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Board Card Colors - Visual Status

Overview

Configure Jira boards to visually highlight issues assigned to team members who are out of office. This feature uses card colors to provide instant visibility of potential assignment conflicts, helping teams identify work that may need reassignment or attention.

Understanding Board Card Colors

What are OOO Card Colors?

Out of Office card colors are visual indicators on Jira board cards that automatically change based on the assignee's availability status. This feature leverages the Out of Office Assistant's JQL functions to dynamically update card appearance.

Key Benefits:

  • 🎯 Instant visibility of unavailable team members

  • 🚦 Color-coded warnings for different OOO timeframes

  • 📊 Better workload management and planning

  • 🔄 Automatic updates as OOO statuses change

How it Works

The system uses special JQL queries that integrate with the Out of Office Assistant to check assignee availability:

  1. assignee.outofoffice.today=1 → Card turns red (out today)
  2. assignee.outofoffice.tomorrow=1 → Card turns orange (out tomorrow)
  3. assignee.outofoffice.soon=1 → Card turns yellow (out soon)

Configuration Requirements

Prerequisites

⚠️ Important: This feature requires a Company-managed project. Team-managed projects do not support custom card color configuration.

Before you begin, ensure:

  • ✅ You have board administrator permissions

  • ✅ The project is company-managed (not team-managed)

  • ✅ Out of Office Assistant is installed and configured

  • ✅ Team members have their OOO schedules set

Step-by-Step Configuration

1. Access Board Settings

  1. Navigate to your Jira board

  2. Click the ⋯ (meatball menu) in the top-right corner

  3. Select Board settings

2. Navigate to Card Colors

  1. In the board settings sidebar, locate and click Card colors

  2. The card colors configuration page will open

3. Configure Color Method

  1. Select Queries as the color method

  2. This enables JQL-based color rules

![Card Colors Query Selection - 800x500 placeholder]

4. Add OOO Query Rules

Add the following queries with their recommended colors:

Basic Configuration (Single Status)

Status

JQL Query

Recommended Color

Priority

Out Today

assignee.outofoffice.today=1

🔴 Red

Highest

Out Tomorrow

assignee.outofoffice.tomorrow=1

🟠 Orange

Medium

Out Soon

assignee.outofoffice.soon=1

🟡 Yellow

Low

Advanced Configuration (Multiple Statuses)

For boards using multiple color rules, ensure queries are mutually exclusive:

Status

Advanced JQL Query

Color

Out Today

assignee.outofoffice.today=1

🔴 Red

Out Tomorrow Only

assignee.outofoffice.tomorrow=1 AND assignee.outofoffice.today=0

🟠 Orange

Out Soon Only

assignee.outofoffice.today=0 AND assignee.outofoffice.tomorrow=0 AND assignee.outofoffice.soon=1

🟡 Yellow

5. Save and Test

  1. Click Save to apply the color rules

  2. Return to your board to see the changes

  3. Cards with OOO assignees will now display the configured colors

![Board with Colored OOO Cards - 1000x600 placeholder]

Configuration Examples

Simple Setup Workflow

  1. Board Settings
  2. └─> Card Colors
  3. └─> Queries
  4. └─> Add Query: assignee.outofoffice.today=1
  5. └─> Color: Red
  6. └─> Save

Multi-Status Setup

  1. Priority 1: Out Today (Red)
  2. Query: assignee.outofoffice.today=1
  4. Priority 2: Out Tomorrow (Orange)
  5. Query: assignee.outofoffice.tomorrow=1 AND assignee.outofoffice.today=0
  7. Priority 3: Out Soon (Yellow)
  8. Query: assignee.outofoffice.soon=1 AND assignee.outofoffice.today=0
  9. AND assignee.outofoffice.tomorrow=0

Visual Indicators Guide

Color Meaning Reference

  1. ┌─────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────────────────┐
  2. │ 🔴 RED │ 🟠 ORANGE │ 🟡 YELLOW │
  3. ├─────────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────────┤
  4. │ Out Today │ Out Tomorrow │ Out Soon │
  5. │ Urgent Action │ Plan Ahead │ Be Aware │
  6. │ Reassign Now │ Check Progress │ Monitor Status │
  7. └─────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────────────────┘

