What is an Issue?

Definition

In JIRA, an "Issue" is the basic unit of work—it can represent a software bug, a task, a user story, an epic, or any other piece of trackable work.

Common Issue Types

• Bug: a defect found in the software.
• Task: a piece of work that needs to be done.
• Story: a small, user-facing piece of functionality.
• Epic: a large body of work that can be broken down into several stories.

Anatomy of an Issue

Every issue typically has a summary, description, priority, assignee, reporter, status, and history of comments and changes, giving a complete audit trail of the work.