How to automate scheduling down a series of linked issues

[Jackie Bilog]

Hello!

I am creating an Epic with a series of stories that block one another. I'd like to use automation to schedule these issues.

I have ten tasks, blocked by one another. The first task blocks the second, the second blocks the third, etc.

What is the best way to build automation logic that will update the start and due date for all these issues if I update the start date of the first task, assuming I have a duration (in days) assigned to each issue?

Essentially, I want to:

Update the blocker item's due date manually and automatically update the start date of the blocked items, based on the due date. Then, I want to calculate the due date of the blocked item based on (start date + duration).

The blocked issue in question (the issue that is automatically updated) also blocks issues of its own. I'd like the automation to run down the series of blocked issues.

I have the automation rule for this handy, but I realized that the next blocked item in the series does not update automatically. How can I do this?

Attached is a screenshot of the automation rule for reference.

[Bill Sheboy · Accepted solution]

Hi @Jackie Bilog 

Are your linked issues in a chain, where you want the updated dates of one to impact the next, and so on?  If so...

Automation branches which could be on more than one thing are executed in parallel.  What this means for your rule is:

• the updates will essentially update in a random order, at the same time, and
• if you planned to have this rule trigger itself to form a chain of updates, neither the ordering nor the likelihood of success are predictable.  (Rule actions can trigger other rules, but if that exceeds the 10 loop limit, rule executions will halt.)

I believe there are two automation and two non-automation workarounds possible:

• Perform each update one-by-one, without branching (or by only branching to a single issue), however this requires knowing all of the issues first
• Use "chained execution" where one rule triggers an Incoming Webhook Trigger rule with the Send Web Request action, passing the list of issues.  This also has the 10 loop limit.
• Investigate marketplace apps which can perform this type of update
• Write your own application outside of Jira to perform the updates using the REST API endpoints

Kind regards,
Bill

[Trudy Claspill]

Adding to this...

I wrote an article on this topic that you may find informative.

Updating dependent task's dates when predecessor task date changes