unable to add custom status to team-managed workflow

[TB Engineer]

I have a team-managed project and want to edit the workflow to add a status like "on-hold". Given instructions below, at step 5, the toolbar only has the pre defined options (To-do, In-progress, Done, Transition, & Rule). There is no "Add a New Status" button.

Step-by-step guide:

1. Access Project Settings: Navigate to the project's sidebar and select "Project settings". 
2. Go to Work Types: Within Project settings, select "Work types". 
3. Choose the Work Type: Select the specific work type (e.g., "Task", "Bug") that you want to edit the workflow for. 
4. Edit Workflow: Click on "Edit workflow". 
5. Add a New Status: Use the toolbar at the top to add a new status. 
6. Select Status Category: Choose the appropriate status category for the new status (e.g., "To Do", "In Progress", "Done"). 
7. Name the Status: Give the new status a descriptive name. 
8. Add the Status: Click "Add" to save the new status in the workflow. 
9. Repeat for Other Statuses: You can repeat these steps to add additional statuses as needed. 
10. Update Workflow: Make sure to click "Update workflow" or "Save" to apply the changes. 

[Dilip · Accepted solution]

those are status category and Jira have three default status category, you can change the status name as per your requirement but status there can be only 3 status category. 

[Trudy Claspill · Accepted solution]

Hello @TB Engineer 

Welcome to the Atlassian community.

Each Status is a member of a Status Category. In step 5 you are selecting the Status Category in which you want to create a new status.

Jira supports only three pre-defined Status Categories. Those Status Categories are:

To Do
In Progress
Done

The Status Category to which a Status value belongs determines the color of the lozenge that will be used to display that Status value. The colors used are:

To Do - gray
In Progress - blue
Done - green

In a Team Managed project, Statuses that are assigned to the Done category will also automatically have the Resolution field set in the issues that are assigned to Statuses in that Category.

Statuses in the To Do and In Progress Categories will automatically have the Resolution field cleared in the issues that are assigned to Statuses in those Categories.

[TB Engineer]

Hi @Trudy Claspill,

Thank you for your response. Really what I am trying to do is learn about workflows and Jira by building, testing an refining a custom workflow and process (a case study) to fit  something like a fault-investigation having steps like Reported, on-hold, under investigation, resolved.

Self-help via Chat GPT, Forums, and Documentation returns instructions but seem to be a blend of team-managed vs company managed instructions. The struggle is all valuable but I could use some help getting on track.

Is what I'm trying to do not possible with just free Jira cloud subscription?

[Trudy Claspill]

First, I apologize as I now realize I did not read your question closely enough. Re-reading I see that the issue you mentioned is actually:

"There is no "Add a New Status" button"

Can you please provide a screen image of what you see?

At step 5 you should be seeing a screen similar to this:

It is possible that this version of the interface has not yet been deployed to your Jira instance.

If you don't see the Add Status button, and instead see buttons for To Do, In Progress, and Done, then I think you are seeing an older interface.

In that case, if I recall correctly, you would click on the button that represents the Status Category in which you want to create the new status; the To Do button, the In Progress button, or the Done button.

The "steps" you have mentioned would be Status values. Each Status value is created as a member of a Status Category. 

• The To Do status category generally is for statuses that indicate no work has yet been done on the item.
• The In Progress status category generally is for statuses that indicate some sort of work has started on the item.
• The Done status category generally is for statuses that indicate no additional work will be done on the item.

I would recommend you add your steps/statuses to categories as follows:

Reported - To Do

on-hold - In Progress

under investigation - In Progress

resolved - Done

There are two types of project customization architectures in Jira Cloud - Team Managed projects and Company Managed projects. When looking through self-help resources you do have to discern if the content is relevant to the type of project you are using. I can't speak directly about ChatGPT results, but I have found that other AI resources often mash together information for both types resulting in misleading information. If you find documentation or a forum post that doesn't match what you are seeing, you can always post links and images as a Question here to ask for help in figuring out if the resources apply to your situation.

In addition to the self-help resources you have mentioned there is also free, on-demand training available from Atlassian. You can find that by clicking on the Learning option at the top of the Community pages.

[TB Engineer]

Hi @Trudy Claspill 

Incidentally, I do not have the interface that you posted.

From your response, I understand that I can add an additional status derived from a base status like "In Progress".

Initially, I missed the word “create” in "Search or create status" and didn't think of typing in my own text. Now I realize that is possible to add an ad-hoc status in the "Search or create status" selector. Thank you!

[TB Engineer]

Chat GPT produced this the first part of the conversation with @Trudy Claspill.

Hi @TB Engineer,

Great question—and you're absolutely right to be feeling some friction here. The issue is not you—it’s the limitations of Team-Managed Projects in Jira Cloud (especially on the Free plan), which often lack the flexibility needed to build more advanced custom workflows like what you're aiming for.

Here's the real situation:

What is possible in Team-Managed Projects (even on Free):

• You can rename statuses (within To Do, In Progress, Done categories).
• You can add additional statuses using those predefined status categories.
• You can rearrange transitions between statuses with the visual workflow editor.

What is not possible (or is severely limited) in Team-Managed Projects:

• You can’t create your own status categories (only To Do, In Progress, Done exist).
• You can’t fully customize workflows across multiple issue types like you would in Company-Managed Projects.
• You can’t define resolution behavior beyond the defaults tied to status category.

Why you're stuck at Step 5:
In Team-Managed Projects, the toolbar will only allow you to add statuses within the predefined categories, not entirely custom ones (like “On-Hold” with its own category or behavior). This is why you're only seeing options like To Do, In Progress, Done, Transition, & Rule.

So what can you do?
Workaround for “On-Hold” in Team-Managed:
You can still add a custom status called “On-Hold,” but you’ll have to assign it to one of the existing categories, likely "In Progress". Here's how:

Go to your board.

1. Click the Board settings > Manage Workflow.
2. Drag a new status onto the board (the + sign under "In Progress").
3. Name it “On-Hold”.
4. Connect it with transitions.
5. Save.

Now, “On-Hold” will appear as a valid workflow step—but note that Jira will treat it as In Progress (blue lozenge, no resolution set).

If you want full workflow control:
To build a complete custom fault investigation workflow (Reported → On-Hold → Under Investigation → Resolved), you’ll need to use a Company-Managed Project, which is not available in Free plans.

Recommendation:
Keep prototyping in the Free tier with Team-Managed projects, using renamed statuses.

If this case study is important for a job, portfolio, or internal proof-of-concept:

Consider starting a Free trial of Jira Standard to unlock Company-Managed Projects and get the full workflow engine.

Or, set up a sandbox project using Atlassian’s Jira Cloud Free Dev License (if you qualify via developer.atlassian.com).