Investment Visibility - Walk

Build Interactive R&D Investment Dashboards with Custom Charts

(Timesheets + Custom Charts)

Leadership opens an always-current investment dashboard in Jira instead of waiting for the monthly Excel build.1

1. Install Custom Charts

Add Custom Charts for Jira from the Atlassian Marketplace if it isn't already installed. Getting started

2. R&D Time Distribution by Space (Bar Chart)

Set Source to the relevant Jira spaces, set Chart by to Space, in Calculate switch Count to Sum and select Time Spent, set Chart Type to Bar Chart, and set the range to This quarter or Last quarter. This answers "where did R&D time go?" with no export. Connecting to Tempo Timesheets

3. Team Effort Allocation (Stacked Bar Chart)

Set Chart by to Tempo Team, in Calculate choose Sum then Time Spent, add a Group by dimension set to Space, and set Chart Type to Stacked Bar Chart. This surfaces teams that are spread too thin or concentrated on one space.

4. Time Allocation Trend (Line Chart)

Set Chart by to Space, Calculate to Sum then Time Spent, set the Time Unit to Months in Display Options, set Chart Type to Line Chart, and set the range to Last 6 months or This year. This replaces the manual period-over-period comparison.

5. Top Contributors by Initiative (Funnel Chart)

Set Chart by to User, Calculate to Sum then Time Spent, scope by Jira space using the Spaces option in Source (the Simple Search gadget lets you add filters without JQL), and set Chart Type to Funnel Chart. Scoping by initiative needs JQL; if your team isn't JQL-proficient, skip this chart and rely on the space view.

6. Create a dedicated dashboard

In Jira, create a dashboard titled "R&D Investment Overview," add all four charts, give leadership view access, and pin the dashboard URL in the investment review invite (replacing the Excel attachment). See Shared Dashboards Overview.

7. Embed in Confluence (optional)

If leadership prefers Confluence, embed the charts on a dedicated "R&D Investment" page for broader visibility.

Connect Effort to Strategic Priorities with Structure PPM

(Timesheets + Structure PPM)

Leadership sees R&D effort rolled up to the initiative and portfolio level, so the question becomes whether you are investing in the right priorities. 1

1. Install Structure PPM

Add Structure PPM from the Atlassian Marketplace if it isn't already installed. Opening Structure now takes two clicks: the first opens a menu (Structure and Cross-Team PI Planner), the second opens Structure itself. Structure + Timesheets integration

2. Map the initiative hierarchy

Organize Jira spaces and epics into a portfolio structure that reflects strategic priorities, for example Portfolio > Strategic Themes > Initiatives > Spaces > Epics > Stories. Match how leadership thinks about investment, not how engineering organizes work. See Creating Your First Structure.

3. Enable effort roll-ups

Configure Structure to aggregate logged time from Timesheets at each level. Agree on a duplicate-estimate approach first, since lower-level estimates can replace higher-level ones rather than summing. See Totals Columns.

4. Create the investment allocation view

Add columns: Initiative Name | Planned Hours (from Capacity Planner if available) | Actual Hours (from Timesheets) | Variance | % of Total Portfolio Hours. Sort by Actual Hours descending to show where investment is concentrated.

5. Add the strategic alignment column

For each initiative, add a priority level (for example "P1 Strategic," "P2 Growth," "P3 Sustaining"). When leadership sees 45% of hours going to P3 Sustaining while P1 work is under-invested, the conversation shifts to "should we change this?" See Adding Columns.

6. Incorporate into the investment review

Replace or supplement the Excel report with the Structure view in the monthly review. Leadership gets the same data in real time, with drill-down to Jira space or team level. For self-paced reinforcement, see the Tempo Learning Center.