Do I finally understand the procedure to remove a status?

[Phil Bustin]

1. Issues > Workflows
2. Copy active workflow.
3. Remove status(es) from the copy.
4. Open the workflow scheme.
5. Click Add workflow > existing.
6. Add the workflow; the old one is automatically replaced.
7. Publish the draft workflow scheme > Click Associate > Click Acknowledge.
8. Repeat the process to change the name back to the original name.

[Benjamin · Accepted solution]

HI @Phil Bustin ,

That sounds about right. Once added to the scheme, it should be associated to the issue types that require this workflow. 

If the status is not used, you can remove the status straight from the workflow.

-Ben 

[Phil Bustin]

Thank you.  I thought I included association in my instructions.

[Benjamin]

Welcome. You did. Wasn't sure the step included issue type association but if it's implied...then you are good. 

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Accepted solution]

That is one approach, yes.

Sometimes, there's no need to copy, you just flip to another workflow.  

The important bit you've got completely right (in that you're going to have to do them every time, no matter what your exact approach) is steps 5-7 - you need to stop using all the workflows that have a status you don't want to have there any more.

[Phil Bustin]

Could you please elaborate on flipping to another workflow?

Also, in my limited experience, when I removed the status from one workflow, there was no warning that it would be removed from other workflows, but perhaps that is because it is not used in any other workflows.  It's counter-intuitive to me that if I add a status that is used in Workflow A to Workflow B, and then remove it from Workflow B, that it would also be removed from Workflow A.  I'll have to experiment.

And it seems to me that there needs to be a better solution than double-substitution, unless your suggestion about flipping to another workflow, once I understand it, is that better solution.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

I mean changing the workflow scheme - either flip the project to use a different workflow scheme, or edit the current scheme.

For example, if your workflow scheme currently says:

• Bug: bug-42 workflow

Edit that, so that it says 

• Bug: feature-42 workflow

When you save the scheme, it will go through a migration (assuming feature-42 is missing at least on of the status that bug-42 has)

>>when I removed the status from one workflow, there was no warning that it would be removed from other workflows,

It was not removed from other workflows.  Removing a status from one workflow has no effect on other workflows.

Renaming a status affects other workflows - status are not part of a workflow, they are referral items in a global list.  Renaming a status will change the display name in every workflow.

Deleting a status (not removing it from a workflow, but deleting from the global list) does affect all the workflows currently set up to use it.  Atlassian removed the ability to delete status that are in use from Jira 3.0.

>It's counter-intuitive to me that if I add a status that is used in Workflow A to Workflow B, and then remove it from Workflow B, that it would also be removed from Workflow A.  I'll have to experiment.

It would be counter-intuitive, but that's not what happens.  If you edit workflow A, the only thing you can do that would affect B is renaming a status.

[Phil Bustin]

Yes, I knew about renaming from the warnings I received.