Moving to Cloud is a useful point to check who approves requests, what information they need and where they make their decisions. A successful data migration and a usable approval process are related, but they are not the same acceptance test.
This guide covers JSM approval workflows and practical migration checks. It does not assume that approvals disappear in Cloud or that every migration needs an app.
Start with what Atlassian actually migrates
Atlassian lists JSM projects, customers, request types, approval custom fields, workflows and queues among the data supported by the Jira Cloud Migration Assistant. App data depends on the migration path provided by the app vendor. Check the current migration scope and exclusions for your migration.
That list is not a guarantee that a custom Data Center approval solution, script or app will behave identically in Cloud. Inventory each dependency and confirm its Cloud equivalent and migration instructions with its supplier. Approval Queue is a Cloud approval interface, not a tool for migrating Data Center workflows or historical approval records.
Separate agent approvals from portal approvals
Agents working in a service project
JSM Cloud includes native bulk approval in the Requires my approval queue. Select the relevant requests, choose Approve and confirm. Use Atlassian’s bulk approval instructions for that workflow. An agent-side bulk transition is not a substitute for checking who is authorised to make an approval decision.
People approving through the customer portal
A manager or other customer-portal approver may never use an agent queue. Atlassian explains that approvers do not need a JSM agent licence, but they must be customers of the service space. Native decisions can be made through supported channels including the help centre and approval email. See how JSM approvals work.
Test the portal experience using the intended approver’s account. An administrator successfully opening a request does not prove that a portal-only approver can see the same details. For the everyday approval steps, see our JSM Cloud bulk approvals guide.
Check the workflow before adding another interface
For company-managed Cloud service projects, the approval setup connects approver fields with an approval step on a workflow status. Team-managed projects configure approvals differently. Follow the documentation for the actual target project type: company-managed approval setup and company-managed versus team-managed approvals.
In a test migration, record the expected approvers, required decisions and resulting status for each important request type. Check both approval and rejection. Include requests already awaiting a decision as well as requests created after migration; compare the observed results with the agreed business process.
Also review account mapping. Atlassian documents how existing Cloud accounts and migrated customer accounts are linked. Confirm the intended account can sign in and is the one assigned to approve; see JSM customer migration guidance.
A practical approval acceptance checklist
Use safe test requests and named business reviewers. These are suggested tests, not claims about migration defects.
- Access: sign in as a real test approver, including a portal-only account. Confirm intended requests are visible and unrelated restricted requests stay inaccessible.
- Context: verify that the approver can read the information needed to decide. Check the actual request type and field values, not just the request summary.
- Decision: approve one request and decline another. Confirm the recorded decision and resulting Jira status separately.
- Multiple approvers: use a request requiring more than one decision. Check what remains pending after the first person acts.
- Changes during review: have a second authorised tester change a test request before the first tester submits. Check that the displayed outcome matches Jira’s current state.
- Notifications and evidence: confirm the right people receive the expected notifications and can find the decision in Jira. Record any follow-up work before sign-off.
Where Approval Queue fits
If portal approvers regularly review several requests, Approval Queue gives them one place in the customer portal to see native approvals awaiting their own decision. They can review details, select up to 25 requests, confirm an Approve or Decline batch and inspect the result for each request.
A project administrator can configure up to three eligible portal-visible context fields per supported request type. Jira still controls visibility, approval permissions, workflow rules and audit history. Queue does not grant access or choose the decision, and one person’s approval may leave a multi-approver request pending.
For example, a manager might review eight access requests, approve six that have sufficient detail and leave two for investigation. Those numbers describe an illustrative process, not a customer result. If a request becomes unavailable during a batch, inspect its individual result rather than assuming every request succeeded.
Ask a Jira site administrator to review the Marketplace listing and current evaluation terms. After installation, the portal user menu contains Bulk Approvals. Use the configuration and approver documentation to test your actual request types. The native portal remains a reasonable choice for occasional approvals.
Disclosure: PezTech Software builds and publishes Approval Queue. Product capabilities in this guide are limited to the public 4.1.0 release verified on 9 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Does moving to Cloud remove bulk approvals?
No general claim like that is justified. JSM Cloud documents native agent-side bulk approval. Check the separate portal experience and any app-specific Data Center behaviour against your requirements.
Will every approval customisation migrate unchanged?
Do not assume so. Review Atlassian’s migration scope and your app vendors’ instructions, then test representative workflows and accounts in the target site.
Does Queue migrate approval history or rebuild workflows?
No. Queue presents pending native Cloud approvals and submits the signed-in approver’s selected decisions. Migration and workflow configuration remain separate work.
Does a recorded decision mean the request is fully approved?
Not necessarily. Other approvers or workflow requirements may still be outstanding. Check the native Jira request and the refreshed outcome.
Should every portal approver use a bulk interface?
No. Choose based on the number of decisions and the context needed to review them. Test the native route first; evaluate Queue where reviewing several pending approvals together would help.