1. What a Jira Timeline is in Jira Software
A Timeline in Jira Software (formerly called Advanced Roadmaps in Premium) is a planning tool used by delivery teams who work with Sprints, Epics, Stories, Tasks, and Bugs.
It is designed for execution planning.
It answers the question: “When will the work be delivered?”
What it focuses on
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Dates for epics and stories
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Dependencies between issues
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Team capacity and sprint planning
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How work from multiple Jira Software spaces rolls up into a schedule
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Visualizing scope creep, delays, risks and progress
Who uses it
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Scrum teams
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Kanban teams
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Project managers
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Release managers
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Stakeholders who want accurate delivery forecasts
Why it exists
The Timeline gives a structured, schedule-driven way to plan how development work will be executed, based on teams’ actual velocity and the items in their backlogs. It is centered on delivery, estimation, and coordination across teams.
2. What a Jira Roadmap is in Jira Service / Jira Product Discovery
A Roadmap in Jira Product Discovery (often paired with Jira Service Management for capturing ideas) is not about execution.
It is a strategic product roadmap, used long before developers write code.
It answers a very different question:
“What should we build, and why should we build it?”
What it focuses on
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High-level product ideas
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Problems to solve for customers
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Opportunity ranking
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Impact vs. effort scoring
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Prioritization and justification for choices
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Stakeholder alignment
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Long-term vision (quarters and themes, not sprint dates)
Who uses it
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Product managers
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UX and research teams
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Service teams gathering customer ideas
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Leadership
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Business stakeholders
Why it exists
A Jira Product Discovery roadmap helps teams capture ideas, evaluate them, prioritize them, and communicate strategic direction. It is not tied to sprint execution or story-level details, but instead tied to value, customer impact, and business outcomes.
3. Core Difference
| Question It Answers | Jira Software Timeline | Jira Product Discovery Roadmap |
|---|---|---|
| What is it for? | Planning delivery | Planning product strategy |
| Level of detail | Epics, stories, dependencies | Ideas, initiatives, themes |
| Time horizon | Weeks to months | Months to years |
| Who uses it? | Engineering teams and delivery roles | Product and strategy teams |
| Data source | Backlogs in Jira Software | Idea items in Product Discovery |
| Primary outcome | A realistic plan | A prioritized product vision |
4. How they work together
Most organizations use both.
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Ideas come into Jira Product Discovery
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Product managers score, rank and prioritize them
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Approved ideas become Epics in a Jira Software space
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Engineering teams plan execution on the Timeline
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Stakeholders see how strategic ideas progress toward delivery
Roadmap → high-level “What and why”
Timeline → detailed “When and how”
They are intentionally different layers of planning.
5. Why this matters for Jira Certification (ACP-120 and ACP-620)
You are expected to understand:
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Jira Software tools (like backlog, sprints, timeline, board configuration) focus on delivery execution
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Jira Service / Product Discovery tools focus on mapping ideas and prioritization
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Roadmaps in Product Discovery are not based on Agile velocity or sprint planning
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Timelines in Jira Software are based on estimation, scheduling, team capacity and dependencies
Certification questions may phrase this as:
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“Which tool should a product manager use to communicate the product vision?” → Product Discovery Roadmap
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“Which tool helps a scrum master visualize how work will unfold over releases?” → Jira Software Timeline
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“Where do you manage capacity and dependency conflicts?” → Timeline
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“Where do you evaluate customer problems and rank ideas?” → Product Discovery Roadmap
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