of your releases, and a breakdown of the number of issues in each version.

To navigate to the release hub:

1. Go to your project.

2. In the project menu, select Releases.

1. Quick filters: Focus on specific versions by filtering out the ones you aren't interested in.

2. Version list: Drag and drop versions to reorder them.

3. Status: Versions can have one of three statuses: UNRELEASED, RELEASED, or ARCHIVED.

4. Progress: This shows how many issues have been assigned to the version, and how many are in each status.

The release burndown report shows how much work has been completed, and the total work remaining. Burndown charts are used to predict your team's likelihood of completing their work in the time available. They're also great for keeping the team aware of any scope creep that occurs.

Note that to use the release burndown chart, you'll need to estimate your issues. For more information, check out our guide on burndown charts.

To view the release burndown report:

1. Navigate to your project.

2. In the project menu, select Reports.

3. Select the Release Burndown.

1. Release menu: Select which release to view data for.

2. Work added: The dark blue segment shows the amount of work added to the release in each sprint. In this example, work is measured in story points.

3. Work remaining: The light blue segment shows the amount of work remaining in the release.

4. Work completed: The green segment represents how much work is completed for the release in each sprint.

5. Projected completion: The report projects how many sprints it will take to complete the release, based on the team's velocity.

For more in-depth information, check out our release burndown chart documentation.

It's time to turn your team's hard work into a software release. By this stage, you should be confident that your version is ready to be released — issues are complete, code is checked in, reviewed, and merged, builds are passing, etc.

To deploy a release, you would typically release the version in Jira, build the release, then deploy the release to the required environment. 

1. Navigate to your project.

2. In the project menu, select Releases.

3. For the version you want to release, select Actions () > Release.

On Kanban boards, you can also release all issues in the Done column as a new version directly from the board itself.