Understanding Request Types and Work Types in Jira Service Management — Simplified for Everyone!

1. Introduction

Have you ever wondered why your customer sees “Report a Problem” but agents see “Bug” or “Incident” in Jira?
That’s because Request Types and Work Types are two sides of the same coin in Jira Service Management (JSM).
They work together to provide a simple, friendly experience for customers — while keeping things structured and technical for agents.

2. What is a Work Type?

Think of Work Types as the core structure of Jira.
They define what kind of work item something is — for example:

• Incident: Something is broken and needs fixing.

• Service Request: Someone needs access to software or hardware.

• Change Request: Someone wants to make a planned change to a system.

These work types help your service team organize and report work efficiently.

3. What is a Request Type?

A Request Type is what your customers see on the JSM portal.
It’s the friendly version of an issue type.

For example:

This means customers don’t have to know Jira terms like “Incident” — they just pick what makes sense to them.

4. Why Mapping Matters

Without proper mapping:

• Customers may see confusing or missing options.

• Agents might not get tickets in the correct workflows.

• Reporting and SLAs could become messy.

By mapping correctly, you ensure clarity for users and consistency for teams.

5. How to Set Up or Adjust Request Type to Work Type Mapping

Here’s a quick step-by-step for admins:

1. Go to your JSM project settings → Request types.

2. You’ll see a list of customer-facing requests.

3. Click a request type (e.g., “Report a Problem”).

4. In the details panel, look for Work Type.

5. Choose which work type it should be linked to (e.g., “Incident”).

6. Save your changes.

Pro tip:
If you want to allow moving requests between projects, make sure both projects have the same issue types or compatible mappings.

6. Real-World Example

Imagine your organization has two JSM projects:

• IT Support (for employees)

• Facilities (for office maintenance)

You might want both projects to handle “Access Requests” similarly.
That means ensuring both have:

• Work Type: “Service Request”

• Request Type: “Access Request”

This way, agents can move or escalate requests smoothly between projects without breaking the mapping.

7. Best Practices

• Keep Request Type names user-friendly (avoid jargon).

• Regularly review mappings when workflows or work types change.

• Align work types across projects if agents need to move issues often.

• Use consistent work types for better reporting and SLA tracking.

8. Conclusion

Request Types make Jira Service Management human-friendly, while Work Types keep it technically structured.
By understanding and mapping them well, you bridge the gap between customers’ language and agent workflows — leading to smoother operations and happier users.

Stay tuned for more Atlassian tips, updates, and best practices — shared every Friday!