Jira setup incorrectly when first implemented, projects are components, and components are projects

Question

When we first starting using Jira in our company a few years ago before I joined the team it was setup incorrectly whereby projects were setup under a project number field (custom field) and components were setup under the project field.

E.g. (The current situation)

Project = CSS

Project Number (custom field) = NNNNNN -  Client Website Update

Realistically this should be the other way round (The goal I would like to achieve)

e.g.

Project = NNNNNN - Client Website Update

Component = CSS/Database etc...

Unfortunately because it has been three or so years since it was first introduced and configured we have a huge bulk of projects/defects/requirements etc.. stored on there.

I'm just wanting to understand what the impact would be of amending this, and what I can do to resolve this outside of obviously a creating a new instance of Jira.

Any help would be greatly appreciated on the matter.

Tommie White · Answer

Thanks Bastian, I'll have a look when i get a moment, another thing i've noticed is that the project name is actually setup under a customer field entitled 'Project Number' so when a new project is created it is done via adding a new entry into this field.

I think it was a case of running before they could walk when the initial setup took place, and the issue as been further compounded with the amount of activity over the past few years.

Bastian Stehmann · Answer

Hi @Tommie White,

I think, if you create the projects you need and then bulk change/move the existing issues per existing project (new component) it could work without too much overhead.

You should have a close look on permission and roles, as this will probably change, also have a look at issue type and workflows and so on as they may differ between the existing projects.