Potential Bug, Invalid status still showing on Board view

[Arief Halim]

Background

We want to have a proper view of a workflow, by having 2 transitions:

1. Transition from previous Status (We name it "Don't Use")

2. Transition from any other Statuses (We name it "Closed Lost")

This is the view that what we want:

This is not what we want (there is no explicit arrow to show the flow): 

This is also not what we want (too many arrows):

What We've Done - Transition Condition

Basically, transition #1 "Don't Use", is only used for "displaying an arrow on the workflow view".
So we try to hide this transition from the user, by adding Transition Condition "Always False" or "Hide from Users".

This was working as intended on the issue details view as you can see here, there's only 1 transition available (The #2 transition, since #1 was always set as false):

However, on the board view (when we drag our card), the status is still showing:

Question

Can we make the invalid transition on the board view hidden from the user, just like on the issue detail view?

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

I am not understanding why you are making this so complex.  If you do not need a transition any more, remove it from the workflow.

The board is reflecting your status, nothing else.  It's supposed to show valid status.  If you think a status is invalid, remove it from the workflow as well.

[Arief Halim]

Hi Nic,
The goal is to have a proper view of the workflow, where the user can easily understand what is the expected next flow.

For that purpose, it would be better if the user can see the arrow explicitly.

Having the workflow view like this is not clear enough for the user, that the expected status after "Internal Alignment" status is "Closed Lost" or "Closed Won & Client Onboarding"

[Arief Halim]

Other than that, Actually we also have a different use case related to the invalid status in the board view:

Background

We have the following logic table:

• If Field X contains "My Data" then Field A is Required
• If Field X did not contain "My Data" then Field A is not Required

What We've Done -> Condition & Validation

We manage to do this by creating 2 different transitions:

1. Transition #1
   
   • Condition: Field X contains "My Data"
   • Validation: Field A is Required
2. Transition #2
   • Condition: Field X did not contain "My Data"
   • Validation: Field A is not Required

Similar to the original thread, this was working as intended on the issue detail view, where there will be only 1 status:

However, in the board's view, both statuses are still displayed:

Therefore if the user drags and drop into the incorrect status, they will get the following error:

Expected Result

The board view will only display valid status, similar to the issue detail view so that the user won't drag and drop into invalid status.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Mmm.  So you want the workflow view to be inaccurate, according to the current state of the issue and the user meeting the conditions or not?

Ditto, the board view - the whole point of a board is that it shows a common view of all the issues the team is working on.  If you were to hide columns into which the current user cannot drop issues, then the board is not fit for purpose.

If a transition is not usable (or doesn't exist), then the board simply won't let people drag the card into the wrong place.

In your last comment, you've actually shown us a different error to ones that columns relate to.  Someone changed the issue, such that the transition the user trying to move the card is no longer valid.  The scenario here is something like:

• Workflow has a transition from open to in-progress.  
• Worfklow has a transition from open to in-design
• Workflow does not have a transition from in-progress to in-design (or it is protected by a condition)
• You have an issue ABC-123 which is open
• User A opens up the board or issue in their browser
• User B put ABC into in-progress
• User A gets that error message when they go back to their view and try to move ABC-123 into in-design

It's a different error to the rest of the stuff you're looking at.

[Arief Halim]

Basically, our expectation is that the Board View is having exactly the same behavior as Issue Details View, which is:

Hide invalid transition (whether because it doesn't have a transition or it is protected by a condition)

In my second comment, what happens is exactly what you mentioned in your third point:

• Workflow does not have a transition from in-progress to in-design (or it is protected by a condition)

However, our use case is not exactly like what you've mentioned in the rest of the point.

