Parent Element field
The Parent Element field is the foundation of Stratify's hierarchy. It links a work item to its logical parent (for example Initiative → Epic, OKR → Initiative, or the model your site uses).
When you install or enable the app, Stratify creates the field or reuses an existing one with the same purpose. The module's internal key (parent-element) and the stored value do not change when the user switches the Jira language.
Parent Element vs. Jira's native Parent
| Parent Element (Stratify) | Jira's native Parent | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Customer planning hierarchy (several levels and types). | Standard Jira parent/child relationship (Epic, subtask, and so on). |
| Who defines it | The administrator, with Parent → Children rules. | The Jira issue type model. |
| Use in the Gantt | Nests bars and calculates roll-ups. If it has a value, it wins over the native Parent. | Nests when Parent Element is empty. Stratify does not copy it into the field. |
You can use both at the same time. Stratify does not replace the native Parent and does not write it into Parent Element.
How the parent is chosen
| Situation | Result in the Gantt |
|---|---|
| Parent Element has a value | That value wins. The native Parent does not replace it. |
| Parent Element is empty and the native Parent has a value | The Gantt nests with the native Parent, if its type is allowed by the hierarchy and the parent is in the plan JQL. |
| Parent type is not allowed | The work item goes to No parent. |
| Parent is outside the plan JQL | The work item goes to No parent. |
| Sub-task | It always hangs from its native Parent. The field is not used and the picker does not appear in its menu. |
Stratify does not fill Parent Element with the native Parent. The field only changes when the user saves it.
Associate the field with issue types and screens
- In Jira, go to Settings (⚙️) → Work items → Fields (or Custom fields).
- Find Parent Element.
- Associate it with the contexts, issue types, and screens (create, view, edit) of the spaces you will plan on the Gantt.
- Check that planning users can view and edit the field on those types.
Without this association, the Gantt cannot resolve parents and children even when the JQL returns work items.
Parent Element picker
When you edit Parent Element, the picker works like Jira's native Parent:
- Search by key or by the work item summary.
- With no text, it shows recent and suggested results.
- In the field, each option is shown as
KEY: summary (Type). - In the Gantt menu, each option shows the issue type icon, key, and summary, grouped by sections.
- It only shows the types that the hierarchy allows as a parent of the current work item.
- The value can be cleared.
- The saved value is the work item reference, with its key and summary.
The hierarchy filter is the same in the field and in the Gantt. A sub-task does not show the picker: its parent is the native Parent.
Saving the field from the Gantt re-nests the bars immediately, without reloading the page. The change can live in the draft until you sync. See Sandbox and sync.
Field name language
With the es-ES locale, the visible name is Elemento Superior. With en-US, Parent Element. The value (the linked work item) is the same in both languages.
Next step
Configure which issue types can be children of each parent type: Hierarchy panel.