Feature maps

Feature maps organize features into a visual presentation, in the form of a grid, to help capture functionality, plan releases, groom the backlog, and identify a journey. Feature mapping helps Agile teams understand customers and problems by ordering features along X and Y axes; the axes can represent priority, complexity, states or stages, or any other aspect of a feature's life cycle. 

Creating a feature map

Create a feature map on the feature maps page:

1. Select Programs or Solutions in the top navigation bar and select the program or solution you want to view a feature map for.
2. On the sidebar, select Reports in the list of options.
3. Select Feature maps; the feature maps page displays.

Follow these steps to create a feature map:

1. On the feature maps page, select the Add Feature Map button on the top-right of the page. The New Feature Map panel displays.
2. Enter a map name and a map description in the appropriate fields, and then click Save; additional fields for creating rows and columns populate the panel.
3. The columns will form the X axis of the feature map grid. Enter a name, order number (starting with 1, not skipping numbers; displayed from left to right), and color for the first column. Click the Add button and repeat this step as many times as needed to create desired columns and order.
4. The rows will form the Y axis of the story map grid. Enter a name, order number (starting with 1, not skipping numbers; displayed from top to bottom), and color for the first row. Click the Add button and repeat this step as many times as needed to create desired rows and order.
5. Click Save; a View Feature Map link displays next to map description.
6. Click the View Feature Map link; the feature map columns and rows display in a visual grid.

Proceed to the next section to learn how to add features to the feature map.

Adding features to a feature map

Follow these steps to add features to the feature map:

1. Using the column headings as the X axis and the row headings as the Y axis, click in a grid cell where you want to add a feature (or features). A blue + icon displays in the lower-right corner of the cell. 
   
   
   
   Click the + icon and select either New or Existing: New opens the New Feature panel, where you can create and save a new feature, which will be added to the cell in the form of a card) upon saving; Existing opens the Bulk Add Features panel, where you can filter to find existing features, which will be added to the cell (in the form of a card) upon saving. One or more features can be added to each cell in the grid. Repeat as many times as needed to add features to the grid in the desired cells.

Notes: The rank or order of features within the cells will not persist after a page refresh.

Additional actions: 

• Drag and drop feature cards to move them to a different cell in the grid.
• Click any card to open the Feature slide-out panel, where you can edit and save feature parameters.
• Use any of the toggles, located at the top-right of the page, to highlight features by specific criteria and configure the information displayed on the cards:
  
  • View Backbone: Highlights all cards in the top row of cells. This is useful if your feature map utilizes the top row to display features required to accomplish a narrative.
  • View MMF: Highlights feature cards where the feature is designated as a Minimum Marketable Feature (MMF).
  • View Status: Replaces the feature type and story count information at the bottom of feature cards with a progress bar, representing the proportion of story points accepted (out of the total story points for the feature).
• To delete a feature card, hover over the card until a red X icon displays in the top-right corner of the card; click the X icon to delete.
• To add additional columns or rows to the grid, click the blue + icon located at the end of the column/row headings. You can also click the Configure Map button to edit/add columns or rows in the grid.

Group features into epics

To group features into an epic, follow these steps:

1. Click the Group into Epic button at the top-right of the page; the page is now in Select mode.
2. Select the features you want to group into an epic by clicking on the desired cards; the selected cards are highlighted.
3. Click the Create Epic button at the top-right of the page; the Add New Epic From Feature Map window displays.
4. Enter the name, description, program, and PI for the epic, and then click Save; the New Epic panel slides out to display the newly created epic.