Create and manage issue severities

Introduction to issue severities

A severity can be used to indicate how severe an issue is or how it might impact the work being done.

The Severity field can be accessed in the Issue Details. It can also be included in column views on lists and in custom reports.

Workfront has five default severities:

• Cosmetic
• Causes Confusion
• Bug with workaround
• Bug with no workaround
• Fatal error

System administrators can rename these default severities or create new ones, if needed.

Severities are available only for issues in Workfront.

Create and manage issue severities

As the system administrator, you can create new severities, if needed, to complete the workflow of the issue.

1. Click Setup in the Main Menu.
2. Expand the Project Preferences section in the left menu panel.
3. Select Severities.
4. Click Add a New Severity.
5. Give the severity a name that matches its intended use.
6. The Importance number matches the seriousness of the issue. The highest number corresponds with the highest severity. The Importance number must be unique.
7. Select a color for your priority. This is used in chart reports and other places in Workfront.
8. Designate one of the severity options as the Default Severity. This is applied automatically to all new issues in Workfront.
9. Include a description of the severity, such as how it will be used.
10. Click outside of the fields to save.

Modifying severities

If a severity no longer becomes relevant to your issue workflows, it can be renamed, hidden, or deleted.

If a severity is no longer needed, Workfront recommends you hide the severity (click the Hide box next to it in the setup area). This removes the severity option from the drop-down menu on the issue, but it retains the severity on historical data so it’s still available for reporting purposes.

Workfront recommends that you do not delete a severity that has been used on past issues. When you delete a severity, it asks you to substitute another severity. This can change historical data and affect reporting.