Troubleshoot work item security
15 min
Advanced
By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to:
- Explain what configurations in Jira impact work item security
- Troubleshoot common problems with work item security
Ways to troubleshoot work item security
Many parts of Jira interact with work item security: the work item security scheme, of course, but also fields, screens, work types, layouts, permissions, and more. Because work item security is so interconnected, when things aren’t behaving the way you want, there are many things to troubleshoot.
However, you can think of work item security as having two parts:
- Are the right people seeing work items with different security levels?
- Can the right people edit the Security Level field?
Depending on which component you’re trying to troubleshoot, you’ll investigate different questions.
👇 Click the tabs below to see what questions you can ask yourself when troubleshooting.
If the user can't see the space, you should ask:
- Was the space deleted or archived?
- Does the user have the Browse Spaces permission in the permission scheme?
If the user can see the space but can't see a particular work item, you should ask:
- Was the work item deleted?
- Can the user see other work in the space?
- Can other users see the work item?
- Is the user in the security level for that work item?
Remember, you often grant security levels and permissions to space roles and groups. This means you need to check if users belong to groups or have space roles defined in the work item security and permission schemes for that space.
Let’s explore some examples!
Renato can see more than Norah
Renato sees more work than Norah in search results, boards, reports, and gadgets for their space.
👇 Click the tabs below to explore this example.
You should investigate configurations related to work item visibility. Let’s ask some questions:
- Were these work items deleted? No
- Can Renato see other work in the space? Yes
- Can other users see the work item? Yes, Norah can see them.
- Is the user in the security level for that work item? No, the security level includes only the Administrator space role. Norah has the Administrator role for this space, but Renato doesn’t.
If you modify the work item security scheme, remember that your actions will impact all spaces associated with that scheme.
Myra can set work to one security level, but not others
When Myra creates or edits a work item, she can set the security level to Managers but not Consultants. Because Myra can see one of the security levels, she has the Set Work Item Security permission.
👇 Click the tabs below to explore this example.
You should investigate configurations related to the Security Level field. Let’s ask some questions:
- Can Myra set the security level to other levels? Yes, she can set it to Managers.
- Is Myra listed in the Consultants security level in the work item security scheme? No, only the Consultants group is on that security level, and Myra isn’t in the Consultants group.
Fabian can’t see the Security Level field
Fabian can't see the Security Level field on a work item at all. Many configurations can cause this.
👇 Click the tabs below to explore this example.
You should first investigate configurations related to the Security Level field. Let’s ask some questions:
- Does the space have an associated work item security scheme? Yes
- Can Fabian see the field on any work? No
- Can Fabian see the field on any screens? No
- Can other users see the field? No
- Can other users set the field? No
- Is Fabian in any security level for that work item? Yes
- Does Fabian have the Set Work Item Security permission in the permission scheme? Yes
Lydia can choose a security level when creating a work item, but Katina can’t
When Lydia creates a work item, she can choose a security level. When Katina creates a work item, she can’t choose a security level. But, once the work item is created, Katina can see the work item and the security level that Jira assigned.
👇 Click the tabs below to explore this example.
You should first investigate configurations related to the Security Level field. Let’s ask some questions:
- Does the space have an associated work item security scheme? Yes
- Can Katina see the field on any work? Yes
- Can Katina see the field on any screens? Yes
- Can other users see the field? Yes, Lydia can see it.
- Can other users set the field? Yes, Lydia can set it.
- Is Katina in any security level for that work item? Yes, Katina is in the default security level.
- Does Katina have the Set Work Item Security permission in the permission scheme? No, only the Administrators role has that permission, and Katina doesn’t have that role.
Gael can create work items, but then he can’t see them
Gael can create work items in a space, but he can’t view them after creation. The permission scheme or the work item security scheme (or both) could cause this behavior.
👇 Click the tabs below to explore this example.
You should first investigate configurations related to work item visibility. Let’s ask some questions:
- Was the work item deleted? No
- Can the user see other work in the space? Yes
- Can other users see the work item? Yes
- Is the user in the security level for that work item? No
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