Our use case is a little bit longer to explain, but I'll try my best to explain it with a simpler example:

1. Let's say that we want to use the board for the user's purchase requisition.
   1. The user can input what items they want to buy (when creating a ticket).
2. We have a field that we call: "Product Type"
   1. In this "Product Type" field, the user can choose the value of let's say Mobile Phone, Printer, etc.
   2. If the user input "Product Type" equals "Printer", then the user is required to input a custom field "Serial Number"
   3. If the user input "Product Type", equals "Mobile Phone", then the user is required to input a custom field "IMEI" 
   4. Notice that the custom field "Serial Number" is only required for the Printer, but it is not required for Mobile Phones.
   5. While "IMEI" is only required for Mobile Phones, but it is not required for Printers.
3. We're also unable to make the "Serial Number" or "IMEI" mandatory upon creating a ticket. That's because the user didn't know the Printer's Serial Number or Mobile Phone's IMEI until the item arrived.

What we've done to handle this use case:

We create 2 transitions to status DONE

1. Transition #1: Done with Serial Number Mandatory
   • Condition: Product Type is equal to Printer
   • Validation: Serial Number is required
2. Transition #2: Done with IMEI Mandatory
   • Condition: Product Type is equal to Mobile Phone
   • Validation: IMEI is required

When we do this, then the actual result is:

1. If the user wants to buy a Printer
   1. On the Issue Detail View:
      1. The user can only choose transition #1 (Done with Serial Number Mandatory), which will trigger Serial Number Validation.
      2. Transition #2 (Done with IMEI Mandatory) is hidden
   2. On the Board View:
      1. Both transition #1 & #2 are shown.
      2. If the user drags and drops into transition #1, it's a success
      3. If the user drags and drops into transition #2, it will show the error message that I've shared with you before
         
         
2. If the user wants to buy a Mobile Phone
   1. On the Issue Detail View:
      1. The user can only choose transition #2 (Done with IMEI Mandatory), which will trigger IMEI Validation.
      2. Transition #1 (Done with Serial Number Mandatory) is hidden
   2. On the Board View:
      1. Both transition #1 & #2 are shown.
      2. If the user drags and drops into transition #2, it's a success
      3. If the user drags and drops into transition #1, it will show the error message that I've shared with you before

Hopefully, that makes sense.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

None of that changes it, it's just a more complex version of what I've outlined.

This all comes back to a very simple point: 

The board is behaving the same way as the issue view already.

You can not transition issues on a board if the transition is not there or blocked by a condition.

Or, to put it another way:

Boards do not show transitions.  There's nothing to do here to make it "behave like the issue view" because there are no transitions shown on a board.

[Arief Halim]

Isn't this a transition on the Board view?

I don't understand why you said 

Boards do not show transitions

When it's clearly we can transition the issue on the board view by dragging and drop

You can not transition issues on a board if the transition is not there or blocked by a condition.

I agree with your statement. 

Yes, we can not transition issues. However, there is 1 behavior that is still missing on the board view compared to the issue detail view:

Hide the invalid transition

The transition is still shown to the user, and when the user moves the card using the wrong transition, the error message is misleading "somebody has changed the issue recently", which is incorrect because no one has change it:

[Arief Halim]

It would be best if we can hide the transition on the Board View.
It will be clearer and less cluttering on the Board View.

Or at the very least, the less preferred way is we can display the correct error message, something like "You used the wrong transition" or "Your transition is invalid for the issue you're trying to move, please use another one"

Because telling the user to refresh the issue and try again will not solve this limitation.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

I am not sure you are understanding the point here, so I'll try to explain it a different way.

In your last screenshot, can you please circle where the transition is shown?

Note that the "Done -> Done" type things are not transitions.  They are showing the target status.

[Arief Halim]

Can we show a message similar to the following screenshot?

Or do you have any recommendations on what is the best way for our use case (the example above regarding purchase requisition for Printer & Mobile phone)?

Because currently, our users keep raising bug tickets since they're unable to finish their tasks...

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

No, because there are too many complexities in explaining them.

You need to simplify your workflow to the point where your users can't get it wrong, or train them on its complexities.