I set up multiple versions in JIRA to organize my work similar to sprints, but I can’t understand how the system determines their display order in the planning interface. I expected them to be arranged by their start dates or target release dates, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
My goal is to create different versions for organizing user stories and have them show up in chronological sequence on the planning board. Has anyone figured out how to control this ordering behavior?
i completely get you! it took me a while to get used to the ordering too. just go to project settings and drag the versions to reorder them. it’s a pain that they don’t show by date, but at least you can arrange them how u like!
JIRA’s version ordering on the planning board is tricky at first as it defaults to alphabetical sorting when you haven’t set explicit positions. I encountered the same issue while managing various product iterations. A simple workaround is to add numeric prefixes to your version names, such as “1.0 - Sprint Alpha” or “2.0 - Beta Release,” which ensures they appear in the desired order. If you’re managing numerous versions, you can also bulk edit positions using the REST API, but adjusting project settings is easier for smaller projects. Ultimately, JIRA treats versions more as labels rather than time-based sequences.
Greenhopper’s planning board doesn’t sort versions by date; instead, it follows the order established in the project’s settings. Navigate to your project settings, then to the Versions tab, where you can drag and drop the versions to your desired order. These changes reflect immediately on the planning board. I struggled with this for weeks before discovering it. Interestingly, the system does not consider release dates, which is odd but that’s just how it operates. Alternatively, you can use the version actions menu to adjust the order without dragging.