Auto-Assign to On-Call responder with dynamic teams

[Derek Fields _RightStar_]

This is a suggestion for the Atlassian Automation team. Currently, the "Assign Work Item" action in Automation allows assignment to "On-Call responder" with a static team selection. It would be extremely helpful to be able to use a smart-value here to provide the Team Name (ideal) or the team id (less than ideal but acceptable). This way, we can have an automation that responds to a team being selected during ticket creation or triage and having the automation being done automatically without having a list of if-else statements to cover every possible team.

I would have opened a JAC request, but that space doesn't allow new public suggestions.

[John Funk]

Hi Derek,

Unless I am missing something in your question, you are wanting to assign a ticket in the JSM project to a Team. Correct? If so, you cannot assign a ticket to a Team, only an individual. 

[John Funk]

Also, let me ask some more clarifying questions. Is this for the Alert? Or is this for an Incident that gets created as a result of the Alert? What is the issue type of the work item being created? 

[John Funk]

@Derek Fields _RightStar_  - Are you able to answer the questions above?

[Derek Fields _RightStar_]

@John Funk this has nothing to do with alerts. We have set up the Service Desk for standard ITSM kinds of tickets. There are different teams that have been created and they have set up their on-call schedules. When a ticket comes in from the portal, we want to assign it to the person who is on-call for the team that handles that kind of ticket. Work type is irrelevant here - it could be an Incident or a Service Request. The point is to auto-assign it to the person on the team who is currently responsible for receiving new work. 

I hope that clarifies things. Thanks for jumping in.

[John Funk]

Thanks for the clarification. How many different teams per request type are potentially involved? I know you don't really want to use the IF/ELSE logic, but if it works???

[Bill Sheboy]

Hi @Derek Fields _RightStar_ 

Yup, I remember when they removed that permission for the AUTO project in JAC.  I believe it happened at the same time as when they hid the old Code Barrel backlog, blog, etc.  Oh well...

There is a related open suggestion for using a smart value the assign action: https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/AUTO-2188

You could either add a comment to that one, or work with your Product Admin to contact Atlassian Support and ask them to create a new suggestion in JAC: https://support.atlassian.com/contact#/

Kind regards,
Bill

[Derek Fields _RightStar_]

@Bill Sheboy Thanks for the pointer to the JAC ticket. I don't like piggy-backing new requirements onto an existing issue. I don't like it when people do it to me, so I don't do it to others. 

I am hoping that eventually someone from the Atlassian Team might see this post. I may open a support ticket, but given the current backlog, my hopes of getting it implemented during my (working) lifetime is pretty low.

Derek

[Trudy Claspill]

Hello @Derek Fields _RightStar_ 

Change requests can be submitted through support cases. You can also use the Feedback option under the Help menu within Jira to provide feedback such as change request directly to Atlassian.

I suspect that the reason a smart value is not supported is because after selecting the Team another field is provided from which you select the On Call Schedules for that team. If a smart value was used to select the Team, the action would not be able to present you with a list of the On Call Schedules for the team.

[Derek Fields _RightStar_]

My understanding of the way the action works, is that I select "On-call responder" as the user type and then indicate which team I want it to select from. It doesn't require me to do anything else. All I want is the ability to specify the team by smart-value so that I don't have to have a set of if-else switch statements to cover every possible team selection.

[Trudy Claspill]

Disclaimer: I don't use JSM much.

Looking at the function it appears to me that you are required to select an On Call Schedule applicable to the specified Team. Otherwise how would the action determine which member of the team is on call?

[Marc -Devoteam-]

Hi @Derek Fields _RightStar_ 

I have done this once, but the context might differ.

This was related to alerts, in that time an alert could only have a single team (currently you can add multiple teams on an alert, via the GUI).

So when this was only a single team, it was possible via using the operations API.

I listed all responder teams in a lookup table in the automation, so listing each team and the id of the team.

Then based on the selected team (this was a manual choice in a manual trigger), but should be do able when a team is chosen.

Store the team name in a variable, then find the referencing team in the lookup table and use the smart value from lookup table with the team ID and set this value in the select on call team.

It's in theory, but I got this working setting the team value on an alert to multiple teams

[Derek Fields _RightStar_]

@Marc -Devoteam- Thanks for the response. The problem isn't assigning the Team, but with the Assign To action (which sets the Assignee field). One of the options on that Action is to assign to an on-call responder. However, you can't pick the on-call team via a smart-value. You have to statically pick a team.

[Marc -Devoteam-]

Hi @Derek Fields _RightStar_ 

I think you can just type a smart variable, but as team is only by id, you need the team id, store this in a variable, and use the variable.

{{variable}}, try this out.

In many fields in automation there are option, but you can also just type to add a variable.

[Derek Fields _RightStar_]

@Marc -Devoteam- That field doesn't accept a smart-value. I tried that already.

[Trudy Claspill]

That was what I found too.

Typically when typing in a smart value then below the field it will say "Smart value:" followed by what you typed. You click on that and it saves the smart value into the field.

With this action it got stuck on this for me, not showing the "Smart value" option to click below the entry field.

[Bill Sheboy]

I wonder if one could get the on-call responder with the REST API endpoints using the Send Web Request action, and then use another endpoint, or a JSON expression with an edit work item action, to set the Assignee.