Sorting number fields in descending order. Null values appear first? That's weird

Question

I have a number field that I want to user order by desc in a JQL query.

Most records are populated with a number but some are empty. the search results appear to sort the empty/null values first, then high numbers to low numbers.

This is counterintuitive. Empty or Null values should be in the same place as Zero or below the lowest number, not at the top.

Can I fix this with some clever query or is it not working the way I expect it to and Atlassian need to fix it.?

John Funk · Answer

Definitely a route to go. You should also open a support ticket with Atlassian to see if this is a bug.

https://support.atlassian.com/contact/#/

Jim Hathaway _QCK R_ · Answer

Thanks for the reply, the last time I tried to get something from Marketplace added into our Jira, the approval process took 9 months. I don't want to have to go through that again.

Jim Hathaway _QCK R_ · Answer

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I need to see the work items with empty values, just at the bottom of the sorted list, not the top.

The value is for CVSS Score. Anything from 0 to 10 is a valid value but for some things CVSS is Not Applicable and this has been left empty.

Looks like I'm going to have to bulk-update everything that's empty to a  -1 :-(