Work item health
Work item health
CLOUD
The Work item health panel appears on the Jira issue layout and tells you at a glance whether a ticket is on track or needs attention, without opening any chart or leaving the issue.
The panel evaluates key time-based metrics against benchmarks from similar completed work items and shows an overall health status. This helps you spot delays early and take action before a ticket becomes blocked or overdue.
Showing or hiding the panel
The Work item health panel is shown by default on all projects. Jira administrators can hide or show the panel for an entire project.
To hide the panel, click the three dots in the top-right corner of the panel and select Hide from all work items. This will hide the panel across all work items in the current project.
If you see Show for all work items instead of Hide from all work items, it means the panel is currently collapsed on some work items. In that case, first click Show for all work items, and then the option to Hide from all work items will become available.
How benchmarks are calculated
Each metric is compared against historical data from:
Completed items in the same Jira space
Of the same work item type (e.g. only bugs compared to bugs, only stories to stories)
Over the last 3 months (for base-level issue types) or 6 months (for epics and higher)
The panel shows whether each metric is within the typical range (below the 85th percentile), above typical (85thβ95th percentile), or way above typical (above the 95th percentile). Hover over the info icon next to a metric to see the exact typical range and sample size.
To Do tickets
The panel shows Time in current status and Lead time, helping you catch tickets that have been sitting in the backlog longer than expected.
On track - the ticket is progressing through the backlog as expected.
Needs attention - the ticket is taking longer than usual in the backlog. Consider reprioritizing or checking whether the ticket is still relevant.
At risk - the ticket has been in the backlog longer than expected and may be delayed. Review whether it should be moved to a sprint, re-scoped, or removed from the backlog.
In Progress tickets
The panel shows Time in current status, WIP age, and Lead time, helping you identify tickets that are stuck or moving slower than expected.
On track - the ticket is progressing as expected.
Needs attention - the ticket is taking longer than usual in its current stage or overall. Check with the assignee whether there are any blockers. Open the Time in status chart to see if this stage is consistently slow, or the WIP aging chart to compare this ticket's age against other in-progress work.
At risk - the ticket appears stuck or has been in progress significantly longer than expected. Investigate the cause - blockers, unclear requirements, scope creep - and consider reassigning, splitting the ticket, or escalating.
Done tickets
The panel shows Cycle time and Lead time, giving you a retrospective view of how the ticket performed compared to similar work.
Completed on time - the ticket was completed within the expected timeframe. A good reference point for future estimation.
Slight delay - the ticket took slightly longer than usual to complete. Check the Time by status table below to see which stages took longest, and whether this is a pattern worth addressing.
Completed late - the ticket took significantly longer than expected. Open the Cycle time chart to check if this is part of a broader trend, or review the status transition history to pinpoint where delays occurred.
Metrics
Metric | Shown for | Definition |
|---|---|---|
Time in current status | To Do, In Progress | How long the issue has been in its current status |
WIP age | In Progress | Time from the first transition to any In Progress status to now |
Cycle time | Done | Time from the first transition to any In Progress status to the last transition to any Done status |
Lead time | To Do, In Progress, Done | Time from issue creation to the last transition to any Done status |
Time by status
Below the health metrics, a collapsible Time by status table shows a detailed breakdown of the time the issue spent in each workflow status:
Column | Description |
|---|---|
Status | Statuses from the issue's workflow, grouped by status category |
Time in status | Cumulative time spent in that status |
Typical time (50β85%) | The typical range based on completed similar items |
Times entered | How many times the issue entered that status |
Statuses where time exceeds the typical range are flagged with a warning or danger icon:
Β