The Jira Align support guide provides an overview of the various help resources available for Jira Align, as well as guidelines for creating and monitoring support tickets, feature requests, and test instance refresh requests. We recommend reading this guide to assist you in creating better cases and getting issues resolved as quickly as possible.

Check it out in the Atlassian Community here.

The Atlassian Jira Align team is pleased to announce Jira Align v.11.28.

These features for 11.28 were released to environments on the continuous release track on August 14, 2026, in version 11.28.0. The features will be released to environments on the bundled release track on August 28, 2026, in version 11.28.1.

• Coming soon
• Enhancements and features
• Bug fixes

Coming soon

Upcoming terminology change for objective categories

As of version 11.29, scheduled to deploy to sandbox environments on September 11, 2026, and then production environments on September 25, 2026, we’re updating the values in the Category field of objectives to resolve a display mismatch and align with updated terminology.

Currently, the category field in objective details panels shows two values: Committed and Stretch goal. However, in multiple grid pages and reports, objectives with a category set to committed will display Critical Path instead.

To resolve this issue, the mismatched Critical Path/Committed value will be consolidated to display as Committed, and Stretch goal will be updated to Uncommitted. Both values will display consistently in all panels, pages, and reports.

This label change updates Jira Align with the terminology your teams are already using in planning conversations. Objectives keep their existing category assignments, and the way each category is counted in reports is not changing. These labeling changes will not affect integrations or scripts built on the Jira Align REST API.

Reminder: upcoming end-of-support status for classic epics grid

As previously announced, the classic epics grid will be designated with end-of-support (EOS) status in version 11.30, scheduled to deploy to sandbox environments on October 9, 2026, and then production environments on October 23, 2026. After that point, no new features will be added and non-critical defects will no longer be filed.

The classic epics grid page remains fully accessible, and you can opt in to make the new epics grid your primary experience at any time.

Enhancements and features

Test out the beta themes grid page experience

A beta version of the modernized themes grid is now available! This update brings the same user experience and performance improvements found in our modernized epics, features, and capabilities grid pages to the theme level.

The beta themes page is disabled by default and can be enabled by switching on the Portfolio > Themes (Beta) system role toggle.

On-premise environments: After you install Jira Align 11.28.X, you can enable the new themes page by contacting Atlassian Support. We’ll make the new page available by default in a future version of Jira Align.

To access the new page, select the Themes [BETA] link from the sidebar, or reach it from the global navigation.

In this initial beta release, you can explore:

• A modernized themes page, with full support for saved views and starred pages
• Custom field columns, including custom dropdowns, multi-select dropdowns, text inputs, and text areas
• Search, total result count, and bulk delete from the action menu
• Theme creation from the grid page, using the + button to open the details panel
• 16 columns
• 15 filters
• 9 sorters

We’ll continue to add more columns, filters, sorters, and actions in future updates.

Backlogs: unranked work item indicator

We’ve added a new indicator to the list view of backlogs to help you easily identify which work items have been ranked and which are still pending prioritization.

• Unranked indicator: Work items that haven't been ranked yet will now display a dash ( - ) in the rank column instead of a numerical value. This indicator is also visible in the Global Portfolio and Global Program rank columns.
• Automatic ranking: When you rank an item via drag-and-drop, the Move to options, or move items to and from the Parking Lot, all visible items in that section are automatically ranked. While this is pre-existing behavior, it is now more visible due to the new unranked indicator.
• Awareness banner: A new, dismissible banner has been added to the backlogs page to provide awareness of how ranking operations affect your work items.
• Rank previews: During Sort and Pull Rank previews, all items will temporarily display rank values; these values will persist if you apply the changes or revert to the unranked indicator if you cancel.
• Cross-view visibility: Because some views share the same ranking data, you may notice items appearing as ranked in multiple places simultaneously. For example, ranking a standalone feature in the feature backlog on levels above program will also show it as ranked in the epic backlog. Similarly, ranking an epic, capability or feature in the backlog not scoped to a program increment will also reflect that rank in the Unassigned Backlog.

