Jira Image of the Day: Create Screen vs. Edit/View Screen

[#1]

Concept Relates To

Application Type	Jira (Jira Work Management and Jira Software), Jira Service Management, Jira Core
Deployment Type	Jira Cloud, Jira Data Center

What is shown?

An example create screen containing a sub-set of fields displayed on an example edit/view screen.

Visit: Admin > Work items > Screens (Cloud)
Visit: Admin > Issues > Screens (Data Center)

What can we learn?

Jira has different types of screens for different uses. In Cloud, there are screens for creating, viewing, and transitioning items in a workflow. In Data Center, there’s an additional screen for editing.

Screen Types

Cloud	Data Center
Create	Create
n/a	Edit
View	View
Transition	Transition

A create screen is what the user sees when they create an item. A view screen is what they see when the view an item. The ability to have two separate screens for these different user actions allows the administrator to place a sub-set of fields on the create screen.

Think about the user experience of creating a Jira item. You want the experience to be as quick and easy as possible. I recommend only asking for a minimal amount of information and only for data the creator can provide. For example, does the person creating an item select a due date at the time of creation? Usually, when an item is created it needs to be reviewed for understanding, estimated, and prioritized before a due date can be determined. In this case, there’s no value in putting the “Due Date” field on the create screen. Collect that information later in the workflow on a transition screen instead.

In Data Center, there’s an additional screen for editing issues. There’s no edit screen in Cloud because issues are edited inline, directly from the view screen.

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[James Rickards _SN_]

One danger to be aware of with using separate create and edit screens is that if you are importing from CSV, you may be limited to the fields available on the create screen.

An alternative for a better UX in capturing new work items, would be to leverage forms.  These have been around for a while in JSM, and are a real game changer within JWM and JS projects to guide users in creating appropriate content for new work items.