Modifying Jira Agile Workflow

Question

We are currently using JIRA agile, and want to modify the JIRA agile workflow. JIRA agile workflow cannot be modified because upgrades will wipe out any modifications you perform to the workflow. This is also written in the description of the work flow.

Generated by JIRA Agile version 6.3.0.2. This workflow is managed internally by JIRA Agile. Do not manually modify this workflow.

The documentation does not provide an alternative to modifying workflows. I want to modify the workflow such that setting to "Cannot Reproduce" changes the resolution to a resolution that I want. This can be accomplished with a post transition function... if I was able to modify the JIRA AGILE workflow.

Steve Jones_dtqaif · Answer

This is appalling. It's 2021 and this is apparently still a problem.

Jason Spafford · Answer

So it sounds like there is no solution to my problem. Modifying a workflow which has changes that get wiped out and requires you to document and reapply the changes after upgrading the plugin is not scalable. Thanks anyway.

Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Answer

There's two ways a workflow can be associated with a project, it's probably worth a quick explanation:

First, standard JIRA (without Agile) lets you define one or many workflows, and associate them with projects and issue types within a project (so you can have one project with a workflow for bugs and another workflow for stories and a third one for tasks etc etc etc).  Only Administrators can edit these workflows.

Secondly, the Agile addon allows you to "simplify" the workflow.  This changes the project so that it only uses one workflow, and that workflow:

* Has open transitions - anyone in the project can move the issues to any status from anywhere
* Configurable by the board owners - they can add and remove their own status
* Is internally standardised and looked after by Agile

Now, in fact, what simplification does is just creates a standard internal workflow as per "standard jira".  Now, an admin can go and edit that workflow, despite JIRA warning you that "it is maintained by Agile and should not be edited", because it is just a standard workflow.  But, it is perfectly possible for a project admin to stomp all over any changes you make. So we can't recommend that you make the changes.  You will also lose all your changes on upgrades, and if you add workflow functions that are not part of standard JIRA, the workflow may stop working (I've only seen this happen once, and I'm not convinced it was the change we'd made, but I can't rule it out).

In other words, think carefully before you make this change, document it for upgrades and educate your project leads before they trash your work.  And don't rely on it remaining available in later versions of Agile.