Backlogs: accurate ranking after program and program increment changes

We’ve improved how backlog ranks are managed when a work item’s program or PI changes to ensure your priorities remain accurate and up to date.

To prevent stale data and historical rank reactivation, Jira Align now automatically resets ranks when a work item is moved between program increments or programs via edits done on backlogs, details panels, API commands, mass update, and drag-and-drop actions.

• Program increment changes: Adding or removing a PI resets the Program Increment rank across Global, Portfolio, Solution, and Program levels. The all-time rank for these levels remains unchanged.
• Program changes: Program-level ranks are reset, and solution or portfolio ranks will also reset if the work item is removed from those specific hierarchies. Both Program increment and all-time ranks are reset for each affected level.
• Audit visibility: All rank resets are now captured in the work item’s audit log.

Features grid page: new columns, filters, and sharing

We’ve expanded what you can see and filter on the new features grid page so you can assess delivery health without opening each work item.

• Health and status: Review delivery confidence directly on the grid page with the new Health/Status column and filter.
• Report color: See the color reported for each feature in the new Report Color column.
• Benefits: Read the full benefits text without leaving the grid page by selecting the expand button in the Benefits column.
• Notes: Review status report and roadmap notes alongside your other feature data in the Notes (Narration) column.
• Feature filter: Filter the grid page by specific features to narrow large result sets.
• Sharing: Sharing a feature from the details panel now generates a link that opens the new features grid page in the background.

Roadmaps: new columns for dates, benefits, and external IDs

We’ve added columns to the new roadmaps so you can track schedule and value information alongside your delivery view.

• Start/Initiation Date: Track when work began with the new Start/Initiation Date column, filter, and sorter.
• Benefits: Read the full benefits text for features by selecting the expand button in the Benefits column.
• Report color: See the color reported for each feature in the new Report Color column.
• External ID: Filter and sort epics by External ID with the new column.

Capabilities grid page: date filters and custom room support

We’ve made it easier to scope the capabilities grid page to the work you’re planning.

• Date filters: Filter capabilities by Target Date and Start Date.
• Custom rooms: The capabilities grid page is now available in custom rooms, and a Custom Rooms filter has been added.

Epics grid page: capitalized filter and external ID column

We’ve added two columns to the new epics grid page.

• Capitalized: Filter the grid page by the Capitalized value.
• External ID: Filter and sort epics by External ID with the new column.

Grid pages and roadmaps: shared improvements

We’ve made several improvements that apply across the new grid pages and roadmaps.

• Smart links: Links to a specific new grid page or roadmap now display as a smart link instead of a plain URL when pasted into Confluence and other Atlassian products. As with other Jira Align links, these display in the inline view; the embed view is not supported.
• Locale-aware dates: Date columns now display in your locale’s date format.
• Tags filter: The Tags filter now supports a contains operator.
• Focus areas: The Focus Areas column is now available across all new grid pages.

Forecast page: adjustable column widths

We’ve added column resizing to the Forecast page so you can read long titles and descriptions in full.

• Drag to resize: Select and drag a column border to set the width you need.
• Widths persist: Your column widths are saved per user and per view, so the page keeps your layout the next time you return.

Bug fixes

We’ve corrected the following bugs that were discovered while investigating related issues, building new enhancements, and performing maintenance:

• Capabilities grid: The Work Structure filter was not retained when the grid page was opened from a deep link.
• Epics grid: Updating a work item from the grid page could fail with a bad request error when hidden fields were present.
• Grid pages: The Help option in the top navigation opened an empty slideout when viewed from a new grid page.
• Grid pages: Opening a saved view from a starred page or a static link did not fully rebuild the navigation context, which could hide the side menu or display a blank screen on roadmaps.
• Mass Move and Mass Delete: The Program dropdown became inactive after switching the selected program increment.
• Roadmaps: The External ID filter was not retained when a roadmap was opened from a deep link.
• Roadmaps: Expanding capabilities with a Solution or Solution Program Increment rank sort applied returned a Failed to load items error.
• Sprint slideout: The audit log recorded a release change when the release had not changed, and recorded sync date changes instead of the release when it had.
• Identified and resolved a vulnerability related to work item permission validation.
• Identified and resolved a vulnerability related to reports access.

