Can we edit the Status Category field so it aligns one-to-one with our individual statuses?

[rafael_arias]

We use a Kanban workflow with continuous flow. No sprints and no story points.

Right now, we are using the “Status Category Changed” field for reporting.

In our instance, the In Progress Status Category includes multiple separate statuses:

• On Deck

• In Progress

• QA

• Deploy

These are four distinct stages in our workflow, but they are all grouped under the same “In Progress” category.

Our question is specifically about the Status Category field.

Is it possible to edit or customize Status Categories so they break out by each of the statuses listed above? For example, can we configure it so that:

• On Deck maps to its own category

• In Progress maps only to In Progress

• QA maps to its own category

• Deploy maps to its own category

We are trying to better track time spent in each stage and improve planning and release forecasting. We would prefer to do this natively if possible.

Thank you for any guidance you can provide.

[Bill Sheboy]

Hi @rafael_arias 

As others have noted, the built-in Status Category values are fixed and not configurable.  The categories are site-wide, and thus configuring them for one team would cause problems for others, such as when workflows evolve over time.  Instead, the Status values are configurable, and regardless of that, the categories have inconsistent impact upon Jira features.

And based on what you described the team is trying for flow management...

In my opinion, there are no adequate out-of-the-box tools in Jira for teams using Kanban practices unless they have a trivial workflow with only Status values of "to do", "in progress", and "done".  There are built-in Atlassian interpretations of a CFD or Control Chart, and they have many problems, key ones being the lack of flow change management and inconsistent time reporting.

For non-trivial workflow management, you could investigate marketplace apps with better reporting and measurement...or, use webhooks to pull all history data into external storage for analysis and reporting.

Kind regards,
Bill

[Mikael Sandberg]

Hi @rafael_arias,

The short answer is no, you cannot change the status category, those are hardcoded values. 

[Alex Ortiz]

Hello, I see what you are trying to do there.

Here are 2 options for you.

1) Use the status CHANGED FROM "In Progress" TO "Done" JQL.  This will not give you dates, but it it's specific enough that you can track when you move from one status to another.

2) What I really think you want though is to track the time between each status transition.  To do this, you want to create a DATE field for each status.  Then, you want to edit your workflow so that it time stamps that date field when the transition happens.  But this, only gets you half way there.  You then need to create a days in Status(X) field (one for each status) and then you'll have to create an automation rule that takes the difference between 2 status dates fields.  Then, you'll have the numbers you are looking for.

I have an example using the OLD UI, but the concept is still the same.  https://youtu.be/MxzAPTviYZ0

[Aaron Pavez _ServiceRocket_]

Hi @rafael_arias 

Sadly no. There are only 3 categories,  ToDo, In progress and Done.

https://community.atlassian.com/forums/Jira-articles/Jira-Image-of-the-Day-Status-Categories/ba-p/2646552

https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/what-is-a-workflow-status/

From the docs:

Things to keep in mind

• Status categories: All statuses, even custom statuses you create yourself, must belong to one of three status categories – To do, In progress, or Done. These categories are represented by the colors grey, blue, and green respectively, so you’ll always see statuses shown in one of these colors (this can’t be customized). Status categories impact how work items are visualized in lists, reports, and boards.

Regards