Issues and Work Items

Jira historically calls tracked records issues; current interfaces may say work items. A story describes user value, a task represents general work, a bug captures incorrect behavior, an epic groups a large outcome, and a subtask splits execution under one parent.

Illustrated training screen. Jira labels and controls can differ between Cloud, Data Center, company-managed, and team-managed projects.

Step-by-step

1. Choose the work type from meaning, not from who requested it.
2. Write a specific summary using an action and outcome.
3. Add context, acceptance criteria, priority evidence, and relevant links.
4. Assign an owner only when responsibility is accepted.
5. Split oversized items; use subtasks for execution steps that need the parent's context.

Worked example

Example story: “As a returning customer, I can reset my password so that I regain account access.” Acceptance criteria should describe observable results, including invalid and expired links.

Practice task

Recreate the example in a sandbox project, record what you changed, and explain which team decision the configuration supports. Never experiment with production permissions, workflows, or automation without an approved change plan.