Below is our upcoming release schedule. Sandbox and production environments will be unavailable during our maintenance window, which starts at 11:00PM EST on the day listed below and ends at 2:00AM EST on the following day.

Release tracks

Production environments are set to use the bundled release track, while sandbox environments use the continuous track. We recommend using this default setup for your environments, as it allows you to test new features released in a .0 feature release for two weeks in your sandbox environment. Those changes will then deploy to your production environment in a .1 maintenance release. 

Jira Align's Enterprise Insights (EI) version 11.28 was deployed to environments on the continuous release track on August 14, 2026. It will then be deployed to environments on the bundled release track on August 28, 2026. The following changes are included in version 11.28:

Release highlights

Enhancements and features:

• We added a new column, Active Flag, to Program views. This column indicates whether a program is active, and returns a value of Yes or No.

Updated tables

Last updated July 27, 2026 to add information about a change coming soon to version 11.28.

Jira Align's Enterprise Insights (EI) version 11.27 was deployed to environments on the continuous release track on July 17, 2026. It will then be deployed to environments on the bundled release track on July 31, 2026.

Coming soon

Version 11.28:

• A new column, Active Flag, will be added to Program views.

Release highlights

There are no functional changes or bug fixes included in version 11.27. The Enterprise Insights schema remains on version 11.22.

Below is our upcoming release schedule for Enterprise Insights (EI). Sandbox and production environments will be unavailable during our maintenance window, which starts at 11:00PM EST on the day listed below and ends at 2:00AM EST on the following day.

See the Release calendar article for the schedule of releases for the Jira Align platform. 

The installation and upgrade process for self-hosted Enterprise Insights is changing with version 11.23. Read on to understand what's new and what steps you need to take.

Enterprise Insights 11.23 contains a reliability and flexibility update for the self-hosted installer. It introduces answer file support for repeatable deployments, comprehensive pre-flight validation, and expanded SQL Server connectivity options.

Benefits of the change

Installing and upgrading Enterprise Insights in self-hosted environments has historically required careful manual input and could surface errors late in the process. This release addresses that by:

• Catching problems before they start: credentials, version compatibility, and database readiness are all validated before any changes are made
• Enabling repeatable, unattended deployments: a new answer file lets you configure once and reuse across environments and upgrades
• Supporting more deployment topologies: remote SQL Server, non-default ports, and self-signed certificates now work without manual script modifications
• Making upgrades seamless: existing ETL jobs are detected and handled automatically, eliminating common upgrade errors

All changes are fully backward compatible. Existing installations using default settings will continue to work without modification.

What's included

Answer file for unattended deployments

You can now pre-configure all installer inputs in a single answer file and run installations without interactive prompts. A documented template (Install.Answers.psd1) is included in the installer package, organized into clear sections (Data Warehouse, SSIS Catalog, SQL Admin, ETL Job, and Jira Align connection) with inline comments explaining each setting.

Key benefits:

• Eliminate manual entry: no more typing 15+ values at each install or upgrade
• Reduce errors: pre-validated configuration catches typos and missing values before deployment starts
• Enable automation: fully scriptable for CI/CD pipelines and scheduled upgrades
• Document your environment: the answer file serves as a living record of your deployment configuration
• Hybrid mode: leave any value blank to be prompted interactively; pre-fill the rest

To get started, copy the included template, fill in your environment values, and pass it to the installer. For fully unattended operation, add the -Force flag to skip confirmation prompts while retaining all safety checks. See the Self-Hosted Enterprise Insights Guide for detailed instructions.

Security: Answer files containing credentials should be stored securely and excluded from source control. See the template comments for guidance.

