If your Workspace has evolved and you’re moving from Projects to Custom Fields for organizational dimensions, this guide walks you through a bulk reassignment.
Why migrate? Custom Fields are more flexible than Projects: a Story can have multiple Custom Field values (e.g., both “Frontend” and “High Priority”) but only one Project. If you’re using Projects solely to tag work by priority, system, or area rather than to group cohesive deliverables, Custom Fields give you more power with less overhead.
Step 1: Plan Your Mapping
List the Projects you’re using for classification (not deliverables), and map each to a Custom Field value:
| Current Project | Target Custom Field | Target Value |
|---|---|---|
| Priority: P1 | Priority | P1 |
| Priority: P2 | Priority | P2 |
| System: Backend | Technical Area | Backend |
| System: Frontend | Technical Area | Frontend |
This mapping ensures you don’t lose historical context and makes bulk edits straightforward.
Step 2: Enable or Create Custom Fields
Confirm your target Custom Fields exist in Settings > Custom Fields. If you’re using predefined fields (Priority, Technical Area, etc.), they’re already available. If you need new dimensions, create Advanced Custom Fields now.
Step 3: Bulk Reassign via Editing
Use bulk edit to move Stories from Projects to Custom Fields:
- On the Stories page or All Work table, filter by the first Project you’re moving from (e.g., “Project = Priority: P1”)
- Select all Stories in the filtered view (checkbox in header)
- Click Edit # Stories (bulk edit button)
- Choose the target Custom Field (e.g., “Priority”) and set the value (e.g., “P1”)
- Click Update
Repeat for each Project-to-Custom-Field pair until all Stories are reassigned. Use the Projects filter menu to check your progress and confirm all Stories have been moved.
Tip: Coordinate with your team before bulk edits; let them know you’re reclassifying work so they don’t get confused by sudden Project changes in their views.
Step 4: Train Your Team
Share the new Custom Field structure with your team in a quick async video or wiki post:
- Which Custom Fields to use for what (e.g., “Always set Severity for bugs, Priority for features”)
- Link to this article and the Custom Fields Overview for reference
- Show examples of Stories correctly tagged
Step 5: Archive Old Projects
Once all Stories are reassigned, archive the old Projects you no longer need. This declutters the Projects dropdown and prevents future use. Keep Projects that represent actual deliverables or initiatives.