Untangling the Jira Knot: Why More Isn't Always Better

Hi, its me, your friendly neighborhood Jira whisperer.

After 15 years of working with teams across industries, I’ve seen it all: Jira projects so loaded with custom fields, tangled workflows, and automations that just opening a ticket feels like triggering a Rube Goldberg machine. If you've ever muttered “Jira is the worst” under your breath while updating a status field, this post is for you.

Let me be clear—I love Jira. I really do. I can make it dance. But just because Jira can do something doesn’t mean it should. And that's the trap so many teams fall into.

 The “More is More” Mindset

When companies first roll out Jira, there’s often an impulse to use all the features. Complex workflows? Sure! Thirty different issue types? Why not! Custom fields for every possible edge case? Load 'em up! Someone in a meeting says, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could track the status of approvals for each task by department with color-coded transitions and a custom dropdown?” And suddenly, your ticket workflow has 12 statuses and 30 transitions… for a 6-person engineering team that works with one designer.
Spoiler: it doesn’t need to be this complicated.

 When Jira Becomes the Enemy

I usually get called in when the team is burnt out—not from the work itself, but from navigating the maze Jira has become. No one knows what fields are actually required, updates get skipped because no one has time to fill out ten dropdowns, and team members are quietly (or not-so-quietly) keeping track of work elsewhere just to stay sane.

It’s not that Jira is broken. It’s that the setup doesn’t match the team’s actual needs.

 Start Simple

If I could give one piece of advice to every team setting up Jira, it would be this: start simple.

• Use workflows with just a few core statuses -> and for the love of Taylor Swift, just set all status to "Allow all status to transition to this one."  
• Automate the boring stuff—notifications, handoffs, close stale tickets.
• Only add custom fields you’re actively using (and hide the ones you're not!)
• Don’t design for every possible “what if”—design for how your team works right now. 

All of this simple setup can be changed later. If you really need more complex setup, Jira has the power to unleash it at any time. Think of Jira like a Swiss Army knife. Yes, it has a mini saw and a toothpick. That doesn’t mean you need them to open a bottle of wine.

 Jira Should Help, Not Hinder

Jira is powerful—but power without purpose just creates noise. When configured thoughtfully and simply, it can be one of your team’s most valuable tools. When overloaded, it turns into a confusing, slow-moving beast that no one wants to deal with. 

Let's face it, it's not a cheap tool. Get the most value out of it by setting it up in a way that ensures that your teams consistently use it and you can pull clear metrics out of it. You don’t need a bazooka for a spitball fight. Jira doesn’t have to be scary. And if you’re already knee-deep in a tangled mess, don’t worry—I love a good cleanup.

Let’s make Jira work for you—not the other way around. Want help simplifying your Jira setup? Let’s talk!