Do I need to backup/restore before/after a workflow/screen/field change?

[Jirong Hu]

I am a JIRA administrator needs to modify the Request and Defect workflow, plus some fields on the screen. There are already tons of projects and issues using these two types and screens. My question is:

1. Do I need a proper backup before making the changes?
2. How shall I do the backup.

We are using SQL database, and JIRA is installed on Linux.

Thanks

Jirong

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Accepted solution]

Probably not.  But if you are nervous or inexperienced, then it's a good idea.  See https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/JIRA/Backing+Up+Data

However, depending on your changes, you can usually undo changes reasonably easily.  If you're adding a field, for example, then if you get it wrong, just delete it.  Take copies of your screens and workflows before you start changing them, then you'll be able to use them as the example of how to put things back the way they were, or even put them back over the damaged ones.

[Jirong Hu]

All right, then I won't worry about that. BTW, I've decided to use this approach for the versioning: https://answers.atlassian.com/questions/12267197/how-shall-i-version-my-design-so-we-can-rollback. What do you guys think?

[Daniel Wester]

Like Nic said - probably not. But I would suggest trying any major changes out on a testing server.

[Jirong Hu]

Yes, I have a test environment and I always do all the development/changes in the test environment, then make the same/final version changes in the production environment. Basically I do all the play around things in the test environment.