Portal behaviour issue with “Request → Category-Subcategory” cascading field update in Customer Port

[Musthafha Sayyad]

Hello Support Team,

We are currently using Jira Service Management and have configured a custom field named Request (radio button) with options such as Packaging and Test. Based on the selection in this Request field, a cascading field Category → Sub-category is configured to dynamically update with corresponding values.

What works:

On the agent side (agent create screen) the behaviour is correct: once the Request field value is selected (either Packaging or Test), the Category field values automatically refresh/update and the correct cascading options appear — no manual page refresh is needed.
This works as expected in the agent view.

What does not work:

On the Customer Portal view, when the end customer selects the Request field value (e.g., Packaging), the cascading Category → values appear as expected. However, if the customer then changes the Request value (for example to Test), the Category options update, but the user cannot select the updated Category until the page is manually refreshed.

In other words, the cascading update happens, but the dynamic selection is blocked unless a refresh/blur occurs on portal.

We understand that this may be a known limitation with behaviours/scripts on the Portal.

This behaviour impacts our user experience for customers using the portal (it is confusing, may cause incorrect selections or abandonments).

Impact:

End-users (customers) may pick the wrong Category/Sub-category because the correct ones haven’t yet been selectable.

This may lead to misrouting of requests, extra manual corrections by agents, potential delays and poor user experience.

Because this is in production, we need a reliable and consistent portal experience.

What we’d like from you:

Please confirm if this behaviour is an expected limitation of the portal + behaviour scripts, or if there is a workaround or fix to allow immediate cascading field updates (and selection) in the Customer Portal without requiring a manual refresh or blur.

If this is a known issue, please provide any roadmap, timeline, or workaround (e.g., using a custom app, script, or alternative configuration) that supports correct dynamic cascading behaviour in the portal.

Advice on whether this behaviour constitutes a bug or enhancement. If it is a bug, please raise a case or provide guidance on how to log it properly.

Best,
Mustafa

[Jason U]

Hi Musthafa,

Excellent and well-documented description 👏 — and yes, what you’re observing is a known limitation with how cascading custom fields behave on the Jira Service Management (JSM) Customer Portal.

Let’s break it down:

🧩 Why this happens:

• The JSM Customer Portal runs on a different frontend framework (React-based), and field behaviors (e.g., ScriptRunner Behaviours or dynamic field refreshes) are not fully supported there.
• While the “Agent View” dynamically refreshes cascading fields instantly, the Portal requires a focus/blur (manual refresh) event before the new sub-options are rendered.
• This has been acknowledged as a frontend rendering limitation, not an automation bug.

✅ What you can do (workarounds):

1. Use Forms (formerly ProForma):
   • Atlassian Forms support conditional logic (e.g., “Show field X when value = Y”), which provides a native dynamic experience without scripting.
2. Use automation triggers (post-create updates):
   • You can create an automation rule to correct or validate cascading selections after the request is created (helps ensure data consistency).
3. Custom App Script (advanced workaround):
   • Some teams inject lightweight JavaScript (via Refined or Theme extensions) to manually trigger refresh on field change — not officially supported, but effective if you control the portal environment.

You’re correct — this is a known UI limitation, not a misconfiguration.
There’s currently no native way to auto-refresh cascading fields on the JSM portal without user interaction, but Forms or backend automation can bridge the gap.

[Musthafha Sayyad]

Hi Taku,

Good day!

We are using Jira datacenter (Jira service management) 10.3.3 version, and we have configured a script runner (9.20.0) behaviour for this configuration.  

Best,
Mustafa

[Ani Taku]

To help narrow this down, could you confirm which platform you using eg Jira Service Management ServiceNow ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus Freshservice etcThe behavior and fix differ slightly by platform but heres a general diagnostic and fix guide that covers the most common causes.