Accidentally changed the status of all existing workflows using simplified workflow.

[Deleted user]

I have an interesting problem. A user with admin rights accidentally changed a couple of statuses for all projects using the simplified workflow to a custom status they created.

For example, every issue that was assigned the status of "Done", now has the status of "Win", across every active project (about 80 projects). Unfortunately, they don't recall what they did to get to that point and I can not figure out how to undo this. Note the issues are actually assigned the status, it's not just an additional status.

What's odd, is it only seemed to affect active projects. If i create a new project, it uses the correct, default statuses in the simplified workflow.

[Rachel Wright]

Hi @[deleted] ,

I totally did this when I was a new Jira admin as well!  

I once used the workflow "Diagram" (visual) mode to change a status.  I thought the change would only apply to that one workflow.  Instead, I changed the name of the entire status in all of Jira!  Users alerted me to the problem when their workflows stopped working properly and their filters broke.

Here's a slide from a presentation where I explain this exact mistake.

Luckily, it's easy to "undo".  Just open your workflow in diagram mode, click the status, and click the "Edit" button to change name back to it's original value.

Hope this helps and glad to know I'm not the only one to do this!  :)

Rachel Wright
Author, Jira Strategy Admin Workbook

[Deleted user]

Thanks for the reply.

I had found that setting, but in my case I want to set it back to "Done". When I try to change it to Done, I get an error "A status with that name already exists, please enter a different name."

[Rachel Wright]

Hi again @[deleted],

Is it possible someone added a new "Done" status between now and when "Win" entered the picture?  You can check your audit log to see.  Visit:  Jira Settings > System > Audit Log.

Search for the word "status" and it should bring up any events in that category.

Yes, it is true that you can't choose an existing status name.

I tried "editing" a status (AKA: changing its name) in workflow diagram mode.  Then I tried renaming it back to it's original value and it let me, as expected.

Let us know!

Rachel Wright

[Juliane_O]

Hi, although this is a bit old, this happened to me now too.

I had a newly created Workflow using the Sub-Task Issue Type. The Issue Type already existed in the project but there was no workflow for it. I even COPIED the workflow from another project. Not it changed Open to Backlog in the copy AND the original workflow. And in neither of it I can change it back because it says a status with the name open already exists.

Please help!

[Kyle Hurson]

I realize this thread is quite old but this exact scenario happened to me and I was able to find a solution.

When new workflows are set up, they use the default statuses: To Do, In Progress, and Done. By editing any of these statuses, you are involuntarily editing the default for all Company Managed project workflows.

The solution is:

1. Navigate to Admin Settings > Issues > Statuses (in the left menu, under issue attributes)
2. Find the new status you created
3. Click on the hyperlinked "# associated workflows" and manually fix them
   1. The list will most likely include inactive workflows as well so be mindful to ignore those and not waste time
4. The most efficient way to update the workflows is to add the default status in again via + sign at the top (new editor) and move any applicable transitions to the replacement before deleting the status you accidentally implemented to all

There may very well be a less manual method to fixing this but it is a solution I have found that worked for me.