Can a project have 2 boards, one using the Jira workflow and the other the simplified workflow?

Question

Hi,

I'm new to JIRA admin :)  and have the following question:

We have a project that was set up years ago with a Scrum board that’s using the Jira workflow. For the same project, I am experimenting with switching to a Kanban board because the way our team works is not time-boxed and the Kanban model fits better. The Jira workflow setup is quite complex and I would like to experiment with the Kanban board using the simplified workflow.

Is it possible for one project to have one board using a Jira workflow and another using a simplified workflow? The idea is that the team might want to "roll back" the to Scrum board/Jira workflow if the Kanban board/simplified workflow does not work out.

Jacqueline Krueger · Answer

Thank you Nic!

A few follow-up questions

1. If I convert from Jira workflow to simplified workflow, would the old statuses and columns remain after the conversion?

2. If I need to convert back to the Jira workflow, is it possible? If so, would everything (the steps, statuses, transitions) be restored?

Thanks again,

-Jackie

Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Answer

That is not true.  Projects can have many workflows.

Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Answer

Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

This came up the other day, and there's a good conversation on it at https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Jira-Software-questions/can-a-board-display-two-projects-using-custom-workflow/qaq-p/2583499

It's worth a quick read of https://support.atlassian.com/jira-software-cloud/docs/use-the-simplified-workflow/ first.

However, the answer is a simple "no".  Boards do not have workflows, they are a view of a selected set of issues.

Workflows are configured by project and issue type within the project.  You can do things like

* Project 1: 
* By default, use workflow-x for all issues
* Except bugs, use workflow-Y for them
* Project 2: 
* By default, use workflow-y for all issues
* Except sub-task types, use workflow-x for them

If you want to use the simplified workflow though, you have to apply it to the entire project - all issues have to use it, and all the other workflows will disappear from the project.   The board you use to simplify it will be locked to that project.