Learn issue types, fields, screens for Jira Cloud admins: work types and subtasks, field contexts and default values, and screen and work item layout setup.

Every point below comes from Atlassian's official documentation; each section lists its sources.

What this domain covers

1. Topic 1 of 3 · 9 steps + check · 6 minConfigure issue typesTwo models of work types · Creating team-managed work types · Default task labels · When to use epics · and 2 more
2. Topic 2 of 3 · 9 steps + check · 6 minConfigure fieldsTwo places to create fields · What a context changes · Filtering user pickers · Fields in team-managed spaces · and 2 more
3. Topic 3 of 3 · 11 steps + check · 6 minConfigure screens and issue layoutShared configuration · Creating a screen · Editing and deleting screens · Editing the layout · and 4 more

Think first How does the role of a work type differ between company-managed and team-managed spaces?

Why it matters: Questions describe a team's way of working and ask which work types, epics or subtasks to set up and where.

In company-managed spaces, work types are labels that Jira admins wire into schemes. In team-managed spaces, each work type is the container for work, with its own fields and workflow. The space type decides how you configure work types.

Term	Meaning
Work type	The kind of work item, such as story, bug, task or subtask.
Scheme	A company-managed mapping that ties work types to settings like screens and fields.
Epic	A work type that groups related work into a larger body, often over several sprints.
Subtask	A smaller piece of a bug, task or story, created beneath that work item.

Company-managed work types feed schemes; team-managed ones hold the work. A Jira admin maps fields to company-managed work items through a work item screen scheme. A team-managed work type keeps its own fields and its own workflow.

Work types in company-managed and team-managed spaces

Feature	Company-managed	Team-managed
Role of a work type	A label Jira admins combine in schemes	The primary container for the work
Workflows	Only Jira admins create and modify them	Each work type has its own, unique to the space
Sharing with other spaces	Configuration can be shared	Configuration is not shared with any other space

You need the Administrator role with Administer spaces. A team-managed space can hold up to 30 work types. Renaming a work type, or changing its icon or description, updates it everywhere in Jira.

Exam trap You cannot create a custom parent or subtask work type in a team-managed space. Only custom standard work types are allowed.

A new team-managed space starts with Task or Story. Spaces started as Kanban label tasks as Task. Spaces started as Scrum label them as Story.

Use an epic for a larger body of related work. An epic is typically completed over several sprints. A work item can have only one parent. Company-managed work items can join parents only in company-managed spaces, and team-managed ones only in team-managed spaces.

Exam trap Do not create your own work type named Epic. Roadmaps and reports in team-managed spaces only work with the suggested Epic work type.

Use subtasks to break a bug, task or story into smaller tasks. Team-managed spaces enable subtask work types by default. The suggested subtask type also powers board swimlanes and progress tracking. Clearing a parent from the board clears its subtasks too, whatever their status.

Exam trap In team-managed spaces, subtasks cannot sit directly beneath an epic. Unlike company-managed spaces, they go under stories, bugs or tasks.

A restriction applies only to newly created work items. Work items created before the restriction are unaffected. Restricting work items is not possible on the Free plan.

• Company-managed work types are combined into schemes by Jira admins; team-managed ones carry their own fields and workflows.
• A team-managed space allows up to 30 work types, all custom ones being standard types.
• Use the suggested Epic work type so roadmaps and reports keep working.
• Team-managed subtasks go under stories, bugs or tasks, never directly under an epic.

Sources: How do work types differ based on space type? | Jira Cloud | Atlassian Support · Manage and administer team-managed spaces | Jira Cloud | Atlassian Support · Set up work types in team-managed spaces | Jira Cloud | Atlassian Support · Manage epics in team-managed spaces | Jira Cloud | Atlassian Support · Manage subtasks in team-managed spaces | Jira Cloud | Atlassian Support · Migrate between team-managed and company-managed spaces | Jira Cloud | Atlassian Support · Get started with team-managed spaces | Jira Cloud | Atlassian Support

Think first When should a field be shaped by a context, and when should it live in just one space?

Why it matters: Questions describe a field requirement and ask where to create the field, how to scope it, or how to make it mandatory.

Company-managed fields are created by Jira admins and tailored with contexts. Team-managed fields belong to a single space, and every work type in that space can use them. Pick the model that matches who owns the space.

Term	Meaning
Field context	A setup for a field that changes its default value, options or selectable users where it applies.
Team-managed field	A field that lives inside one team-managed space and cannot be shared with other spaces.
Required field	A field that must be filled out before a new work item of that type can be created.
User filtering	A context setting that limits a user picker field to chosen groups or space roles.

Who creates a field depends on the space type. In company-managed spaces, Jira admins create fields in their settings. Team-managed spaces also let you create fields straight from list view.

Company-managed and team-managed fields compared

Feature	Company-managed	Team-managed
Where fields are made	Jira admin settings	Space settings, or while on list view
How a field is scoped	A context changes a field only where that context is used	Contained in its own space; it cannot be shared
Field limit	Up to 700 fields in a space	Up to 50 custom fields in the space

A context tailors one field for where it is used. It can set a default value for open text fields. It can offer a different list of options, or restrict which users can be picked. You open it from the field's More actions menu, under Contexts and default value.

