Jira Image of the Day: Choosing Between Single and Global Workflow Transitions

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Concept Relates To

Application Type	Jira (Jira Work Management and Jira Software), Jira Service Management, Jira Core
Deployment Type	Jira Cloud, Jira Server, Jira Data Center

What is shown?

Left: A workflow with single transitions between statuses.

Right: A workflow with global transitions between statuses.

Visit: Admin > Work items > Workflows

What can we learn?

A workflow is a visual representation of a repeatable process. Workflows contain a sequence of standard steps that each issue must go through to be completed. Between statuses are transitions that allow users to move forward and backward in a workflow.

You probably leverage workflows all the time without thinking about it. Think about the process of baking a cake, for example.

A cake has predictable steps to complete before you can eat it. You must gather the ingredients, preheat the oven, mix the ingredients, and bake the cake before it is ready to serve.

You can certainly skip the preheating step, but if you do, the cake might not bake thoroughly, rise properly, or turn out as expected. Having a standard, repeatable process, helps ensure a successful result. Additionally, this example definitely has a specific order to follow. You can’t complete the steps in a different order and still produce an edible product.

(And now I’m hungry and want to eat chocolate cake! You?)

How to Choose a Transition Type

When the order of steps is important, you don’t want users to skip or reorder certain steps (like an approval or a verification step), or for process-heavy workflows, use single transitions. For simple, more flexible use cases, global transitions may be more appropriate.

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