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A board is the visual view of that workflow. Board columns map to statuses. One column can include multiple statuses, which lets you keep the board simple without losing detail for filtering, JQL, reports, and automation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Generally speaking, Jira offers a nice selection of default statuses that fit within the workflow designed for a specific project template. But, as projects grow in complexity or teams scale to meet the challenges, you\u2019ll need to adjust and add more steps to the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Teams usually add statuses when the \u201cdefault\u201d workflow doesn\u2019t reflect a real handoff or decision point they need to track. The best statuses represent a change in ownership<\/strong>, a new type of work<\/strong>, or a clear gate<\/strong> (for example, review or testing).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are common, consistent additions for software teams:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want a pass\/fail signal, it\u2019s usually clearer to capture it as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n rather than splitting the workflow into QA Passed \/ QA Failed<\/strong> statuses\u2014unless your process truly branches differently based on that outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In these and many similar cases, there\u2019s an obvious need to add the new status to your Jira project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Technically, there are a few ways to add statuses in Jira, and the right one depends on your project type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can add statuses directly from board settings<\/strong>. This approach is convenient because it lets you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the easiest option when the team owns the workflow and wants to iterate quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You usually add statuses by updating the workflow in the project\u2019s workflow scheme (via Jira settings). In this model:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This approach is best when workflows are standardized across multiple projects or teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s deep dive into the flow of adding statuses to the team-managed projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 1:<\/strong> Go to your board and click on the button with three dots to open the Board settings. The button is located at the top right corner of the screen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 2<\/strong>: Select columns in the Settings menu and click the \u201cAdd status\u201d button. This is where you\u2019ll see your board columns as well as the statuses that are associated with them. One column can have multiple statuses. This can be quite useful if you want to keep your board minimalistic while still having the flexibility to sort work items (issues) by their status or gain certain specific insights from reports (more on that later).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note:<\/strong> These steps apply to team-managed projects. In company-managed projects, statuses are added by updating the project workflow (usually by a Jira admin). If you don\u2019t see Add status, check your project type or ask an admin to update the workflow for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Please keep in mind that if you don\u2019t see the \u201cAdd status\u201d button, ask your Jira admin for help or the appropriate permissions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 3<\/strong>: Type in the name for your new status or select one of the existing statuses from the drop-down menu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 4:<\/strong> Select a category for your status. Do remember that this step is important. Some teams prefer to set up their Jira boards<\/a> in a way where the To Do items are kept in the backlog tab rather than having a dedicated column on the board. So, if you choose a To Do category for a new status, like Step 5:<\/strong> The status you\u2019ve created will appear in the Unmapped Status column. Simply drag it to the column you\u2019d like to associate it with. This way, when a user changes the status of a work item from the work item (issue) view, the ticket will automatically move to the corresponding column. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also remove statuses from the Columns tab. Hover over the status you\u2019d want to remove, and click on the button with the x at the top right corner of the status. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re using a company-managed project, you can add, remove, and modify statuses by editing the workflow directly. This option typically requires Jira admin permissions (or a project admin with access to workflow configuration), so some team members won\u2019t see these settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team-managed projects work differently: you usually add statuses from Board settings – Columns instead of editing a workflow scheme<\/p>\n\n\n\n This method is a bit trickier, but it also offers more functionality. For instance, you\u2019ll be able to set up transitions between your statuses making sure that the new tasks with a certain status can only flow in a specific way. For instance, you can set up your workflow so that a new task must always go through a review or QA check before being moved to done. You can learn more about managing a workflow in Jira from this guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 1<\/strong>: On the right side of the dashboard, click on the \u2018Cog\u2019 icon and choose the \u201cwork items\u201d option. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 2:<\/strong> Select the \u201cWorkflows\u201d menu, find the workflow for the project you\u2019d like to modify, and click on the menu with three dots to edit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 3:<\/strong> I\u2019d suggest selecting the Diagram view. This will make editing the workflow a bit simpler and more intuitive. Click the \u201cAdd status\u201d button and either type in the name of your new status or select one from the drop-down menu. Don\u2019t forget to click on the checkbox to allow other statuses to transition to your new one (if that\u2019s something you need).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 4<\/strong>: Once the status is on the diagram, drag it into the place you\u2019d like it to be. The dragging itself doesn\u2019t serve a functional purpose, but it makes the workflow much more readable. Then, click on the status to edit it. Select the category you\u2019d like to associate the status with, just like I did in the previous example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 5:<\/strong> Finally, you can adjust the transitions. Click on the arrow to edit the transitions. You can also set up additional functionality from this screen. For example, you can set up triggers that will automatically update the status of a ticket based on a certain event, like the creation of a pull request or rejection of code review. