Create issue button only in one column

[Tomas Botek]

Hi all,

I have a question regarding the next-gen kanban workflow. I have a kanban project, where I can create tasks in any column of the board. We use it for more than a year.

In the past weeks, I have created several new kanban projects and at all of them, it is possible to create a task only in the first status of the workflow. That is pretty annoying, sometimes you just realize you missed something and you put it directly in progress or so. I have been trying to set up new projects and the behavior is constant now.

In "MU tabule" you can see that mouse over allows me to create tasks anywhere. On Core Team board it just does not work. 

So the question: Are there some settings I am missing or it is a new feature to strictly follow the workflow (btw "MU tabule" project has also only 1 initial status in workflow, I would love to set up more statuses, but it is not possible)? Thanks a lot, these are the small things (the changes messing my workflow without any notice), which drive me crazy.

[Tomas Botek · Accepted solution]

OK, so I did some experiments and found out what causes the loss of the Create issue button at every column. 

The button disappears when you edit workflow in a way, that not all issue types share the same workflow. I had one workflow for Tasks and Subtasks, a different one for Epics (Epics are not present on the board so the restriction does not make sense to me, but just Jira things).

When the workflow is not shared, you also have no longer option to create a column directly in the board view, so you have to enter board settings, see the pictures.

When you unify the workflow again, Create issue button works back as expected.

Thank you both @Nic Brough -Adaptavist- and @Trudy Claspill for help!

[Deleted user]

For me the issue was that I didn't have one of the Statuses included in the board.  I had removed the DONE column and left the Done status unassigned.  Once I add them both back to the board settings, the Create issue button returned to each column.   So Weird.

[Shalimar Caceres]

I solved this one!

The + Create issue button will only appear in columns where there is exactly one Status assigned to the column.

My assumption: If there are more that one Status for that column, the system cannot determine which Status to use, so it doesn't offer the option. 

(For my example, this behavior was observed in a Company managed project.)

[Thibaut Bourelly]

You're completely right !! Thanks !

[Chelsey Gobeli]

This worked for me thank you so much!

[Trudy Claspill]

I think I see what you're asking. And I think your question is not about the status that the newly created issue is set to, but rather having that "Create Issue" option showing up at the bottom of the column. Am I correct?

When looking at the a Kanban board for a TMP, you can immediately see at the bottom of the left-most column there is an area to click that says "+ Create issue"

And if you hover your mouse at the bottom of other columns then the same option shows up at the bottom of those columns.

And I think what you're saying is you have a board where hovering your mouse at the bottom of the column is not showing the "Create Issue" option the way you expect it to. Am I correct?

 @Nic Brough -Adaptavist- I have to partially disagree with you. In the board images I show above, I clicked on the "Create Issue" option showing in the Done 1 column. The issue that was created showed up in that column. Now, it did get created with a To Do status, but it also automatically transitioned to Done 1 without me doing anything extra.

@Tomas Botek For your issue where the "Create Issue" option is not showing up in some columns, is there anything special about the transitions to the statuses for those columns? Are there Conditions on them that require something before an issue can be transitioned to that status?

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Ah, I agree there. 

All the stuff I said was about company-managed projects because that's what I think is being described in the question.  

Team-managed projects don't do workflow that way.

[Tomas Botek]

@Trudy Claspill that is exactly what I am talking about, you are correct. The create issue button on the bottom is the thing!

The project is team managed project, there are no conditions on transition. For testing purposes, I have created a new team-managed kanban project, with default workflow (see picture), and Create button is still not available in other collumns when mouse over.

BUT! when you create at least 1 issue in the regular status, the mouse-over button starts to appear (before it did not)! So now it works as expected.

Still not sure what to change in the project I am having troubles with, but I will migrate it to a new one where it works as desired and hopefully this will be enough! 

Thank you bot for the advice, I really appreciate it.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

No, but yes-ish.

No, you're not missing anything, you can only create issues in a single status in a workflow.  If you need an issue to be in another status, you have to create it, then transition it.

The workflows behind the projects and issues can logically only have one start point - it's not quite as simple as this, but a transition can, by definition, only have one end point, and there's only one "create" transition in a workflow.  Before an issue is created, the workflow can't know where things might land, it has to have a single creation point.

But there is a partial "yes", and one that is not uncommon.  The trick is that different issue types can have different workflows in a project.  So you could do something like "Tasks start in the backlog, defects get created in to-do (because we usually don't need any refinement before we know they need some action)"

[Tomas Botek]

I see, thank you for a great explanation. What still bugs my mind is the project which works as I want it to work - and there is only one workflow and only one issue type (task) and I can create it in any column I want to. 

How is that possible? Is that a bug (it was created early in the next-gen product lifecycle)?

I have been Jira Admin in several companies for several years and it is all the time the same - rigid system which is not suitable for smaller less strict teams. It is supposed to be their tool and helper, not their boss. I am meeting so many ppl with similar complaints, not surprised so many Jira customers in my surrounding are looking for other solutions, I am too.

But anyway, thanks a lot for the explanation, I am still curious why does it work in the old project fine.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

At high risk of being grouchy here (I don't mean to), I just explained that it is not possible and why.

It's not a bug created by next-gen or anything else.  It's the way Jira workflows have worked since Jira 1.0

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Eep!  For company-managed projects.  None of that applies for team-managed.

[Tomas Botek]

You are not grouchy at all, it is me :) I am very thankful for your answer.

What is just bugging me is that it works fine in the old one (talking about the create issue button on the bottom of the column). 

[Thibaut Bourelly]

Hello,

I launch again this discussion because I created 2 company managed projects and these 2 projects have the same settings (same workflow for the Task issue type). For one of this project I can see the "+ Create issue" at the bottom of the last task created in the "To do" column (start of my workflow) and for the other project (same workflow and settings) I don't see the "+ Create issue" at the bottom of my last created task in the "To do" column. Do you have an explanation about that ? I must be missing something...

Thanks in advance.

[Trudy Claspill]

Hello @Thibaut Bourelly 

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