How to restrict field editing to specific users in Jira Cloud

Summary

There are scenarios where it's necessary to restrict users from editing Jira work items, including the assignee, to prevent changes to the work items' Summary, Description, and other fields. However, the assignee or another specific user may be required to edit specific custom fields. While there is no direct way of doing so, we can achieve it to some extent via Workflows.

Solution

Enforce editing permissions on workflows

To allow only the assignee (or another specific user or group) to edit certain custom fields while restricting other edits, follow these steps:

1. Create a Screen - Design a new screen that includes all the custom fields the user should be able to update.

2. Remove the fields from any Edit and Create screen. Keep it only on the View Screen and the newly created screen.

3. Add the Screen to a Workflow Transition - Associate this screen with a specific workflow transition where you want the user to update the fields.

4. Add Validators to the Transition - Use the "Field Required Validator" to enforce that the custom fields must be updated during the transition.

5. Add a Condition to the Transition

   • Implement the "Only Assignee Condition" or "User Is In Any Project Role" to ensure that only the assignee or users with a specific project role can perform this transition.

   • You can also add an additional condition to allow administrators to execute the transition without being the assignee (optionally).

6. Publish the workflow to activate it.

By following these steps, we can ensure that the assignee has the necessary permissions to update specific custom fields, without compromising the integrity of other issue data.