Unable to create a space using the Premium "Top-level planning" template — "Something went wrong" er

[이지수]

Summary As a Jira Premium user, I am unable to create a new space (plan) using the Premium template called "Top-level planning." The creation fails every time with an unknown error. Creating spaces with other templates works without any issue.

Steps to reproduce

1. Log in as a Jira Premium user.
2. Start creating a new space (plan).
3. Select the Premium template "Top-level planning."
4. Click Create.

Expected result The space should be created successfully, the same way it works with other templates.

Actual result The space is not created, and the following error message appears:

"The space could not be created. Something went wrong for an unknown reason. Click Create to try again. Contact support."

Clicking Create again does not resolve the issue — the same error keeps appearing.

Additional information

• The issue occurs only with the "Top-level planning" Premium template.
• Creating a space with any other template works perfectly fine, so the problem appears to be specific to this template.
• Subscription: Jira Premium

Request Could you please investigate why this specific Premium template fails and help resolve the issue so I can create a space using the "Top-level planning" template? Please let me know if you need any additional details (account ID, site URL, screenshots, timestamps, browser/console logs, etc.).

[Gabriela]

Ajay's right that the other templates working rules out a plan or permission problem. The extra detail I'd add is that this one has a known cause. The Top-level planning template is the only one that provisions above the Epic level, so it leans on your work type hierarchy in a way the standard templates don't. If there's no valid level above Epic, or an Initiative type is sitting at the Epic level instead of above it, the create fails with that same generic "something went wrong for an unknown reason".

Atlassian has it documented here: https://support.atlassian.com/jira/kb/unable-to-create-a-new-project-of-type-top-level-planning/

The fix is on the admin side and quick. Go to Settings, Work items, Work type hierarchy (older UIs call it Issues, Issue type hierarchy) and make sure there's an issue type at the level above Epic, normally Initiative at level 2. If Initiative is mapped down at the Epic level, move it up one. Save, then create the space again and it should go through.

You're on Premium so those extra hierarchy levels are yours to use, it's purely the config that trips this template up. You'll need Jira admin rights to make the change.

[이지수]

Thank you for the guidance and the KB link (unable-to-create-a-new-project-of-type-top-level-planning).

I checked our Work type hierarchy as suggested, but the configuration does not match the documented cause. In our setup, there is a valid level above Epic, and every level already has work types mapped:

Level 4 – Initiative: mapped to multiple initiative work types (Initiative, Issue Initiative, Design Initiative, Verification Initiative, Software Platform Initiative, Deployment Initiative, etc.)
Level 3 – 개발단계 (Development Stage): mapped to a work type
Level 2 – Task
Level 1 – Epic
Base – Story / Subtask

So Initiative is correctly sitting above Epic (level 4, not at the Epic level), and there are valid levels above Epic. Despite this, creating a space with the "Top-level planning" template still fails with the same generic "Something went wrong for an unknown reason" error. All other templates create successfully.

A few things I'd like your help confirming:

Could having Task defined at a level above Epic (Level 2) interfere with this template's provisioning?
Could having multiple work types mapped to the single Initiative level cause the template to fail when creating the top-level item?
Is there anything in our specific site's backend logs that shows why the creation fails?
I've attached screenshots of the current Work type hierarchy configuration. Please let me know if you need our site URL, account ID, the exact timestamp of the failure, or browser console logs — I'm happy to provide them.

[이지수]

Thank you for the earlier guidance and the KB article (unable-to-create-a-new-project-of-type-top-level-planning).

I reviewed our Work type hierarchy as suggested. Every level already has work types mapped, and there is a valid level above Epic, so our configuration does not seem to match the documented cause (missing level above Epic, or Initiative sitting at the Epic level). Despite this, creating a space with the "Top-level planning" template still fails with the same generic "Something went wrong for an unknown reason" error, while all other templates create successfully.

I did, however, notice something unusual about the ordering of our hierarchy that I'd like you to confirm. In a standard Jira setup, Initiative sits directly above Epic (Level 2). In our configuration, two custom levels have been inserted between Epic and Initiative, so Initiative has been pushed up to Level 4:

My main question is this:

Could the fact that Task and 개발단계 are inserted between Epic and Initiative — so that Initiative is no longer directly above Epic — be the reason the "Top-level planning" template fails?

Specifically:

1. Does this template expect the level directly above Epic (Level 2) to be the top-level planning level? If so, having Task (a base-level work type) placed in that position instead of Initiative could be causing the failure.
2. If this is the likely cause, what is the recommended way to fix it without disrupting our existing projects — for example, should I move Task back down to the base level and place Initiative directly above Epic?

Before making any changes to a live site, I'd like to confirm the cause with you first. I've attached screenshots of the current Work type hierarchy configuration. Please let me know if you need our site URL, account ID, the exact timestamp of the failure, or browser console logs — I'm happy to provide them.

Thank you.

[Gabriela]

Good you checked the hierarchy that closely. You're right that your setup doesn't match the cause in that KB, so scratch the bit about Initiative sitting at the Epic level.

The thing that changes the picture is what the template reaches for when it provisions. It only goes one level up from Epic, so it uses whatever work type sits directly above Epic (level 2) to create the top item. Initiative being pushed up to level 4 doesn't factor in on its own. The catch is that the slot directly above Epic is now one of your inserted types (Task or 개발단계), and the template can't provision a base type like Task in that spot, so it falls over with the same generic "something went wrong" message.

So the thing to try is to put a proper above-Epic type at level 2, directly over Epic, even if you keep the extra levels higher up, then run the create again. Also confirm you're doing this in a company-managed project, since anything at level 2 and above only works there.

If level 2 already holds an above-Epic type and it still fails, then it's server-side and a support ticket is the next move. There's no admin log for this one that would give you more to go on.

[Ajay _view26_]

Hi @이지수 

The fact that every other template works and only this one fails tells you it's not your permissions or config , it's something server-side in how that specific template provisions. 

I would raise it with Atlassian support. In the meantime you can usually get moving by creating a blank plan and configuring the pieces you wanted from the template manually — slower, but it unblocks you while they look at the template itself.