[Jira] Done-category tasks still appear in new sprints after completion

[Nguyen Hoang Linh]

Currently, I have a Jira space with a workflow as shown in the attached image. Tasks are created and managed through Sprints.

Regarding the “Done” status, I’ve created three columns:

• Done (RC)

• Stable Released

• Delete

When tasks are moved to any of these columns and the Sprint is completed, Jira still reports the following message:

“This sprint contains 0 completed work items and 1953 open work items.”

Additionally, these tasks remain visible when a new Sprint starts, instead of being marked as completed and cleared out.

This behavior makes the board look quite messy and confusing for users.

Request

Could you please advise on the possible cause or suggest a way to fix this issue?

Thank you very much.

[Staffan Redelius · Accepted solution]

Hi @Nguyen Hoang Linh 

Could you provide a screenshot of your board configuration?

For a issue to be considered "Done" in a sprint the work item needs to be in a status that is mapped to the rightmost column in the board. All issues that aren't in the Done column to the right on the board will be regarded as NOT completed.

Resolution does not affect the sprint burndown or if it should be considered to be "Done" in the sprint. 

Best regards,
/Staffan

[Nguyen Hoang Linh]

Here is an example of a ticket that was moved to the Done (RC) column.

This column was only renamed — the underlying status is still marked as Done, with the green checkmark as expected.

[Staffan Redelius]

Hi @Nguyen Hoang Linh 

This might be a bit confusing but there is a logic to the madness 😄

First of all are you using a Team managed project or Company managed project? I don't use Team managed projects that much but I am pretty sure that Jira behaves in the same way regardless.

Given your example above:

The Issue Status is "Done" and the green color indicates that it belongs to the Status category "Done".

The strikethrough indicates that there is a resolution set (in this case also "Done") 

Nothing of this matters when it comes to the sprint burndown and sprint calculation. The only thing that matters is that the work item needs to be in a status that is mapped to the right-most column in your sprint board when the sprint is closed.

For a Company managed project:

Go to your board and click on the three dots to the right of the board name. Go to Board setting -> Layout ->  Columns

For a team managed project:

Click on the three dots to the right of the projects name. Go to Space settings -> Board -> Columns and statuses.

Make sure that the Done status is mapped to the right-most column (the only green one) 

Based on the picture below your right-most column is named "Deleted". Rename that to Closed and map both statuses "Deleted" and "Done" to that last column. 

Let me know if this solves your problem

Best regards,
/Staffan

[Nguyen Hoang Linh]

Hi @Staffan Redelius 

Ah, I tested it on a cloned space, and it worked.

I have another question: I want to use the Delete column so users can move tasks they created by mistake or that are no longer valid. Is there a way to set up automation so that, say, once a week, all tasks in the Delete column are automatically moved to STABLE RELEASED, effectively clearing them and preventing them from carrying over into future sprints?

[Staffan Redelius]

Hi @Nguyen Hoang Linh

It is possible to move issues from the status Deleted to "Stable Realeased" using a Jira automation that is triggerd either by a timestamp or the closure of the sprint but it will be confusing since they are not included in the releae.

It is easier if you just move the status Deleted to the right most column in the board under "Board settings" then the Work items will not be carried over to the next sprint.

You could also consider to have a more generic end-state called i.e "Closed" and have different resolutions i.e "Done", "Duplicate", "Won't do" etc. Then you can filter cloesed items based on the resolution type for reporting,

Best regards,
/Staffan

[Nguyen Hoang Linh]

Hi — thanks for the quick answer and suggestions.

I want to clarify the intent for our Delete column: it’s intentionally used as a temporary holding place for tasks that were created by mistake or are no longer valid (we don’t want every user to have permission to delete issues). The goal is simple: ensure anything in Delete (whether mistaken or completed) does not get carried forward into future sprints.

We don’t mind those issues ending up in Stable Released (i.e., sharing that end-state). For our team this is fine because the primary objective is to remove them from the sprint backlog, not to preserve their release membership.

Because of that, I’d like to proceed with an automated solution. Below are the exact steps I’ll implement — please confirm if this approach has any side effects you think we should be aware of (reports, release inclusion, etc.).

[sai chinamuthevi · Accepted solution]

There are two possibilities here
1)In Agile, issues can be consider as closed when resolution is set. Please check the resolution for those issues 
2) If resolution is set, then check where Done column is On Board. Done column should be at last only. In that way only Jira will consider it as ending stage.

[Nguyen Hoang Linh]

.

[Nguyen Hoang Linh]

If you’re available, we can set up a quick meeting to review and discuss the issue together.
That way, we can clarify the details and resolve it more efficiently.

[Nguyen Hoang Linh]