Pre-flight validation

The installer now performs a comprehensive set of checks before making any changes to your environment:

• Credential verification: all database connections are tested up front, so you will know immediately if a password or server name is wrong
• Version compatibility: Enterprise Insights and Jira Align versions are compared, with a warning on mismatch to prevent accidental misalignment
• Database readiness: active connections, open transactions, and database state are checked to prevent deployment failures
• Existing ETL job detection: if a job with the same name already exists, the installer shows its current status and safely handles the replacement

This means configuration problems surface immediately, not partway through a deployment.

Flexible SQL Server connectivity

The installer now supports a wider range of SQL Server deployment topologies:

• Remote SQL Server: Data Warehouse, SSIS catalog, and Jira Align databases can each be on separate servers
• Non-default ports: standard server,port format is now supported across all connections
• Self-signed certificates: a single configuration option enables certificate trust across all SQL connections, eliminating the need to manually edit the script

Additional improvements

• Smoother upgrades: upgrading with the same ETL job name now works seamlessly. The installer detects the existing job, displays its status, and handles the replacement automatically, including safely stopping a running job before deployment begins.
• Better error reporting: when an error occurs, the installer identifies which step failed, provides the specific error with resolution guidance, and reports which steps were not yet executed
• Schema deployment reliability: required deployment files are validated before starting, and failures are detected and reported immediately with log file references
• Updated branding: legacy product references updated to "Enterprise Insights" throughout the installer

Resolved issues

This release addresses several issues reported by customers and identified during testing:

• "MODIFY File Failed. Size is greater than MAXSIZE": the SSISDB file size configuration now checks current file sizes before applying limits, preventing errors when database files have grown beyond the original defaults
• "The specified job already exists" during upgrades: re-running the installer with the same ETL job name no longer fails. The existing job is detected and replaced safely.
• "The certificate chain was issued by an authority that is not trusted": self-signed certificate environments are now supported via a single configuration option, eliminating the need to manually edit the script
• Schema deployment failures not reported: the installer now validates deployment results and halts immediately with a clear error message and log file location if the schema update is unsuccessful
• Installer requires localhost SQL Server: the installer now supports remote SQL Server instances and non-default ports for all connections

Changes to installation and upgrade procedures

The installer package now includes the following files:

For new installations:

No special action required. Follow the Self-Hosted Enterprise Insights Guide included in the installer package. We recommend using the included answer file template for a streamlined experience.

For upgrades from a previous version:

1. Ensure both Install.ps1 and Install.Helpers.ps1 are present in your installer directory. Both files are now required.
2. Run the installer as before. All new settings default to previous behavior.
3. We recommend creating an answer file from the included template (Install.Answers.psd1) to simplify this and future upgrades.

System requirements are unchanged: PowerShell 5.1, Windows Server 2019 or later. Compatibility has been verified with SQL Server 2019.

If you have questions about this change or installing/upgrading Enterprise Insights on-premise, please contact Atlassian Support.

You can subscribe to three Help Center sections to receive notifications the instant release note articles are published:

• Release notes: These articles contain compiled information on a Jira Align version, initially published for the 10.X.0 feature release and updated each additional release through 10.X.3.
• Announcements: These articles contain information about upcoming changes, updates about ongoing issues, or specific guidance outside of our normal release schedule. 
• Enterprise Insights release notes: These articles contain release notes specific to Jira Align Enterprise Insights (EI).

What you need to do

To receive real-time release notes publication notifications, you'll need to create a Help Center account and follow the section or sections you want to receive notifications about. Please note, this will most likely be a different username and password than your Jira Align and Atlassian username and password. 

 To create an account (or reset your password if an account already exists), click the SIGN IN button on the Help Center (see the pink arrow).

Next, click the Sign up link, enter your name and email, and then click the Sign up button. You'll receive an email to finish setting up your account. If you receive a message that says a user has already signed up with the given email, click the Forgot my password link to reset your password.

Once logged in, from the Help Center home page, click the WHAT'S NEW section (bell icon).

Then click the header for the section you want to follow. Finally, click the FOLLOW button and then the New articles link.

That's it! As soon as we publish new release notes, you'll receive an email notification with a link!