The Structured Data Problem Every software team has metadata that matters: - Customer or client name - Target environment (staging, production) - Risk level or priority - Business value score - Feature area or component - Affected version - Epic or initiative link But generic project management gives you: - Title - Description (dump everything here) - Assignee - Status - Due date Where does the rest go?
The Description Dumping Ground Without custom fields, teams stuff metadata into descriptions: Title: Fix login timeout bug Description: Customer: Acme Corp Environment: Production Priority: P1 Risk: High Affected version: 2.3.4 Actual description of the bug... Problems: - Can't filter by customer - Can't search by environment - Can't sort by priority - Can't report on risk distribution - Parsing descriptions manually = waste The Spreadsheet Workaround Some teams maintain parallel spreadsheets: | Task ID | Customer | Environment | Risk | |---------|----------|-------------|------| | TASK-1 | Acme | Prod | High | | TASK-2 | Beta Inc | Staging | Low | Problems: - Two systems to maintain - Always out of sync - No connection to actual tasks - Extra work for everyone GitScrum: Custom Fields for Any Data GitScrum lets you create structured fields: Field Types: - Text (free-form input) - Number (numeric values) - Dropdown (predefined options) - Multi-select (multiple options) - Date (date picker) - User (team member reference) - Checkbox (yes/no) - URL (links) Create fields that match your workflow.
Examples by Team Type Agency/Client Work: - Client name (dropdown) - Billable (checkbox) - Quote reference (text) - Hours budget (number) - Invoice status (dropdown) Product Team: - Feature area (dropdown) - Business value (number 1-10) - Customer segment (multi-select) - Release target (dropdown) - A/B test variant (text) DevOps: - Environment (dropdown) - Region (multi-select) - Rollback plan (URL) - Change window (date range) - Risk assessment (dropdown) Bug Tracking: - Severity (dropdown) - Affected version (text) - Steps to reproduce (text area) - Browser/OS (multi-select) - Customer impact (number) Creating Custom Fields 1. Go to Project Settings > Custom Fields 2.
Add new field 3. Name it (e.g., 'Customer') 4.
Select type (e.g., Dropdown) 5. Add options (e.g., Acme, Beta Inc, ...) 6.
Set visibility (all tasks or specific types) 7. Save Field appears on all tasks immediately.
Using Custom Fields On Tasks: - Fill in values when creating - Edit any time - Required fields can be enforced - Defaults can be set In Filters: - Filter board by any custom field - 'Show only Acme Corp tasks' - 'Show only High Risk items' - 'Show only Production environment' In Sorts: - Sort by business value - Sort by customer alphabetically - Sort by risk level In Reports: - Group by custom field - 'Tasks by customer' - 'Risk distribution' - 'Hours budget vs actual' Field Scope Options Project-level: - Field available in one project - Different projects, different fields Organization-level: - Field available across all projects - Consistent data structure - Cross-project reporting Task-type specific: - Field only on certain task types - 'Severity' only on bugs - 'Quote reference' only on client requests Required vs Optional Fields Make fields required for: - Data you need on every task - Compliance requirements - Critical categorization Leave optional for: - Nice-to-have data - Fields that don't apply to all tasks Required fields must be filled before task creation. Custom Field Workflows Automation with custom fields: 'When Risk = High': - Add to 'Critical' board - Notify team lead - Require code review 'When Customer = VIPClient': - Priority automatically set - SLA timer starts - Notify account manager Fields drive workflow, not just data.
Importing and Exporting Import: - CSV with custom field columns - Map columns to fields - Bulk create tasks with data Export: - Export includes all custom fields - Proper columns, not description dumps - Analysis-ready data Custom Field Search Search syntax supports custom fields: customer:Acme AND risk:high Find exactly what you need. Reporting on Custom Fields Dashboards and reports can: - Group by any field - Chart distribution - Track over time - Compare values Example reports: - 'Task distribution by customer' - 'Risk level trends over sprints' - 'Business value delivered per quarter' - 'Hours budget utilization by client' Migration from Other Tools Moving from Jira custom fields?
- Export Jira data with custom fields - Create matching fields in GitScrum - Import with field mapping - Data preserved Real Scenarios Scenario 1: Client Billing Without custom fields: - Check each task description for client name - Manually count hours - Miss tasks without proper tagging - Billing inaccurate With GitScrum: - Filter by Client: 'Acme Corp' - Filter by Billable: 'Yes' - Sum time tracked - Accurate invoice in minutes Scenario 2: Risk Management Without custom fields: - Search descriptions for 'high risk' - Hope people wrote it consistently - Miss critical items - Surprises in production With GitScrum: - Filter by Risk: 'High' - See all high-risk items instantly - Dashboard shows risk distribution - Prioritize accordingly Scenario 3: Feature Planning Without custom fields: - Business value mentioned in comments - Inconsistent scoring - No way to rank systematically - Feature decisions by gut With GitScrum: - Business Value field (1-10) - Sort backlog by value - High-value items rise to top - Data-driven prioritization Scenario 4: Environment Tracking Without custom fields: - 'Is this for staging or prod?' - Check description - Ask the developer - Deploy to wrong environment With GitScrum: - Environment dropdown: Staging/Production - Filter deployment tasks by environment - Clear visibility - Fewer mistakes Best Practices 1. Start with what you need Don't create 20 fields day one Add as needs emerge Remove unused fields 2.
Use dropdowns over text Consistent data Easier filtering Better reporting 3. Keep field names short 'Customer' not 'Customer or Client Name' Fits in UI better 4.
Document field meanings What does 'Risk: Medium' mean? Team alignment on definitions 5.
Review periodically Are fields being used? Still relevant?
Consolidate if needed Pricing - 2 users: FREE forever - 3+ users: $8.90/user/month - Custom fields included - Unlimited fields - All field types - Cross-project fields No per-field pricing. No premium tier for custom fields.
Just use them. 5-person team: $26.70/month - All custom fields - Full filtering and reporting - Automation with fields Compared to: - Jira: Custom fields in all plans, but complex to configure - Monday: Custom columns, but limited in lower tiers - Asana: Custom fields in Business tier ($24.99/user) GitScrum: Custom fields for everyone.
The Bottom Line Your data shouldn't live in description text. Structured fields mean: - Filterable data - Searchable data - Reportable data - Actionable data GitScrum: Custom fields that fit your workflow.
2 users free. $8.90/user/month.
The GitScrum Advantage
One unified platform to eliminate context switching and recover productive hours.
