Q4 of 14 · JIRA
What are the standard JIRA issue types and when does a QA engineer use each?
JIRAJuniorjiraissue-typesepicstorybugtask
Short answer
Short answer: Standard types: Epic (large feature), Story (user-facing functionality), Task (non-user-facing work), Bug (defect), Sub-task (breakdown of a parent). QA primarily creates Bugs and Sub-tasks; test-management plugins add Test, Test Plan, and Test Cycle types.
Detail
| Issue Type | Purpose | QA creates? |
|---|---|---|
| Epic | A large body of work spanning multiple sprints (e.g., "Payment overhaul"). Groups related stories. | Rarely — BAs/PMs create these |
| Story | A unit of user-facing functionality ("As a user, I want to…"). The main unit of sprint work. | Occasionally, for test-infrastructure work framed as user value |
| Task | Non-feature work: updating a config, writing documentation, automating a test suite. No "as a user" framing needed. | Yes — automation tasks, test plan creation |
| Bug | A defect in existing functionality. Has Severity, Priority, and Resolution fields. | Yes — primary QA output |
| Sub-task | A breakdown of a Story, Task, or Bug into smaller pieces of work. | Yes — "Write automation for Story X", "Verify fix in UAT" |
| Test (Xray) | A test case managed in JIRA via the Xray plugin. Linked to Stories for coverage traceability. | Yes, if team uses Xray |
| Test Plan / Test Cycle (Xray/Zephyr) | Groups test cases for a release or sprint cycle, records pass/fail per run. | Yes, if team uses test management plugins |
Practical note: Don't create a Bug for expected behaviour the business decided is acceptable ("won't fix"). Use the Won't Fix resolution on the Bug rather than deleting it — this creates a searchable record that the issue was reviewed.
// WHAT INTERVIEWERS LOOK FOR
Clear distinction between Story, Task, and Bug. Awareness of test-management issue types from Xray/Zephyr. The Won't Fix record-keeping rationale.