The roadmap item edit screen is where users view and update its details. The fields displayed can be tailored to fit your team's workflow and data needs.
Admins and Roadmap Owners* can customize which fields appear on the Roadmap Item edit screen by item level and by roadmap. Including:
- Configure which system and custom fields appear for each level and by Roadmap
- Setting required fields
- Turning on/ off “hard” status field update validation
- Managing field propagation between hierarchical levels (parent -> child)
- Adjusting the layout to address each team's needs.
Note*: An Editor assigned as the Owner of an L1 Roadmap can update the field layout for all item levels (Idea, Initiative, Bet) and all roadmap levels within that hierarchy, even for child L2/L3 roadmaps they don't personally own.
The roadmap item layout configuration can be accessed from the Portfolio Overview page or directly from the item edit screen.
This article covers:
- Configure Roadmap Item Field Layout per Level
- Switch Between Pop-Up and Slide Screen
- Integration Indicators for Mapped Fields
- FAQ
Configure Roadmap Item Screen Layout per Level
How to Set It Up
Admins and Roadmap Owners can customize which fields appear in the Roadmap item edit screen in two ways:
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Using the Configure <item> edit modal on the Portfolio Overview page (recommended), or
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Using the Configure Layout option in the items’ edit screen
This sets the same layout for all users. Other user types can view the layout but cannot modify it.
Field Layouts are configured based on a combination of:
- Item level (Bet, Initiative, Idea)
- Roadmap level (L1, L2, L3)
This combined approach allows teams to display different fields depending on both the item type and the roadmap an item belongs to.
Item-Level Field Configuration (Bet, Initiative, Idea)
Field layouts are configured separately for each hierarchy level: Idea, Initiative, and Bet. The changes apply to all items of that hierarchy level, within the selected roadmap level (or to all roadmaps, if using "Default (No Roadmap)").
Roadmap-Level Field Configuration (L1, L2, L3)
You can use the system default layout, or customize layouts for specific roadmaps and roadmap levels.
We recommend starting with L1 roadmaps, since configurations set at this level will automatically apply to all child roadmaps (L2 and L3), unless those lower levels are explicitly customized. Once a layout is customized for a lower-level roadmap, future changes at L1 will not overwrite it.
If an item does not belong to a roadmap, the system default layout will apply.
For older accounts, existing layout configurations at each work-item level (idea, initiative, bet) are treated as the default layout.
Resetting a Roadmap Layout
If you've customized a layout for a specific roadmap level and want to revert it, you can click "Reset to default layout" in the configuration panel. This will reset the current roadmap's layout to your configured Default (No Roadmap) layout - the baseline configuration that applies to items not belonging to any roadmap.
Set Required Fields
Required fields in Dragonboat are ‘soft required’ by default – users are prompted to fill them in, but they’re not enforced, and the user can still close/save the item without doing so.
Admins and Roadmap Owners can set the fields as ‘soft required’ by checking the box next to the field in the configure layout menu (for visual details, check the image in the Configure Item Screen Layout section).
How required fields behave:
- Required fields are marked with a red asterisk and highlighted in light pink when left empty
- If a user tries to close the item without completing them, a pop-up will prompt them to fill out all required fields or save and close.
- For items created via import, Editors and Admins will be prompted to enter values when they open these items.
- Required field configurations apply per hierarchy level and per roadmap, so each item level and each roadmap needs to be configured separately.
Hard required fields for Phase updates
To ensure required data is entered before saving changes to the Phase field, Admins can turn on the toggle “Block saving Phase field if required fields are empty” at the bottom of the configuration panel.
When the toggle is on, other field updates still save; only the Phase update is blocked until required fields are filled in.
- Directly in a grid, e.g. on the Portfolio List, PDLC, or other pages with inline-editable fields
- Via drag and drop
- Via API or MCP
- Through integration updates
Filtering by Missing Required Fields:
Users may use the Advanced Search to filter items by missing required fields, making it easier to identify and clean up incomplete data. Items with missing required fields are also flagged as Data Errors, in the AI Risk Detection cards (Home page; part of the AI Assistant product).
Set Data for Propagation between Hierarchy levels (parent -> child)
Propagation automatically carries field values from parent to child portfolio items, keeping your data consistent across hierarchy levels without requiring manual entry. Admins can set which fields propagate from parent to child at each level by selecting the down arrow. Editors and Read-Only users can view, but not modify, propagation rules.
- Creating a new item: When selecting a parent item, only empty fields are filled in, inheriting the values from the parent – existing values are kept as is.
- Unlinking item from parent: If an item is unlinked from a parent, the values inherited from the original will remain intact.
- Linking to a new parent: If an existing child item is linked to a new parent, only empty fields will inherit values from the new parent; populated fields will not be overwritten with values from the new parent.
- Editing linked parent item: When an Initiative or Bet are edited, the new values will not be propagated to their child items.
- Importing: Propagation will not occur during an import process.
- Linking Directly an Idea to a Bet: If an idea is linked directly as a child of a bet, the values will also propagate from the bet.
In addition to Roadmap Items, Admins can also configure the field layout for other portfolio objects, such as Requests, Goals, and Solution Requests. See Customize Field Layouts for Requests, Goals, and Solution Requests for details.
Switch Between Pop-Up and Slide Screen
You can select between a Slide screen (“drawer”) or the legacy Pop-up screen (“lightbox”), by clicking the "Change Layout" icon.
The Slide Screen lets you see the whole page while viewing an epic or initiative. The Popup lets you focus on the selected epic or initiative. Your preferences will be saved individually (not for all users), and you can change them at any time.
Integration Indicators for Mapped Fields
When a roadmap item is connected to Jira, Azure DevOps or Rally, the mapped fields now display integration direction indicators. These icons help users quickly understand how each field update flows between Dragonboat and the connected tool. These indicators show:
- When a field is mapped to an external system.
- Whether the update flows one-way or bi-directionally.
Note: Since the “Target Timeline” field in the item pop-up is composed of two system fields (Target Start and Target End dates) that can have different mapping directions, the system will assign the bi-directional indicator, if at least one of the fields has bi-directional updates.
FAQ
Portfolio Items
Q: Does setting a field as required apply across all roadmaps and item levels?
A: No. Required field configurations apply per hierarchy level (Idea, Initiative, Bet) and per roadmap, so each combination needs to be set up separately.
Q: We want the same layout applied across all our roadmaps. How do we make sure of that?
A: Make sure "Default (No Roadmap)" is selected at the top of the configure layout panel before making and saving changes. We recommend starting from the Portfolio Overview page rather than from an item's edit screen for this.
If you configure the layout from within an item, that item's roadmap will be selected by default at the top, and the layout changes will only apply to that specific roadmap once saved. Going through the Overview page and confirming "Default (No Roadmap)" is selected is the safest way to avoid accidentally scoping changes to a single roadmap.
Q: Are required fields (soft or hard required) enforced if I update items directly on the Portfolio List or another grid view?
A: No. Required field validations only apply within the item edit screen.
Updates made directly in a grid, via drag and drop, via API, MCP, or through integration updates are not validated against required fields.
Q: What happens to items created via import if they're missing required fields?
A: Editors and Admins are prompted to fill in the missing values when they open those items.
Q: Can Editors or Read-Only users change the field layout or propagation rules?
A: No. They can view the layout and propagation rules set by Admins and Roadmap Owners, but can't modify them.
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