Jira Image of the Day: Workflow Diagram Perfectionism

[#1]

Concept Relates To

Application Type	Jira Work Management, Jira Software, Jira Service Management, Jira Core
Deployment Type	Jira Cloud, Jira Server, Jira Data Center

What is shown?

A default workflow shown in diagram mode

Visit: Admin > Issues > Workflows

What can we learn?

Here’s a workflow created by a template in Jira Server and Data Center. There’s nothing wrong with the workflow itself, but I have some opinions about the diagram. Both end users and Jira admins can see the visual representation of a workflow.

The alignment of the statuses and these transition lines drive me crazy! I know my perfectionist ways may sound ridiculous. But put yourself in the shoes of an end user. The first screenshot above shows the original workflow without any changes.

Improved workflow diagram

The second screenshot shows the exact same workflow with small spacing and transition line improvements. Which diagram is less intimidating? Which is easier to read? Which fits better in the overlay end users see? I think my version in the second screenshot is better and I’ll use any tricks I can to make use and adoption easier for end users.

The look of the diagram doesn’t impact workflow functionality at all but there’s no reason it can’t look pretty! To improve the diagram, Jira administrators can simply edit the workflow and re-publish it. It only takes a minute.

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[James Stewart]

I'm on board with making it look neat, but when you want to display the transition labels as well it becomes a bit trickier!

[Matt Doar]

Yes, please at least minimize the number of crossing lines.