Create parent and child Jira issues
Create a Jira hierarchy from a map branch by confirming each parent before creating its children.
Before you start
You need:
- Permission to create the required issue types in the Jira project.
- A mind map that you can edit.
- A Jira configuration that supports the parent and child issue types you want to use.
Jira hierarchy differs between projects. Use the issue types and parent choices shown for your destination project.
Understand how the map suggests a parent
Mind Map Studio proposes a Jira parent only when:
- The idea has a direct parent on the map.
- That immediate parent already shows a confirmed Jira key.
- Jira allows the selected child type under that parent type.
A visual connection or deeper ancestor is not enough. Map relationships and map branch lines do not become Jira issue links or Jira parents automatically.
Create a hierarchy from the top down
- Select the highest idea that should become a Jira parent.
- Create its Jira issue.
- Confirm that the idea now shows a Jira key.
- Select its direct child idea.
- Open Create Jira issue.
- Choose a compatible issue type.
- Review Link as child of parent key and leave it selected.
- Select Create.
- Open the new child in Jira and confirm its parent.
Repeat these steps from the confirmed child when you want another level. For example, a project may allow an Epic, a standard issue beneath it, and then a Sub-task beneath that standard issue.
The exact names and allowed levels come from your Jira project.
Review an automatic parent suggestion
When a compatible Jira-linked parent exists, the parent option is selected automatically.
Check:
- The parent issue key.
- The parent summary.
- The destination project.
- The child issue type.
If you change the project or issue type, review the parent card again. The proposed relationship can become incompatible.
Create an issue without the proposed parent
Clear Link as child of parent key when the issue should be independent in Jira.
The map branch remains unchanged. You are changing only the parent value sent during Jira creation.
A Sub-task cannot be created while detached because Jira requires a compatible standard parent.
Resolve an incompatible relationship
Mind Map Studio disables the parent option when the selected combination is known to be incompatible. It explains that the issue will be created without the inferred parent.
You can:
- Choose a compatible child issue type.
- Choose the same project as the required parent when the Jira hierarchy requires it.
- Create the issue without a parent when it is not a Sub-task.
- Return to the map, create the correct Jira parent first, and try again.
Jira performs the final validation. A project's custom hierarchy or required fields can still reject a combination.
Use hierarchy in a batch
Bulk create Jira items can apply a confirmed immediate parent to several selected ideas. The parent must already show a Jira key before you open the batch.
The batch does not create one selected row first and then use its new key as another selected row's parent. To create a new chain, create the parent first, return to the map, and then create its children.
Check the result in Jira
- Select the Jira key on the child map card.
- Find the parent field in Jira.
- Confirm that it shows the intended issue key.
Also check the issue type and project. The map branch can look correct even when the Jira issue was deliberately created without a parent.
Good to know
- The map structure suggests a parent; it does not override Jira's hierarchy rules.
- Removing or rearranging a map branch later does not change the Jira parent field.
- Changing a Jira parent later does not rearrange the map.
- Map relationship labels are not synchronized to Jira issue links.
Fix a problem
No parent is proposed
Confirm that the idea's immediate map parent already shows a Jira key. If only a higher ancestor has a key, create or connect the immediate parent first.
The parent option is disabled
The selected issue types or projects are incompatible. Change the child issue type or destination project, or create the issue without a parent when Jira allows it.
A Sub-task cannot be created
Create or connect a compatible standard parent in the same Jira hierarchy first. Then open the child idea's dialog again.
Jira rejects the relationship
Open Jira and check the destination project's hierarchy rules. Change the issue type or project, or remove the proposed parent for a non-Sub-task.
For more help, see Fix Jira issue problems.