Fields: What happens if I remove Priority?

Alan C_a638nk

Hello all, 

Apologies, couldn't think of a great way to phrase the question that wasn't extremely long. 

My situation is this: 
I have the default Priority field set in field configuration scheme used on multiple Jira Service Desk projects.  

I now also have a Priority P1 - P5 custom field, to match business requirements.  

My issue is that the default Priority field has been used in many tickets on those multiple boards, and I want to switch it out with the Priority P1 - P5.  I'm concerned that this is going to cause issues that I'm just not experienced enough with Jira yet to anticipate. 

Can anyone recommend a good process to follow to safely carry out this task, and any gotchas to be aware of? 


With thanks, 
Alan

Joseph Chung Yin

@Alan C -

You will need to conduct backend bulk update of your project(s) to populate your custom field accordingly via CSV file.  Ideally, Priority (system default) field should not be removed, as it is incorporated into many processes in Jira/JSM env (i.e. reporting etc..).  However, if it has to be done, then I would just recommend you to hide it.

Here is how to conduct the process -

https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/import-data-from-a-csv-file/

NOTE - Your CSV file should contains three columns (IssueKey, Issue Summary, and your custom field).  You will need to populate the appropriate option value for each of the issue.  When you use the CSV file in this process, you will then map each CSV column to the Jira field.

After it is done, you can hide (removing the Priority field) from your project's screen scheme.  

Currently, Jira/JSM for the On-Prems env (Data Center) has the functionality where one can create custom Priority scheme for project using the out of the box Priority field.  However it is not available yet for the Cloud env.  Here is the open ticket with Atlassian on getting this functionality for the Cloud env - https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/JRACLOUD-3821

Hope this helps.

Best, Joseph Chung Yin

Jira/JSM Functional Lead, Global Infrastructure Applications Team

Viasat Inc.