When does it make sense to OBE an issue vs. deleting it from the backlog?

[Susan Lose]

Our team is newish to Jira.  When an issue is in the backlog and it is deemed to no longer be necessary (for whatever reason)...which is better to do, delete it or OBE it?  Wondering what people's thoughts on the topic might be.  Thanks

[Joe Pitt · Accepted solution]

Do not delete issues. When you delete it is GONE. Hardly a week goes by without someone wanting to restore an issue. Deleting issues will come back and bite you when it is the most inconvenient. I suggest closing with a resolution value of Deleted anything you want to delete. I implement a special transition only the project lead can execute and it requires filling in a reason field from a select list (such as entered in error, OBE, Duplicate, Other) and explanation text.

 Deleting issues destroys historical data. Missing issue numbers will eventually cause a question about what it was and why was it deleted even if it was done properly. Missing data always brings in the question of people hiding something that may have looked bad.

 The only viable way to restore an issue is to create a new instance of JIRA and restore a backup that has the issues. Then export them to a csv file and import them to your production instance. You will lose the history.

 None of my users have delete permission.

If you insist on deleting issues you need the delete issue permission

[Susan Lose]

Joe, thanks for your insights.  

[Jack Brickey · Accepted solution]

Hi Susan, welcome to the community.

rarely do I delete any issues. The only time I do this is when setting up a new project and I wish to remove test issues. Rather I simply close them with an appropriate resolution code.

[Susan Lose]

Jack, thanks for your response.  I will advise my team. 

[Matt Doar · Accepted solution]

https://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/OBE "Overtaken By Events" ?

[Susan Lose]

Yes, OBE = Overtaken by events..... as in sometimes we have created an issue that we will not need to do any longer because something has happened (OBE) that makes the issue irrelevant or unnecessary.  Thanks for responding to my question.