---
title: "Handling Customer Questions on BigPicture Field-Mapping Warnings in Jira Cloud"
canonical: "https://support.appfire.com/space/SUPPORT/3494903914/Handling%20Customer%20Questions%20on%20BigPicture%20Field-Mapping%20Warnings%20in%20Jira%20Cloud"
format: markdown
---
This internal note explains how to handle customer questions about the BigPicture field-mapping warning shown when reverting or changing date-field mapping in BigPicture Enterprise for Jira Cloud.

> ℹ️ Use this page when a customer asks what happens after changing or reverting mapping for **Start Date** and **Due Date**, especially when the UI warns that the change may affect a large number of issues.

# Support scenario

A customer using **BigPicture Enterprise - Strategic Management for Jira** on **Cloud** asked what exactly happens when they revert a field mapping after previously enabling it. Their main concern was the warning mentioning **up to 1577 issues**.

| Field | Details |
| --- | --- |
| Based on the ticket [https://appfire.atlassian.net/jira/servicedesk/projects/SUPPORT/queues/custom/1900/SUPPORT-268270](https://appfire.atlassian.net/jira/servicedesk/projects/SUPPORT/queues/custom/1900/SUPPORT-268270) | SUPPORT-268270 |
| Customer goal | Ensure BigPicture does **not** overwrite Jira **Start Date** and **Due Date**; Jira values should remain as they are now. |
| Current setup discussed | Two-way mapping between BigPicture date fields and Jira date fields |
| Key question | What happens to the issues listed in the warning when mapping is changed or reverted? |

# Short answer for support

If the customer wants Jira **Start Date** and **Due Date** to remain unchanged and not be overwritten by BigPicture, the Jira fields should be set to **not synchronized** in the mapping configuration.

# What the warning means

The warning is easy for customers to misread. It does **not** mean that exactly 1577 issues will always be overwritten in the same way. It means that a synchronization change caused by the mapping update can affect **up to that number of tasks directly**.

- **Direct impact:** tasks included in the synchronization scope for the changed mapping receive recalculated or reassigned values in the altered mapped fields.
- **Indirect impact:** additional tasks can shift because their dates depend on other tasks through scheduling mode, dependencies, links, or parent-child structure.

> 📝 A useful phrasing is: *“The change will directly affect the listed tasks through resync, and it may indirectly affect related tasks whose dates are derived from scheduling relationships.”*

# How mapping behaves

## Two-way mapping

If the customer has a **two-way mapping** configured. That means:

- When the value changes in BigPicture, the corresponding Jira field can be updated.
- When the value changes in Jira, the corresponding BigPicture field can also be updated.
- Changing the mapping setup triggers a resync, which can propagate values according to the new configuration.

## What happens when the mapping is changed or reverted

1. The customer edits the field mapping configuration.
2. BigPicture triggers a synchronization based on the new mapping rules.
3. Tasks within scope are updated in the mapped fields.
4. Related tasks may then shift indirectly if planning logic depends on those fields.

# Recommended support guidance

When responding to similar tickets, anchor the answer around the customer’s desired outcome.

## If the customer wants Jira dates preserved

- Explain that the Jira date fields should be configured as **not synchronized**.
- Clarify that this prevents BigPicture from pushing values into those Jira fields.
- Set expectations that changing the configuration still triggers resync behavior for the affected mapping setup.

## Suggested internal response pattern

> The warning means that changing the mapping will trigger resynchronization for up to the listed number of tasks. Those tasks are directly affected by the mapping update. In addition, other tasks can be affected indirectly if their dates depend on linked work, dependencies, parent-child relations, or scheduling rules. If your goal is to keep the current Jira Start Date and Due Date values and prevent BigPicture from overwriting them, set those Jira fields to not synchronized in the mapping.

# Common customer confusion points

| Customer concern | How support should clarify it |
| --- | --- |
| “Will all 1577 issues be overwritten?” | Not necessarily in a simplistic one-time overwrite sense. The number refers to the direct resync scope caused by the mapping change. |
| “Why can more tasks change than the warning mentions?” | Because date recalculation can propagate through dependencies, linked tasks, hierarchy, and scheduling mode. |
| “How do we keep Jira values as-is?” | Set the Jira date fields to **not synchronized** so BigPicture does not write back to them. |

> ℹ️ If a customer is nervous about the impact, recommend reviewing mapping settings carefully before saving changes and, where possible, validating behavior in a safe test scenario first.

# Documentation to share externally

- [Field mapping](https://support.appfire.com/space/DLP/2212333295/Field+mapping?utm_source=htmlredirect&utm_medium=confluence)
- [One-way sync of start/end date](https://support.appfire.com/space/DLP/2212497590/One-way+sync+of+start%2Fend+date?utm_source=htmlredirect&utm_medium=confluence)
- [Start/end date fields](https://support.appfire.com/space/DLP/2211973163/Start%2Fend+date+fields?utm_source=htmlredirect&utm_medium=confluence)
- [Task dates based on estimates](https://support.appfire.com/space/DLP/2212334610/Task+dates+based+on+estimates?utm_source=htmlredirect&utm_medium=confluence)