Custom fields or labels - what are pros/cons?

Maria Heij [Refined]

Hello

Here's the scenario: In a Jira, there is a need to mark up the issues for different purposes, for instance "review needed" and "review done", as well as "testing needed", and "testing not needed". 

The implementation can either be done by adding custom fields, one for each value, for instance as checkboxes (or yes/no), or by adding them as labels to the existing label field. 

From what I'm thinking, my initial thought is that the label field can easily become messy, and everyone using it needs to remember what the labels are and pay attention to spell correctly and with upper/lower case, as well as remembering to add them all in. Thus I'm leaning towards custom fields, on the other hand Jira itself can become cluttered with many fields. 

Are there any pros/cons to one vs the other?

I would appreciate any input to this topic. 

Best Regards, Maria Heij

John Wilson

Hi Maria - Since reporting accuracy is usually very important, custom fields is a better idea. Labels can be mistyped, compromising data integrity. On the other hand, if reporting accuracy isn't so important in this case, use whatever is more convenient. You're right about proliferating custom fields, but for our use, we recommend them to our customers. 

John Wilson