Summary

There is ongoing customer feedback regarding the differences in how Jira Align and Jira represent workflow progress, particularly around the concepts currently labeled as "process step" and "state" in Jira Align versus "status" and "status category" in Jira.

These differences can make it challenging for administrators and end users to manage and report on work consistently across both platforms. As Jira Align continues to evolve in alignment with Atlassian Cloud standards, there is an opportunity to bring greater consistency and clarity to workflow management.

Enhancement

It is proposed that the Jira Align product team update the platform’s workflow model to adopt Jira's terminology and behavior—specifically, transitioning from "process step" to "status" and from "state" to "status category."

This adjustment would help unify the experience across Atlassian products, making integration and synchronization between Jira Align and Jira more straightforward.

Additionally, aligning the visual representation—such as using status category colors for statuses in Jira Align—would further enhance usability and reduce confusion.

This enhancement seeks to modernize Jira Align’s workflow concepts, making them more intuitive and consistent with the broader Atlassian ecosystem.