Exam trap A context's default value or alternate option list does not apply everywhere. It shows only where that context is used.

User filtering works only on user picker fields. It applies to the single user and multiple user picker types. You limit names by group or space role, which also hides inactive users.

Exam trap Turning on user filtering without choosing a group or space role does not show everyone. It shows no users at all.

A team-managed field belongs only to its own space. Fields you create there are available to every work type in that space. On several work types, a field keeps one name and description. Checkbox and dropdown options are shared, but each work type can have its own default value.

Exam trap You cannot share a team-managed field with another team-managed or company-managed space. You can still filter by it across the site.

Tick Required on the work type, then save. After saving, new work items of that type cannot be created until the field is filled out. This is how a team-managed space makes a field mandatory.

A number field can show as number, currency or percentage. The format applies to every space using the same field. People entering data cannot change it. Number fields accept values between -1 trillion and 1 trillion.

• Contexts change a field's default, options or allowed users only where the context is used.
• User filtering with no group or space role selected shows no users in the field.
• Team-managed fields cannot be shared with any other space.
• A team-managed space can have up to 50 custom fields.

Sources: Add custom fields to your space | Jira Cloud | Atlassian Support · Configure advanced field options using contexts | Atlassian Support · Customize work item fields in team-managed spaces | Jira Cloud | Atlassian Support · Manage and administer team-managed spaces | Jira Cloud | Atlassian Support · Optimize fields per space | Atlassian Support · Set up work types in team-managed spaces | Jira Cloud | Atlassian Support · Available custom fields for team-managed spaces | Jira Cloud | Atlassian Support

Think first When do you change a screen in the Jira admin panel, and when do you change a space's work item layout instead?

Why it matters: Questions ask who can create, edit or delete a screen, and how to arrange fields for a work type in each space type.

Company-managed spaces run on screens and schemes that a Jira admin configures, and a change reaches every space that uses them. The work item layout arranges fields for one space. Team-managed spaces set fields per work type in their own settings.

Term	Meaning
Screen	A company-managed configuration whose tabs display fields. Jira admins manage it under Work items, then Screens.
Work item layout	How fields are arranged on a space's work items, edited in Space settings, then Work items, then Layout.
Hide when empty line	A divider in the layout. Empty fields below it sit under More fields until they get a value.
Required checkbox	A team-managed field setting that blocks creating a work item of that type until the field is filled.

Company-managed screens and schemes need a Jira admin. A change to a scheme or screen reaches every company-managed space that uses it. So plan the change for all of those spaces, not just one.

Exam trap Editing a shared screen is not a change to one space. Every company-managed space that uses that screen changes too.

Screens live in the Jira admin panel under Work items, then Screens. Open the admin panel from its icon in the top navigation. There you view and edit existing screens, or create a new one with Add screen.

Rename a screen with More actions, then Edit. The same option also changes its description. To delete a screen, first remove its links to screen schemes and workflow transitions.

Exam trap A screen still tied to a screen scheme or a workflow transition cannot be deleted yet. Remove those associations first.

Edit a layout in Space settings, then Work items, then Layout. Open Space settings from More actions (•••) beside the space name. Both Jira admins and space admins can configure the layout, but some screen tasks stay with Jira admins.

What Jira admins and space admins can change

Task	Jira admin	Space admin
Configure company-managed screens and schemes	Yes	No
Configure a screen's tabs	Yes	No, and cannot reorder fields in a tab
Configure a work item layout	Yes	Yes
Copy a layout to other spaces	Yes	No

Empty fields below the line hide under More fields. Fields above the hide when empty line show in the Details group. A field below the line moves up to Details once it has a value.

Exam trap A field below the line is not hidden for good. As soon as it holds a value, it moves to the Details group.

Work types that share a view screen share their layout fields. Tasks and subtasks use the same view work item screen by default. So you configure their fields together as a set, not one at a time.

Only a Jira admin can copy a layout to other spaces. The copy overrides the layouts in the target spaces. It creates no link, so each space can still change its layout later on its own.

Exam trap Copying a layout does not keep spaces in sync. A later change in one space leaves the others as they are.

Team-managed spaces set fields per work type in Space settings. Go to Space settings, then Work types, and pick the work type. Tick Required on a field to make it mandatory for that type, then save.

Exam trap Required does not fill in a value for you. It blocks creating a new work item of that type until someone fills the field.

• A change to a company-managed screen or scheme affects every space that uses it.
• Delete a screen only after removing its screen scheme and workflow transition links.
• Only Jira admins configure screen tabs or copy a work item layout to other spaces.
• In team-managed spaces, you set fields and the Required checkbox per work type in Space settings.

Sources: What are team-managed and company-managed spaces? | Jira Cloud | Atlassian Support · Configure the layout of the work item | Atlassian Support · Customize work item fields in team-managed spaces | Jira Cloud | Atlassian Support · Manage existing work item screens | Atlassian Support · Copy a work item layout to other spaces | Jira Cloud | Atlassian Support