Best Practices

Color Selection

DO:

  • ✅ Use high-contrast colors for visibility

  • ✅ Follow traffic light convention (red → yellow → green)

  • ✅ Test colors with your team's theme preferences

  • ✅ Consider colorblind-friendly palettes

DON'T:

  • ❌ Use similar shades that are hard to distinguish

  • ❌ Override existing critical status colors

  • ❌ Use more than 3-4 OOO color variations

Query Optimization

Performance Tips:

  1. Keep queries simple and focused

  2. Use indexed fields (assignee.outofoffice.*)

  3. Avoid complex nested conditions when possible

  4. Test queries in Issue Navigator first

Query Order:

  • Place most specific queries first

  • Order by urgency (today → tomorrow → soon)

  • Ensure mutual exclusivity for multiple rules

Team Communication

Before Implementation:

  • 📢 Announce the new visual system to the team

  • 📋 Document color meanings in team wiki

  • 🎯 Train team on interpreting colors

  • 📊 Gather feedback after initial rollout

Advanced Configurations

Custom Time Windows

Create custom OOO windows using date functions:

  1. # Out this week
  2. assignee.outofoffice.date >= startOfWeek()
  3. AND assignee.outofoffice.date <= endOfWeek()
  5. # Out next week
  6. assignee.outofoffice.date >= startOfWeek(1w)
  7. AND assignee.outofoffice.date <= endOfWeek(1w)

Department-Specific Rules

Combine OOO status with team filters:

  1. # Development team OOO
  2. assignee in membersOf("development-team")
  3. AND assignee.outofoffice.today=1
  5. # Support team OOO tomorrow
  6. assignee in membersOf("support-team")
  7. AND assignee.outofoffice.tomorrow=1

Troubleshooting

Cards Not Changing Color

  1. Symptoms:
  2. - OOO status is set but cards remain default color
  3. - Some cards change color but others don't
  5. Diagnosis:
  6. 1. Verify board is company-managed (not team-managed)
  7. 2. Check JQL query syntax in Issue Navigator
  8. 3. Confirm OOO Assistant permissions
  9. 4. Test with a known OOO user
  11. Resolution:
  12. - Ensure queries are saved properly
  13. - Clear browser cache and refresh
  14. - Check for conflicting color rules
  15. - Verify assignee field is populated

Multiple Colors Not Working

  1. Symptoms:
  2. - Only one color shows despite multiple rules
  3. - Wrong color priority applied
  5. Diagnosis:
  6. 1. Check query mutual exclusivity
  7. 2. Review rule order/priority
  8. 3. Test each query independently
  10. Resolution:
  11. - Add AND NOT conditions for exclusivity
  12. - Reorder rules by specificity
  13. - Combine related conditions

Performance Issues

  1. Symptoms:
  2. - Board loads slowly after adding colors
  3. - Cards flicker between colors
  5. Diagnosis:
  6. 1. Review query complexity
  7. 2. Check number of active rules
  8. 3. Monitor board size (number of issues)
  10. Resolution:
  11. - Simplify JQL queries
  12. - Reduce number of color rules
  13. - Use board filters to limit issues
  14. - Consider splitting large boards

Integration with Other Features

Quick Filters

Combine card colors with quick filters for enhanced visibility:

  1. # Quick filter: Show only OOO-assigned issues
  2. assignee.outofoffice.today=1 OR
  3. assignee.outofoffice.tomorrow=1 OR
  4. assignee.outofoffice.soon=1

Dashboard Gadgets

Create dashboard gadgets that complement board colors:

  • OOO Summary: Count of issues by OOO status

  • Timeline View: Visual calendar of upcoming OOO

  • Assignment Health: Issues needing reassignment

Automation Rules

Trigger automations based on OOO status:

  • Auto-comment when assignee goes OOO

  • Flag high-priority OOO-assigned issues

  • Send notifications to team leads

Board Card Colors Status: ✅ COMPLETE
Next Step: Configure OOO Quick Filters