Jira Workflows Explained: Statuses, Transitions, and Your First Custom Workflow

A team planning board — workflows model how work moves from idea to done

Every issue in Jira moves through a workflow — the set of statuses it can be in and the rules for moving between them. Understanding workflows is the single most important skill for getting Jira to match how your team actually works.

Statuses vs. Transitions

A status describes where an issue is right now: To Do, In Progress, Done. A transition is the action that moves an issue from one status to another, for example Start Progress or Resolve Issue.

  • Status = a state (a noun)
  • Transition = a movement (a verb)
  • Resolution = why an issue left the active flow (Done, Won’t Do, Duplicate)

The most common beginner mistake is closing issues without setting a resolution, which leaves them showing as "open" in filters forever.

The Default Workflow

Every new Jira project ships with a simple default workflow:

Status Meaning
To Do Work is queued but not started
In Progress Someone is actively working on it
Done Work is complete and resolved

This is enough for many teams. Resist the urge to add statuses until you feel a real gap.

Workflows should reflect how the team collaborates, not an idealised process

Building Your First Custom Workflow

  1. Go to Settings → Issues → Workflows and copy the default (never edit the system one directly).
  2. Add a status such as In Review between In Progress and Done.
  3. Draw transitions: In Progress → In Review → Done, plus a In Review → In Progress path for rework.
  4. Associate the workflow with your project via a workflow scheme.

Keep workflows lean. Each extra status is a place where work can get stuck and a column your board has to display.

What to Learn Next

  • Conditions, validators, and post functions to enforce rules on transitions
  • Workflow schemes to map different workflows to different issue types
  • Automation rules to move issues automatically when a pull request merges

Arivanandhan Chitheshwaran