Restrict Work Log Permissions with Workflow Properties

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If your organization tracks time, you usually want your users to be able to log that time to work items they are working on. This gives you valuable insights on what your team is working on and how long features take to deliver.

However, there may be some specific circumstances where you want to prevent users from logging time at all. Some of those circumstances are:

• Preventing users from logging time on work that's already been marked as completed.
• Preventing work logs on Epics, favouring users log their time to that Epic's child stories or tasks.
• Keeping time logs on a story, and not any of that stories' sub-tasks.

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Atlassian provides a flexible tool in Workflow Properties that allow administrators to apply restrictions to both statuses and transitions within a workflow configuration. These properties let admins control things like:

• If a work item is editable
• Restrict who can create sub-tasks on work items
• Control who can modify the reporter of a work item
• Prevent attachments from being added
• Prevent comments from being added

⚠️ Some workflow properties could cause bugs, so be sure to test configurations before rolling out to production. ⚠️

Learn more about workflow properties here.

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Let's assume the following use case: We want to prevent users from logging time to work that is in a completed state. To accomplish this, we'll want to leverage the workflow property

jira.permission.work.denied

First, we'll want to edit our workflow, and select the status we want to work with. In this case, it's the "Done" status.

Next, after selecting the status, we'll want to click the "+" button beside the Properties section. This will bring up a modal asking us to type in the property we want to add, and any applicable values. For the work denied property, we only need the property itself, so we will populate that.

Finally, we can save and update our workflow. Now, for work items that use this workflow, time tracking will be disabled when that work item is in the "Done" status.

The three areas that you would normally be able to track time are as follows:

1. Within the "Actions" (...) menu in the top right of a work item, the "Log Work" option generally is the first listed.
2. Under the "Activity" section, and then in the "Work Log" tab, a "Log Work" link, or a plus button, will be visible.
3. In the right context list for custom fields, the "Time Tracking" field is normally clickable, and will prompt for a new time log when clicked.

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While using these properties are incredibly powerful, use them with caution. Atlassian calls out specifically on their documentation page that these properties can cause bugs, so using them with surgical precision is recommended.

As always, test your configurations before deploying to a live, production Jira Space.

In this particular case, I would also recommend to exercise caution when deploying a change of this nature. Ensure the change is well communicated, and matches existing business practices, as to not cause confusion.

- Robert