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 the edit screen for default, and by various levels of roadmap and portfolio item, including:
- Configure which fields appear
- Setting required fields
- Managing propagation between hierarchy levels
- Adjusting the layout to address each team's needs.
- Turning on/ off “hard” status field update validation
Configuration can be accessed from the Portfolio Overview page, or directly from the item edit screen.
This article covers:
- Customize Item Screen Layout
- Set Required Fields
- Set Data for Propagation between Hierarchy Levels
- Change Item Screen Layout
- Integration Indicators for Mapped Fields
Customize Item Screen Layout
Admins and Roadmap Owners can customize which fields appear in the Roadmap item edit screen in two ways:
- Using the Configure <item> edit modal on the Portfolio Overview page, 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.
An Editor who is assigned as the Owner of an L1 Roadmap can update the field layout for all item levels (idea, initiative and bet) and at all roadmap levels within that roadmap hierarchy, even if they’re not the owner of the child L2/L3 roadmaps.
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 need to be configured separately for each hierarchy level:
- Idea
- Initiative
- Bet
Changes apply to all items of that hierarchy level within the selected roadmap level.
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) within its hierarchy – unless those lower levels are explicitly customized. If needed, you can later define different layouts at L2 or L3.
Once a lower-level roadmap layout (L2, L3) is customized, future changes made to the L1 layout will not overwrite that lower-level configuration.
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 Portfolio) 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 Customize 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.
- Mandatory field configurations apply per hierarchy level and per roadmap, so each item level and each roadmap needs to be configured separately.
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)
Hard required fields for Phase update
To ensure required data is entered before changing 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, updates to other fields will be saved, but the Phase update will not be saved until all required fields are filled in.
Note: Hard required fields are only enforced when updating items through the item edit modal. Updates made outside of the edit modal (e.g., inline, drag and drop, and integration updates) will not be affected.
Set Data for Propagation between Hierarchy levels
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 should be automatically propagated from the parent to the child portfolio item at each level, by selecting the down arrow. Editors and Read-Only users can view, but cannot modify, the propagation rules set by the Admin. The following rules apply:
- Creating a new item: When you select a parent item, only empty fields are filled in from the parent – existing values are kept as is.
- Unlinking item from parent: If an item is unlinked from a parent, propagated values will remain intact.
- Linking to a new parent: If an existing child item is linked to a new parent, empty values from the new parent will be propagated, populated values will not be overwritten.
- Editing linked child item: When an idea linked to a parent is edited, values will not be propagated.
- Importing: Propagation will not occur during an import process.
- Linking Directly to Idea from Bet: If an item is linked directly to an idea from bet, values will also propagate.
Change Item Screen Layout
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.
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