When you perform a json export of issues in OnPrem Jira server, then try to External System Import in cloud, the import process fails on every issue that has a status that is NOT in the DEFAULT Jira workflow.

So in order for this import function not to be crippled YOU NEED TO FIX THIS and make available the ability to change the default workflow so that we can add the necessary statuses to the default workflow so that the import doesn't fail on 10% or more of the issues being imported.

Hi sonny.dewit,
In case you are up for a cost-effective third party solution that's hosted by Atlassian to avoid the mentioned unnecessary steps in project creation.

Project Templates for Jira offers an efficient way to design custom project templates based on existing projects or Jira's built-in templates within a Jira lookalike user interface.

• Customize the templates configuration to meet your unique requirements

• Give non-admins template specific project creation power 

• Customize the UX & information displayed to non-admins 

• Clone project versions, components and project role actors

• Avoid the technical debt of unnecessary created Jira schemes/configurations

The app is built on Forge with no data egress, no sensible information stored and completely hosted in Atlassian's cloud infrastructure. 
Please let our support know if you have any questions.

+1

Any update on this feature?

Dear Atlassian, can you please give an update on this feature request? It's been 4 years since your last update...

This would be really useful to have ... we just finished a massive Jira clean-up project as none of our reporting was making sense given everyone had created their own workflows, issue names, types etc and all of that could have been avoided if we're able to change the default workflow rather than having users create their own (which will always be a human error point).

Hey sonny.dewit,

Thanks for sharing your experience. We definitely acknowledge that setting up the initial project with a new custom configuration is clumsy and we are working hard to address it. Unfortunately, solving this problem in a really sustainable way that scales down to small teams just getting started with JIRA all the way up to massive enterprises involves some pretty substantial changes. It will take us a while to get something out the door, but rest assured this is something we're working on.

Dave Meyer
Senior Product Manager, JIRA

In the category of feedback for any planned project setup improvements, this is what I've been working through today:

• Create the first of a set of new projects that will use a shared set of workflows, etc.
• Select one of the three default basic project types. This creates a simplified workflow (etc.) tied to this specific project.
• Try to edit the simplified workflow to what the project needed and so it can be used for other projects.
• This seemed like an incorrect way to go, so I throw away the project and its automatically created simplified workflows, schemes, etc. one-by-one and start from scratch.
• I reverse my process and instead first create the workflow (etc.) that I need for the set of projects I'm creating
• (2) I create the first of the set of new projects
• (2) Select one of the three default basic project types.
• Assign the correct workflow (etc.) to the project
• (2) Throw away (one-by-one) the remnant workflows, schemes, etc. that were created when I was forced to select one of the basic project types.
• Create the additional projects using a shared definition.

The "Create project with shared configuration" feature helped a great deal starting with step 10 of this process. But it's still a struggle to create a new project of this type.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for voting and commenting on this issue.

This capability is now available using the new "Create project with shared configuration" feature, which was released to all versions of JIRA at the beginning of October 2015 (JIRA 7.0). When creating a new project, simply click the "Create with shared configuration" link in the bottom-left corner of the dialog, choose an existing project, and a new project will be creating that shares the same workflow scheme (and other schemes) of the existing project. More documentation is available here.

We recognize that this is not exactly the same as setting a workflow scheme as "default". Simplifying project setup, configuration, and maintenance is one of the JIRA team's top priorities right now. We are in the early stages of a big investment in making it easier to get started with a JIRA project and maintain a large number of projects at scale.

We will continue to work in this area and intend to provide more comprehensive support for this in the future.

It's important to understand that we rarely try to implement individual features from jira.atlassian.com, but instead take a holistic look at the problem and use feedback from the comments here and a dozen other sources of customer input to solve the core problems.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or feedback.

Regards,
Dave Meyer
dmeyer@atlassian.com
Product Manager, JIRA Platform

That's a great idea I wasn't aware of, thanks. I've just created a template project and tweaked it a little to be generic so that I can use it as the base for future new projects.
For those who haven't found it yet there's an option at the bottom of the dialog when you create a new project to use a shared configuration.
https://confluence.atlassian.com/adminjira/jira-platform-releases/jira-7-0-0-platform-release#JIRA7.0.0platformrelease-Sharedconfigurationsforprojects