Campos Personalizados y Pantallas en Jira

Efficient project task management requires meticulous organization of information. Jira, as a leading project management tool, offers a robust field structure that allows you to capture all the details necessary for teams to work in a coordinated and effective manner. Knowing how these fields, both default and custom, work will allow you to tailor the tool to your team's specific needs and optimize workflows.

What are the default fields in Jira and why are they important?

Default fields in Jira are those that come configured by default to capture basic and essential information in any type of task. These standard fields are designed to cover common needs in project management, providing a consistent structure for all issues.

When you enter a task in Jira, these fields are strategically distributed throughout the interface:

• Left side: Generally displays the task title, description and the option to enter comments.
• Right side: Contains detailed information such as:
  • Priority
  • Sprint to which it belongs
  • History points (effort estimate)
  • Original estimate
  • Assigned team
  • Related epic ("Main" field)

These default fields are essential because they provide a consistent structure for all tasks, making it easier to organize and track team work.

How to customize the display of default fields?

Jira allows you to modify which fields appear in each type of issue. To do this:

1. Go to "Project Settings" in the lower left hand side.
2. Look for the "Design" option under "Issues".
3. Select the type of issue you want to modify
4. Drag the fields between the columns to show or hide them.
5. Save the changes

To view all available default fields:

1. In the design screen, select "Go to custom fields".
2. Here you can see all existing fields and their types.

What are screens in Jira and how do they work?

Before delving into custom fields, it is essential to understand the concept of screens in Jira. Screens represent the views where users interact with the fields of an issue, determining which fields are displayed and at what time within the workflow.

There are four main types of screens:

1. Creation screen: Displayed when a new issue is created using the "Create" button.
2. Edit screen: Displayed when editing an existing ticket.
3. Display screen: Appears when querying a specific issue.
4. Transition screen: Configured to appear when a ticket changes from one state to another in the workflow.

To access the display configuration:

1. Go to "Project Settings".
2. Look for the "Screens" section
3. Here you can see the different types of screens configured for each type of issue.
4. By selecting a screen, you will be able to modify the fields it contains, delete them, move them or add new ones.

How to create and use custom fields in Jira?

Custom fields are additional spaces that you can add to any type of incident to capture specific information that is not included in the default fields. These fields allow you to tailor Jira to the unique needs of your team, centralizing all relevant information and ensuring that everyone has access to the necessary data.

Process for creating a custom field:

1. Go to "Project Settings."
2. Select "Issue Design".
3. Choose the type of issue to which you want to add the field.
4. Click on "Go to custom fields".
5. Select "Create custom field".
6. Choose the type of field (text, number, date, selection, etc.)
7. Define a name and a clear description of the purpose of the field.
8. If it is a selection field, add the corresponding options
9. Select the screens you want the field to appear on
10. Save the changes

Practical example: Creating a "Business Unit" field

To illustrate the process, we can create a radial button field (single selection) called "Business Unit":

Name: business unitDescription: allows us to select the business unit to which this task or issue belongs.It is useful to classify and organize the elements according to the strategic areas of the organization, facilitating the analysis and the assignment of responsible persons.Options:- Sales and Marketing- Operations- Technology and Innovation- Finance and Administration

Once created, this field will appear on the selected screens and will allow users to classify incidents according to the corresponding business unit.

What to consider before creating custom fields?

Before creating new custom fields, it is important to ask yourself some key questions:

• What information does my team really need to better manage tasks?
• Do I need to create a new field or can I use one of the default ones?
• What field format is best suited for the information I want to capture?
• Will I be able to generate reports based on the data in this field?
• Will it be useful for defining metrics or making informed decisions in the future?

Keeping the configuration simple and avoiding duplication is critical to ensure that the system is easy to use and that the information is consistent.

The fields in Jira, both default and custom, are powerful tools for structuring your project information. Mastering their configuration will allow you to adapt the platform to the specific needs of your team, improving efficiency and clarity in task management. I invite you to identify a specific need in your project, create a custom field, configure it and test it on a real task, share your experiences and results in the comments!