An issue appears in the Workfront database as an opTask.

You can use the opTask reference to issues in the following contexts: 

• When you create a text mode custom report for issues, and you want to reference issues in views, filters, groupings, or prompts. 
  For more information about using text mode in a report, see "Understanding Text Mode."
• When you pull information about issues using our API.
  For more information about the Workfront API, see "Workfront API."
• When you update issue fields in a Kick-Start data importer sheet. 
  For more information about importing data in Workfront using a Kick-Start, see "Importing Data into Workfront Via Kick-Starts."