Workflow Bottlenecks in Jira: How to Spot and Solve Them

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Why Bottlenecks Are a Silent Killer of Productivity

Bottlenecks are the tasks that get stuck and slow down your entire process. In Jira, they are not that noticeable. You may encounter tasks that bounce back to Reopened from Done, work items remaining at the same status for days, and team members repeatedly missing due dates. Such things are usually not noticed until they actually become problematic.

Once you are a project manager or team lead, you should be aware of where work is being held up and why. Jira provides a set of tools, but they don't always give you the complete picture.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s slowing your team down and how to spot and resolve bottlenecks in Jira quickly.

Common Signs of Workflow Bottlenecks in Jira

Bottlenecks tend to appear as minor problems; however, they accumulate quickly. The following are considered to be some of the obvious indicators that your workflow might be on hold:

• Tasks going back and forth

When a problem is marked as Done, then Reopened, and then back to Done, it indicates that something is not understood. When there is too much back and forth, it is slowing everyone down.

• Missed due dates

Tasks that continue to be overdue may slow down the entire project. Without the tracking, it is difficult to know who or what caused the delay.

• One person is always behind

When a team member consistently takes a long time to complete his or her task, then it may be too much work or a problem with the process. However, you require data to identify this.

• Planned vs actual time

When a task that has been estimated to take 2 hours takes 10, it is an indicator of underestimation, blockers, or unclear work. When this occurs frequently, it should be fixed.

How to Detect Bottlenecks Using Native Jira Tools

Jira has built-in functions that you can use to monitor the progress of work. However, they are not limitless when it comes to identifying the complete picture of the delays and status changes.

Here is the list of Jira native tools that can be used for detecting bottlenecks:

• Control Chart

What it shows: Control chart shows the time spent by each work item in a particular status (or statuses), and maps it over a specified period of time. 

Why it's useful: Helps spot stages where work is stuck (e.g., "In Review").

Where to find it: Go to your Scrum or Kanban board → Click Reports → Select Control Chart from the list.

• Cumulative Flow Diagram

What it shows: This diagram helps to view the work items move through statuses over a specific time period.

Why it's useful: Assists in the identification of work accumulating in a single status.

Where to find it: Board → Reports → Choose Cumulative Flow Diagram.

• Work Item Navigator and Filters

What it shows: Using work item navigator and filters, you can get a list of Jira tasks by due date, assignee, status, etc.

Why it's useful: Helps with tracking overdue tasks or blocked work.

Where to find it: Filters → All work items → Use JQL or Basic Search.

• User Workload Report 

What it shows: User workload report helps identify the number of tasks assigned to each team member.

Why it's useful: It allows for avoiding overloading employees.

Where to find it: Go to the needed board → Click Reports → Choose User Workload Report.

⚠️ But here’s what you can’t do so easily in Jira if to talk about the detection of bottlenecks: 

• Find out who changed statuses.
• Track every status change per work item.
• Count the number of times that a task was reopened.
• See the history of past due date changes or who modified them.
• Compare actual vs. planned time on numerous work items.
• Export the complete work item change history.

➡️ That’s where Issue History for Jira (Work Item History) app becomes your superpower, giving you detailed tracking, visibility, and exportable reports to catch bottlenecks in Jira workflows quickly.

How Issue History for Jira App Makes Bottlenecks Clear

Issue History for Jira app provides the whole picture of what is actually slowing things down. It displays all the status changes, who changed them, and when on all the work items in multiple projects. You can quickly see when tasks were moved from Done to In Progress, how frequently they were reopened, and who is delaying them. 

It also monitors changes to due dates, time estimates, and other fields, allowing you to see where plans and reality differ. You can easily sort by assignee, project, or status using filters, and then export reports to identify patterns.

Let’s explore some bottlenecks you can detect with the help of Issue History for Jira app: 

• Tasks going back and forth

With Issue History for Jira, you can see every status change for each work item. It includes when it moved from Done → Reopened and back again. You are able to filter on status changes to identify work items that were reopened, and by which assignee the reopenings were made.

• Missed due dates

The app keeps a history of all modifications to the Due Date field and displays who made such changes and when. Moreover, you can export the data to discover the project or team members with the most due date changes. 

• Employee who is always behind

You can filter the history by assignee to see how many times their tasks have missed deadlines or been reopened.

• Planned vs actual time

Issue History in Jira monitors the changes of Original Estimate and Time Spent fields. You may compare estimated-actual time for each assignee and identify persistent underestimation or phases during which work takes considerably more time than was expected. 

Want to know who’s slowing your team down and why?
👉 Try Issue History for Jira app to track all transitions, delays, reopenings, and time gaps in one view.
💡 Built on Forge. Runs on Atlassian.

Summing Up

Bottlenecks may hide within any Jira project, be it long status times, reopening multiple times, overdue tasks, or large discrepancies between estimated and actual time. 

The built-in tools in Jira will provide you with part of the picture, but Issue History for Jira app reveals the complete picture: all changes made, who made them, and when. Having clear data means that you are able to identify delays more quickly, learn about their cause, and implement measures to ensure your team does not stop.