Issue Linking and Related Risks Panel
Issue linking keeps mitigation work tied directly to delivery work in Jira. When risks are connected to issues, your team always knows which work addresses which risks.
Why link risks to issues?
Linking creates traceability between your risk register and your delivery work:
| Without Linking | With Linking |
|---|---|
| Risks live in isolation | Mitigation work is visible |
| Hard to track progress | See status of related issues |
| Manual status updates | Context is automatic |
| Separate reporting | Unified view |
Common use cases
- Mitigation Tasks: Link a risk to the task or story implementing the fix
- Investigation: Link to a spike or research task exploring the risk
- Dependencies: Link to blockers or dependencies that could trigger the risk
- Documentation: Link to documentation tasks for risk procedures
Link an issue to a risk
From the Risk Register
- Open a risk by clicking on it (from heatmap or table)
- In the detail dialog, find the Linked Issues section
- Click Link Issue
- Search by issue key (e.g., “PROJ-123”) or summary text
- Select the issue from the search results
- The issue appears in the Linked Issues list
From the risk form (create/edit)
- While creating or editing a risk, find the Linked Issues section
- Click Link Issue
- Search and select issues as above
- Links are saved when you save the risk
Unlink an issue
- Open the risk
- In the Linked Issues section, find the issue
- Click the unlink icon (or remove button) next to the issue
- The link is removed and logged in history
Note: Unlinking does not affect the Jira issue itself - it only removes the association.
Linked issue information
When an issue is linked, the risk stores:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Key | Issue key (e.g., PROJ-123) |
| Summary | Issue title |
| Status | Current status |
| Type | Issue type (Story, Task, Bug, etc.) |
| Priority | Issue priority (if available) |
| Assignee | Who’s working on it (if assigned) |
| URL | Direct link to the issue |
Click any linked issue to open it in Jira.
Use the Related risks issue panel
The Related risks panel appears on Jira issue view and shows risks linked to that issue.
Viewing the panel
- Open any Jira issue
- Find the Related risks panel (typically in the right sidebar or bottom section)
- See all risks linked to this issue
Panel contents
For each linked risk, you’ll see:
- Risk title
- Status badge (Open/Mitigated/Closed)
- Probability and Impact values
- Calculated score with severity color
- Link to open the full risk in Risk Register
If no risks are linked
When no risks are linked to an issue, the panel shows:
No risks linked to this issue
To link a risk, go to the Risk Register, open a risk, and link this issue.
Opening a risk from the panel
Click a risk in the panel to:
- Open the Risk Register project page
- Display the risk detail dialog
- View full details and make updates
Notes and limits
Issue selection scope
- Issues are loaded from the current project only
- You cannot link issues from other projects
- The issue list is limited to recent project issues (up to 100)
Duplicate linking
- The same issue cannot be linked twice to the same risk
- The same issue CAN be linked to multiple different risks
- The same risk CAN have multiple different issues linked
Permissions
- You must be able to view an issue to link it
- Linked issue details are visible to anyone who can view the risk
Workflow examples
Example 1: Mitigation task
Risk: "Server capacity insufficient for traffic spike"
Linked Issue: PROJ-234 "Implement auto-scaling"When the team completes PROJ-234, you know the mitigation is done. Update the risk status to Mitigated.
Example 2: Investigation spike
Risk: "Third-party API reliability unknown"
Linked Issue: PROJ-345 "Spike: Evaluate API reliability"The spike’s findings inform whether this risk needs mitigation or can be closed.
Example 3: Multiple mitigation tasks
Risk: "Data breach from unauthorized access"
Linked Issues:
- PROJ-100 "Implement 2FA"
- PROJ-101 "Audit access logs"
- PROJ-102 "Update password policy"Track multiple mitigation efforts for complex risks.
Best practices
- Link at creation: When creating a risk, link related issues immediately
- Use meaningful issues: Link to actual work items, not just any issue
- Review links: During risk reviews, verify linked issues are still relevant
- Update status: When linked issues complete, update risk status accordingly
- Panel awareness: Use the issue panel to understand risk context when working on issues