Documentation

Impact Analysis for Jira is available on the Atlassian Marketplace. It runs natively on Jira Cloud as a Forge app — there is no server to configure and nothing to install outside of Jira.

Installation steps:
1. Go to the Atlassian Marketplace listing.
2. Click Try it free (or Buy now if you are not on the free tier).
3. Select your Jira Cloud site.
4. Grant the requested permissions. The plugin requires read-only access to your Jira configuration.
5. Installation is complete. You will find the plugin in your Jira Apps menu.

The plugin is free indefinitely for instances with 10 users or fewer. For larger instances, a 30-day free trial is available on all paid tiers.

After installation, access Impact Analysis for Jira from the Apps menu in your Jira navigation bar.

The plugin has three main sections:
- Analyze — Select a Jira object type and object, then run an impact analysis.
- AI Assistant — Ask a question in plain language and receive an instant impact report.
- Saved Analyses — Browse, search, and compare previously saved analyses.

On first use, we recommend running an analysis on a custom field you know well — this gives you a sense of the depth and structure of the output before using it for a real change decision.

To run an impact analysis:
1. Open the plugin from Apps → Impact Analysis for Jira.
2. In the Analyze tab, select the object type from the dropdown (Custom Field, Workflow, Screen Scheme, Permission Scheme, etc.).
3. Select the specific object you want to analyze from the search field.
4. Click Run Analysis.

The analysis typically completes in 5–30 seconds depending on the size of your instance and the number of dependencies. Larger instances with many projects and automation rules may take slightly longer.

The analysis report is organized by dependency type. For each category, you will see the number of dependent objects and a detailed list.

Report sections:
- Filters — Saved JQL filters that reference the analyzed object by name.
- Dashboards — Dashboard gadgets that depend on the affected filters.
- Boards — Boards configured to display or filter by the analyzed object.
- Automations — Automation rules that reference the analyzed object in triggers, conditions, or actions.
- Projects — Projects directly connected through scheme associations.
- Issue Types — Issue type schemes that include the analyzed object.

Each item in the report includes the object name, its owner project or space (where applicable), and a direct link to the object in Jira.

A risk summary at the top of the report classifies the change as low, medium, or high risk based on the number and type of dependencies found.

After reviewing the analysis report, you can save it for future reference:
1. Click Save Analysis at the top of the report.
2. Give the analysis a descriptive name (e.g., "Pre-change: rename Customer Tier field — 2026-05-21").
3. The analysis is saved with a timestamp and linked to your user account.

Saved analyses are accessible from the Saved Analyses tab. They are not deleted automatically — you manage retention manually.

Best practice: Save one analysis before making your change ("pre-change") and one after ("post-change"). Use the comparison view to verify the change had the expected effect.

The AI Admin Assistant is accessed from the AI Assistant tab in the plugin.

Type your question in plain language in the input field. Examples of effective questions:
- "What will break if I rename the 'Customer Tier' custom field?"
- "Which projects use the 'Software Development' workflow?"
- "Which automation rules reference the 'Waiting for Customer' status?"
- "How many active filters use JQL that references the 'Priority' field?"

The assistant analyzes your question, identifies the relevant Jira objects, runs the appropriate dependency scan, and returns a structured impact report. This typically takes 3–15 seconds.

The AI Assistant returns a structured report with two parts:

Summary — A plain-language summary of the impact, including a risk level (low / medium / high) and a brief explanation of the most significant dependencies found.

Detailed report — The same structured dependency breakdown as a manual analysis: affected filters, dashboards, automations, boards, projects, and issue types.

You can save the AI-generated analysis using the same Save Analysis button as a manual analysis.

Important note: The AI Assistant is powered by the same dependency scanning engine as the manual analysis. It does not generate speculative or approximate results — it runs a real scan of your Jira instance and reports actual dependencies.

The comparison view allows you to place two saved analyses side-by-side:
1. Open the Saved Analyses tab.
2. Select the first analysis (e.g., your pre-change analysis).
3. Click Compare and select the second analysis (e.g., your post-change analysis).

The comparison view highlights:
- Dependencies that disappeared (resolved by the change)
- Dependencies that remain (not affected by the change)
- Dependencies that appeared (new dependencies introduced by the change — an important signal)

A good change outcome shows that expected dependencies were resolved and no unexpected new dependencies appeared.

Saved analyses can serve as governance documentation for change management processes:

- Each analysis includes a timestamp, the analyzed object, the user who ran it, and the full dependency list at the time of the scan.
- Pre- and post-change analysis pairs demonstrate that the change was assessed before implementation and verified after.
- You can export the analysis report as a structured list to attach to ITSM tickets or audit records.

For organizations with formal change management requirements (ITIL, ISO 27001, SOC 2), saved analyses provide a practical audit trail for Jira configuration changes.