How to display columns I have just added in my kanban board ?

[Violaine Truck]

I have just created a new Jira Project but need to customize some workflows. When I add columns, the columns do not appear in the board or partially. It seems to say I need to map but I don’t understand where and how to map and what.

[Michael Andolfatto]

Hi @Violaine Truck ,

Using an example, I can have a workflow that has the following statuses:

• To Do
• Selected for Development
• In Progress
• Blocked
• On-Hold
• Closed

When configuring my board, I have two options:

1. Create a board column for every state - this means that when an issue is moved to the 'In Progress' state, it shows up under the 'In Progress' board column (because you have mapped this status to this column in the board's configuration)
2. Create board columns to group related statuses - if I don't want to have a board with many different columns, I could group related workflow states. e.g. a single board column called 'Pending' could map to two different workflow states 'Blocked' and 'On Hold'

If you want your board column to be visible, you must map it to at least one status. You can reference this article to see how to configure your board: Configure columns | Jira Software Cloud | Atlassian Support

[Violaine Truck]

I want to create a board column for every state..

Again, I have created the columns but they don't display when I return to the board. what shall I do ?

I read the documentation and do not find what it says :

I don't find the "More..." Board settings and the column tab in order to customize the mapping. Maybe that is the pb.

"Editing columns

1. Go to your board, then select more () > Board settings.

2. Click the Columns tab.

3. Edit the columns as described in the following table.

[Michael Andolfatto]

Hi @Violaine Truck ,

If you have created the columns then you have accessed the board's settings. So it sounds like you may be in the wrong area altogether or else have just not mapped a workflow status to the column you created.

Depending on your hosting type and/or version of Jira Software, the specific lingo may be different, but navigating to your backlog or board should display a button with three dots in the top-right corner that when clicked gives you the option to select Board Settings or Configure or something else along those lines.

If this is missing, it means you are not an administrator for the project or the board so you would need to get help from someone who is.

If you have created the columns in this menu, you need to find the card for the status you want to map to the column (it might be in the "Unmapped Columns" section) and drag it into place in the correct column. That should look something like the below:

[Violaine Truck]

I have reached that point indeed. I thought creating the columns should be enough. Why do I have to place the cards in them ? You mean each column must have a card in it in order to display ? I don't understand really. Once I have done that, I return to my board and nothing displays or not in the right board. Please help. Thaks

[Michael Andolfatto]

Hi @Violaine Truck , this is the expected behavior then. The lifecycle issues follow is determined by the administrators of your Jira instance. This is to ensure they follow best practices and don't get modified without testing since that could affect other users negatively.

Jira gives some control to the project administrators, by adding/removing/modifying board columns, but no matter what columns are added, the back-end lifecycle that tickets follow will remain constant.

This means if you add in new columns for an issue to live in, you have to tell Jira which status in the lifecycle it should transition to when its placed in said column. A column created with no mapping to the workflow status would mean Jira would have no idea where to transition the issue being placed there.

If you're looking for categorization based on other issue attributes, Swimlanes are horizontal dividers on your board which can be configured and customized. That might be a better option based on your requirements.