I think you've got part of the answer here, but are selling it short. Jira is the most complex task-processing rule engine that is also easy enough for a small team to operate, and also has the broadest set of integrated tools of any offering.
You can use Jira as a simple Scrum board, a Kanban board, or you can build enforced-process monstrosities. You can build customer-support / internal-helpdesk workflows, or even model internal work-item-oriented business processes, etc. Now, as you point out, just because you can doesn't mean you should, and many orgs fall into the trap of making issue workflows overly-restrictive. But most companies (I believe) choose Jira before they choose those hairy task workflows. Startups with zero process use Jira.
Also, you can integrate it all together to give good-enough dashboards/roadmaps, good-enough (for some, not me) docs integrations with Confluence, Git integration with Bitbucket etc. -- while there are big issues with these systems, I think it would be myopic to ignore the real benefits of working in one integrated stack where every design doc you write has dynamically-updated labels and auto-complete for each issue you type in.
For context, I use Jira for tasks and don't love it, found Confluence to be really annoying and so I don't use it, and prefer Gitlab to Bitbucket, but I think you have to recognize these unique selling points. If all Jira had to offer was the rule engine it would not be as widely used.
You can use Jira as a simple Scrum board, a Kanban board, or you can build enforced-process monstrosities. You can build customer-support / internal-helpdesk workflows, or even model internal work-item-oriented business processes, etc. Now, as you point out, just because you can doesn't mean you should, and many orgs fall into the trap of making issue workflows overly-restrictive. But most companies (I believe) choose Jira before they choose those hairy task workflows. Startups with zero process use Jira.
Also, you can integrate it all together to give good-enough dashboards/roadmaps, good-enough (for some, not me) docs integrations with Confluence, Git integration with Bitbucket etc. -- while there are big issues with these systems, I think it would be myopic to ignore the real benefits of working in one integrated stack where every design doc you write has dynamically-updated labels and auto-complete for each issue you type in.
For context, I use Jira for tasks and don't love it, found Confluence to be really annoying and so I don't use it, and prefer Gitlab to Bitbucket, but I think you have to recognize these unique selling points. If all Jira had to offer was the rule engine it would not be as widely used.