Kayabyte

Get started

1. Create a lock rule

  1. In Jira, go to Settings (the gear at the top right) > Apps, then select Record Lock under Apps in the sidebar. You need to be a Jira admin.
  2. Select New rule and give it a name, for example “Approved changes”.
  3. Choose the projects (open the list, or type part of a name and select Search), and optionally the work types. Leave work types empty for all of them.
  4. Choose when they lock:
    • When they enter a status, for example Approved or Ready for release.
    • When a resolution is set, to keep closed tickets as they were closed.
    • When they are created, with a grace period in minutes for fixing typos.
    The status list shows the statuses of the chosen projects. A new project with Jira’s default workflow has To Do, In Progress and Done; for a first try, pick In Progress. Before using the resolution trigger, check that moving to Done sets a resolution: Jira’s default workflow for new projects does not, so pick the Done status instead.
  5. Choose the locked fields, or switch on All supported fields.
  6. Optional: add exempt groups or project roles that may still change the fields, for example your change advisory board. Leave both empty to check everyone’s changes.
  7. Start with Audit only. Check the preview sentence at the bottom, then select Save rule.

The rule applies from now on: a work item locks the next time it enters the status (to try it, move one into the status and change a locked field). Work items already in the status lock with step 4.

2. Watch the audit log

Open the Audit log tab. Every change to a locked field shows who made it, the value they set, the approved value and the result (in Audit only: Logged). Use the filters and Show to narrow it down. After a week you know which edits are expected and who needs an exemption.

3. Switch to Enforce

Edit the rule, choose Enforce and select Save rule. Changes to locked fields are now put back to the approved value within seconds and logged as Put back.

Changes logged in Audit only were not approved: the approved value is still the one from when the work item locked, so the next change to such a field puts that value back. To approve a work item’s current values, unlock it on the Record lock panel and select Lock now.

4. Lock work items that were already approved

Work items lock the next time their trigger happens. To lock work items that already are in the status (or resolved), select Lock existing work items on the rule. Record Lock shows how many work items Jira found and asks first; select Lock them. It runs in the background: select Refresh to see how many were locked and how many were already locked.

To see why a work item is or is not locked, open Test a work item and enter its key.

5. Use it day to day

Next: How it works.