Checking the previous status of multiple issues in bulk

Question

Is there a way to check the previous status of multiple issues w/out having to open each item? We adjusted our jira and we moved multiple (100+) tasks to the backlog. However, I am wanting to see what the previous statuses were, but do not want to open each issue. Is there a way to run a jql that will show me this?

I want to do this natively, I do not want to have to get any add-ons.

Thanks.

Matt Parks · Accepted Answer

It's a little clunky, but if you know what statuses the issues could have been in prior to the status they are in now, you could run the following query.

status changed FROM Developing TO Testing

One potential issue with this is that it will return any issue that EVER went from Developing to Testing. If you know exactly when you made that bulk update, you could include the ON keyword (e.g. status changed FROM Developing TO Testing ON 2024-04-17)

Hannes Obweger - JXL for Jira · Accepted Answer

Hi @Jason Chayer,

if you're open to solutions from the Atlassian Marketplace, you may want to have a look at the app that my team and I are working on, JXL for Jira.

JXL is a full-fledged spreadsheet/table view for your issues that allows viewing, inline-editing, sorting, and filtering by all your issue fields, much like you’d do in e.g. Excel or Google Sheets. It also comes with a number of so-called history columns that aren’t natively available, including the previous status.

This is how it looks in action:

As you can see above, you can easily sort and filter by your history columns; you can also use them across JXL's advanced features, such as support for (configurable) issue hierarchies, issue grouping by any issue field(s), sum-ups, or conditional formatting.

Every sheet is powered by either a JQL statement or a saved filter, meaning that you can pull in any number of issues that you are interested in. This all just works - so there's no scripting or automation whatsoever required.

Any questions just let me know,

Best,

Hannes