Jira: removing a status from an active workflow scheme

[Alessio Alfonsi]

Hi,

I have a Project, let's call it PROJECT A.

In PROJECT A i created 2 boards:

SCRUM BOARD (scrum type)

KANBAN BOARD (kanban type)

Each of them have a filter to separate issues.

I need a new column exclusively for this KANBAN BOARD.

So I went to KANBAN BOARD, dots in the top-right corner, board settings, columns, add column and added COLUMN4.

Jira decided to create not only a column but a new status (other than to do, in progress, done) for all the issues in the project, let's call it STATUS4

So now i have COLUMN4 in KANBAN BOARD, and STATUS4 (which I don't want) across all PROJECT A, even on the other board.

Now I wanto to delete this new STATUS4 from my PROJECT A.

I went to project, project settings, workflows, -pencil- under actions, click on STATUS4, "remove status" on the right.

It says: "Statuses can't be removed from active workflows

You can only remove statuses from inactive workflows. To start with this workflow and remove statuses, make a copy of it which will be inactive. You can assign it to the project when you're happy with it."

So I went to Jira settings\workflow schemes\PROJECT A WORKFLOW SCHEME -> copy.

It created COPY OF PROJECT A WORKFLOW SCHEME.

Now, if I go in Jira settings\workflow schemes, COPY OF PROJECT A WORKFLOW SCHEME is inactvie

If i click edit in COPY OF PROJECT A WORKFLOW SCHEME, there is no way to have the same edit I saw just one minute ago, no diagram, no text, only wierd things like "issue types" "add workflow" "marketplace blabla".

If I go in Jira settings\workflow (no workflow schemes, only workflow) i see that COPY OF PROJECT A WORKFLOW SCHEME is now active, I see that is assigned to PROJECT A WORKFLOW

If i click edit on the right I can only edit PROJECT A WORKFLOW SCHEME and not COPY OF PROJECT A WORKFLOW SCHEME.

Now this is the messiest thing I seen in my whole life in every software, and I can't manage to delete this STATUS4 in any way, even following all the documentation.

Please help me if you can.

Thank you.

Alessio.

[Tarun Sapra · Accepted solution]

Hello @Alessio Alfonsi 

This can be confusing in Jira, so I understand what's going wrong.

I think you have copied the workflow scheme but you haven't copied the workflow.

Do the following steps

• Copy your existing active workflow
• Create a new workflow scheme
• Map the copied workflow to the newly created workflow scheme
• Delete the status from the workflow as the workflow is still inactive 
• Now, Map the new workflow scheme having the updated workflow with your project! and it's done!

[Alessio Alfonsi]

Oh thank you very much man, this made me crazy all day.

This part is really messy, every single step is so confusing...

Thank you again,

have a nice day

[Tarun Sapra]

Your welcome @Alessio Alfonsi 

If it works fine with you, then please accept/upvote the answer so that other users are also helped.

[Dave Gunn]

I have the same issue as Alessio and I'm stuck. Tarun's answer is a good overview but would someone provide the precise steps please?

I added a status earlier in the week only for senior staff to change their mind again.

Now I'm finding it hard to remove a status; I should have known it wouldn't be as simple just 'edit' and 'delete'.

[Robert Bravery]

Yeah, I am also having the same issue.

Added the status, oops wrong status. Now how to remove it. You have to jump through all sorts of hoops. I am not deleting the status, just do not want it to appear on this workflow.

AKA, add a picture to your Word document. Now try remove the picture. Oops you can remove a picture from an active word document. Copy the word document, remove the picture from the copy. Then make the copy of the word document the active document.

Come on guys, this is not difficult.

[Jorge]

Hi everybody!

I'm having the same issue, I need to remove a status from active workflows. Does anyone have more details?

[Tiffany Lazo-Cedre]

Is there a way to separate workflows from statuses? I have a few different threads I would like to categorize separately, and the tasks beneath each thread should have statuses i would like to track.  How can I best manage this on JIRA?

[Alistair Adams]

You don't need to create a new workflow scheme. All you need to do is copy the workflow and edit that.

Then go to Project Setting->Workflows->Add Workflow

Select your copied and edited workflow and assign it to the appropriate issue types. After hitting "next" it will prompt you to which status you should map any tasks with the deleted status.

[Damion McDunn]

Huge Thanks! After many hours, this now is a 5min solve. (I'm still totally baffled why this turned out to be the "easy" way, but hey I got 99 problems and now this ain't one.)

Course now reading Alistair's comment it seems it probably is simpler, but not simpler than 'deactivate board, make a 1 sec change, reactivate.'

[Nicki D]

I am trying to remove a status column in the Active Sprint and I have followed all of the instructions here (https://confluence.atlassian.com/cloudkb/how-to-delete-a-status-in-jira-workflow-830283095.html) which followed along with the comments here, but I am not seeing this take effect in the active sprint.  I can see the workflow is active and the original one is now inactive. The new workflow is assigned to the same Scheme that was originally being used by the old workflow.  Is there another step to remove the column in the active sprint? 

[Nicki D]

I wrote that 5 minutes too soon! I found my answer. Board Settings, Columns. Sigh.