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jira statuses are more than labels. They directly shape what Jira shows about sprint health, progress, and bottlenecks. The fastest way to see status distribution during a sprint is Sprint insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Sprint insights panel, start with Sprint progress. It groups work into three status categories:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hover over the progress bar to see the exact split in story points and percentage. For example, Jira can show details like In progress: 29\/97 points (30%) or To Do: 14\/97 points (14%). This helps you spot \u201chidden\u201d work when custom statuses exist (like In Review or In QA) but still roll up into To Do \/ In Progress \/ Done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the same Sprint insights panel, check Work items for attention. It highlights items that are stuck, blocked, or flagged, and it also shows their current status (for example, In Review or In QA). That\u2019s often the quickest way to confirm where work piles up and which workflow step needs fixing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your sprint is linked to several epics, Epic progress shows progress per epic in a compact view. This is useful when stakeholders ask, \u201cWhich epic is actually moving?\u201d even when the sprint overall looks \u201cgreen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sprint progress tells you what\u2019s happening now. Velocity tells you what \u201cnormal\u201d looks like for your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check the Velocity report to understand your average completed story points per sprint. Then compare it to Sprint progress:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sprint Insights shows distribution. It won\u2019t tell you where work gets stuck<\/em> across the workflow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cycle time analysis does. It answers questions like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A practical approach many consulting teams use is exporting issues into a spreadsheet and calculating time-in-status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where custom statuses become very valuable. If you see that tickets spend the longest time in QA, you get a clear signal to check staffing, test scope, or handoff rules before you change the workflow again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you work in Jira Cloud, you can now build status-focused reporting directly in Atlassian Home using the new Home Dashboards<\/a> (open beta). Instead of relying only on classic Jira dashboards and individual project reports, Home Dashboards are designed for a unified view across projects, teams, and goals, with optional AI-powered insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To access Home Dashboards, an org admin needs to opt in via Atlassian Administration. Please note that Home Dashboards is in beta, subject to rollout limitations, and UI\/steps may change.:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Home Dashboards are useful when you want a real-time view of how work moves through To Do – In Progress – Done, or when you need a dashboard that\u2019s easy to share with stakeholders:<\/p>\n\n\n\n With AI (Rovo) enabled for Home Dashboards, you can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Home Dashboards are meant to be editable and reusable: you can create dashboards from templates, customize layouts, and share them for collaboration. There\u2019s also an in-product Give feedback option during the beta, which is worth using if you hit limitations around metrics or custom fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Custom statuses only help if work items move through them consistently. That\u2019s where Jira automation and workflow rules can take pressure off the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many Jira teams automate common status actions, for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Automation can also support stronger workflow discipline. You can add validations so an issue can\u2019t move to the next status unless required fields are filled in, or a checklist step is completed. That reduces \u201chalf-done\u201d tickets and keeps your Jira workflow clean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want practical automation examples and patterns (without turning your Jira project into a rules maze), here\u2019s the comprehensive guide on jira automation<\/a> use cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Custom Jira statuses help you reflect how work really moves through your workflow. Once you align statuses with To Do, In Progress, and Done, you can track sprint progress in real-time, spot bottlenecks through cycle time analysis, and communicate clearly with stakeholders using dashboards. Add automation rules where it makes sense, and your Jira project becomes easier to manage, easier to report on, and easier to scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/titanapps.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/status-task-1024x484.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow do you create and add more statuses to the defaults?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/strong>Use it when a work item is waiting for a code review<\/strong> (peer review, PR review) before it can move forward. This makes review queues visible and helps teams spot bottlenecks.
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Use it when development is done and the work item is ready for the testing phase<\/strong>. It\u2019s a clean handoff from engineering to QA.
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Use it when QA is actively validating the change. This is helpful if testing takes time and you want to track test execution separately from \u201cdone.\u201d
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Use it when progress is impossible due to dependency, environment issues, missing access, or external approvals. This prevents \u201cstuck work\u201d from hiding inside generic statuses like \u201cIn Progress.\u201d
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nReady for Review <\/code>(because the review has technically not happened yet), an work item with this status will also not appear on the board. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/titanapps.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/category-1024x560.png\")
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAdd custom statuses in workflows<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/titanapps.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/settings-issues-1024x937.png\")
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nUsing statuses in reports<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Use Sprint insights to see sprint progress by status category<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nUse \u201cWork items for attention\u201d to catch blockers tied to statuses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Use Epic progress for status-based rollups<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/titanapps.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/epic-progress_jira-status.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nBenchmark sprint capacity using the velocity report<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nUse Atlassian Home Dashboards to track status-based metrics (Jira Cloud, open beta)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to enable Home Dashboards (admin steps)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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If you want AI features in dashboards, admins can also enable Atlassian Intelligence for dashboards during activation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nWhat to track there (examples tied to Jira statuses)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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