Task lists, multiple lists or grouping tasks
Asked by zigojacko:

Is there any way to create multiple lists here instead of just adding tasks to the same list?

![Screenshot_8.jpg](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/180220iAD59E9252C10B08A/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999 "Screenshot_8.jpg")

I'd ideally like to be able to create different lists and assign a list to a team (department).

Any suggestions or feedback welcome. TIA


Answers:
author: Jack Brickey
body: Hi [@zigojacko](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/4502098) , what screen are you looking at here? In JSM you have Queues that are used to group issues for agents. I am not sure what "List" is referring to in JSM. Can you help me understand?

comments: author: zigojacko
body: So this is in JSM in a 'Company-managed business' project type.

Then in the sidebar (see below), you've got 'List' which shows a list of all the tasks...

![Screenshot_9.jpg](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/180258i9334AC800B1F7503/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999 "Screenshot_9.jpg")

Don't know if that helps? Thanks.


author: Jack Brickey
body: Ok so that is not a JSM project. This is a JWM (business) project. I have updated the tags on this post to reflect that.

now to your question...Unfortunately you cannot create multiple Lists. However you can easily create your own filters and save them under advanced search issues screen. Moreover, you can always add a link to these filters on your side bar using the add shortcut feature.


author: zigojacko
body: Thanks for clarifying that [@Jack Brickey](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/853369)

Would your workaround apply for every user with access to the project (creating advanced search filters and adding as a shortcut to them)?


author: Jack Brickey
body: yes. The shortcuts are displayed for all users.


author: Hannes Obweger - JXL for Jira
body: Hi [@zigojacko](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/4502098)

just to add to Jack's answer, if you're open to solutions from the [Atlassian Marketplace](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/), you may like [JXL for Jira](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/1224710). It's a full-fledged table/spreadsheet view that comes with support for inline editing (either individually or in bulk via copy/paste), inline issue creation, quick filtering and sorting, and support for issue hierarchies, among many other features - plus, it allows having multiple so-called Sheets per project. Each sheet is backed by a JQL statement, meaning that you can create multiple lists e.g. based on the assignee, or any other criteria you would like to use. Switching between the sheets is very quick and easy:

![switch-between-sheets.gif](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/180451i37737BB4E22D7F69/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999 "switch-between-sheets.gif")

Another advantage is that JXL works with any project type, be it JSW, JSM, or JWM. More info at [https://jxl.app](https://jxl.app/). (Dislaimer: I work on JXL :))

Hope this helps,

Best,

Hannes

comments: author: zigojacko
body: Thanks [@Hannes Obweger - JXL for Jira](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/4289506)

I have installed JXL and am checking it out. Whilst I think this might be a workaround, I'm not really sure how to sort and filter the issues for a specific sheet.

I might see if I can try and adapt to using the labels perhaps but it is far from an ideal scenario.

First impressions of your JXL app though are decent. ?


author: Hannes Obweger - JXL for Jira
body: Hi [@zigojacko](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/4502098)

awesome! Let me see if we can sort this out for you :)

If I understood you correctly, you want to maintain different lists of issues within one Jira project, one for each department.

1.) The first thing to think about is how an individual issue is "connected" to a department. There are different ways to do that; e.g. you could create a **Label** for each department, or even create a so-called **Custom field**.

2.) When you've decided on this, you can create JQL statements for each list. E.g., if you use the label approach, you could have

*project = "PROJ" and labels = "moon"*

for your "Moon" department, and

*project = "PROJ" and labels = "mars"*

for your "Mars" department, etc.

3.) What you can do now with JXL is to create one Sheet for each department, using the above JQL statements. You can pick a name for each Sheet, so you could have a Moon sheet and a Mars sheet, etc.

Does this make sense?  

(With regards to Jack's answer, you can also create these lists using Jira's native **Advanced issue search** , if you store the JQL statements as **Filters**. But JXL should make your editing experience much nicer :))


author: Hannes Obweger - JXL for Jira
body: As an alternative, you could also try to use just one Sheet (listing \*all\* the issues in your project), and using JXL's quick filtering capabilities to narrow down to whatever department you're interested in.

This is how this looks e.g. for labels:

![filter-by-label.gif](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/180491iEC08377CBA28EFDE/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999 "filter-by-label.gif")

(JXL will also very soon be able to group issues together based on certain criteria (like labels or custom fields), which could also be useful to you. :))


author: zigojacko
body: [@Hannes Obweger - JXL for Jira](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/4289506) thanks for your explanation, this is actually pretty similar which I am already testing so thanks for trying to help with your suggestions.

I have one quick question in relation to what you've said; Is "departments' the same as "teams"? Or is there a way of actually creating departments somewhere?

We're a digital agency so basically have departments like organic search, paid search, social media, frontend design, web development etc.


author: zigojacko
body: [@Hannes Obweger - JXL for Jira](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/4289506) in reply to your second post, I need to ideally create direct links to lists of issues that only specific people need access to so relying on people to filter themselves will only cause confusion and also, some will actually need to have restricted access to some issue lists too.


author: Hannes Obweger - JXL for Jira
body: Hi [@zigojacko](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/4502098)

Regarding departments / teams: There is no native concept of "departments" in Jira. Using labels (as I did in my answer above) would be a bit of a workaround; the "cleaner" solution, I suppose, would be to add a [custom field](https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/configure-issue-custom-fields/) (probably of type "Single select"), and therefore introduce the concept of departments yourself. Yet another option would be to use [components](https://support.atlassian.com/jira-software-cloud/docs/organize-work-with-components/).

There **is**a concept of teams, but only if you're using Advanced Roadmaps (which is part of Jira Premium). This could be an option for you.

(All of these concepts - labels, custom fields, components, or teams - are supported in JXL.)

*** ** * ** ***

Regarding your second question: In this case, you probably need to go with JQL-based issue selection (i.e., the approach that you've already been exploring).

Just two more concepts that you might find useful:

- First, there are a number of JQL functions that allow you pick issues dynamically, based on your current user. See e.g. the currentUser() function [here](https://support.atlassian.com/jira-work-management/docs/advanced-search-reference-jql-functions/). So depending on how you approach your use case, you *may* be able to create a JQL statement that lists the correct issues, depending on who's looking at it.

- Second, you can actually pass the JQL statement as part of your URL when navigating to a sheet; see [Adapting sheets](https://jxl.app/docs/guide/managing-sheets/#adapting-sheets). It usually means that you need to put some logic in place to generate the correct URL for your user(s) to click on, so this is definitively an advanced feature; I just wanted to call it out here in case it happens to be useful.

Best,

Hannes


author: Karyna Tyrnavska _SaaSJet
body: hi, [@zigojacko](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/4502098) !

As an alternative to deal with your issue, you can check out the [Recurring Checklists and Report](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1228109/recurring-checklists-and-report?tab=overview&hosting=cloud&utm_source=Atlassian_Community&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Comment_Task-lists-multiple-lists-or-grouping-tasks_20220608) add-on. It meets your needs if I correctly understand your aim.

I read that your company is a marketing agency so you need that only specific people will have access to checklist information. It\`s possible. Just create a unique [checklist](https://saasjet.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/SAASJET/pages/2247753764/Creating+of+Checklists) for each department and assign it to the person/group

Also, you can add the checklist to the issue and control the complication in the add-on by a one-page report.

Please, tell me if it helps!

comments: author: zigojacko
body: Thanks for replying [@Karyna Tyrnavska _SaaSJet](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/4856887) but we gave up on JIRA months ago and are using an alternative platform now.


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