Add due date automatically based on start date

[Mateusz Slifirczyk]

Hey,

I've been adding some automation to have the due date be filled in automatically based on the start date. I've noticed though that the same rule will apply to every due date field within the Epic. So for example, if I set it so that the due date is 5 days after start date, it will be like this for every sub-task and child issue. This isn't ideal when different tasks need to have different deadline lengths. Is there a way to make it so that I can have separate rules for each? One method I can think of is having to make a custom field due date for each tasks and set the rules for each, but maybe there's an easier way?

Thanks for the help in advance. :)

[Evgenii · Accepted solution]

Hi, @Mateusz Slifirczyk 

You can have one rule, but you'll need to set there chain of IF/ELSE conditions, to configure due dates, depending on issue type.

[Mateusz Slifirczyk]

I see, so this would make it so that a task would have a different deadline length than a sub-task for example, which is already some progress. If I was to have it based on individual issues though, would that then require more rules and custom fields?

[Rebekka Heilmann _viadee_]

What exactly are you trying to achieve @Mateusz Slifirczyk ?

Are you trying to calculate a due date based on start date and estimated time needed? In your question, you mentioned "5 days after". Is that a set timeframe for all issues or does that vary from issue to issue? If so, you need that information somewhere.

You can use the System fields: Start Date, End Date, Estimated Time.

Rather than having your automation scheduled, it can get triggered by issue changes. You would then have to check, whether any field of your interest has been changed. If the logic is the same for all issue types, you then don't need further if-conditions.

[Evgenii]

If you want to use automatically triggered rule, then you'll need to make different conditions (or different rules).

There is another workaround, if you want to trigger change manually - you can select "Manually triggered" rule, and show field to input required number of days there.

[Mateusz Slifirczyk]

Thanks for the replies. I will try make it more clear to understand, though I think manual trigger might also be an option for this as shown above by @EvgeniiEssentially, I would like for the due date to be automatically populated based on the start date. I have a pre-defined timeframes for how long an issue should take (they will differ, some should take 3 days, some 5 days etc.), so I would need separate rules for each issue to say e.g. for this issue, due date should be set to 5 days from the start date, for another issue it might be 3 days from the start date etc. 

When I've done the basic automation first, it was simply a rule attached to the due date field to say automatically populate this field with a date that is 5 days after the start date, but this will then make every due date within the project work on that 5 days rule which doesn't work for the project. 

I hope this makes more sense.

[Rebekka Heilmann _viadee_]

Unless you branched the rule, all actions should usually only execute on the issue that triggered the rule. That's why I asked for a screenshot of your current automation rule.

Having it triggered anytime the start date is changed would be the correct trigger in your case.

You need one field from which you can decide whether to add 3 or 5 days and so on. It might be Issue Type, it might be something else. Something you can put into JQL and is consistent. So if you want to set something automatically, you cannot do one thing for "one issue" and another thing for "another issue". It has to be one thing for any issues matching one condition (or JQL) and another thing for issues matching a second condition (or simply not the first e.g. all others).

[Mateusz Slifirczyk]

Thanks @Rebekka Heilmann _viadee_ - So the best way would then be to decide what we'll use to determine the days (issue type or I guess a custom field with dropdown options could also work right?), and then base the automation on that.

It would be something like: Trigger when start date is set and the issue type or dropdown option is example, then add n days.

I hope I understood this correctly.

[Rebekka Heilmann _viadee_]

Yep - although syntax in Automation would be

Trigger: Field changed - Start Date

If: issue type = x (or Dropdown value= x)

Then: Edit issue field -> add n days

else if (...)

Then: Edit issue field -> add n days

else (...)

[Mateusz Slifirczyk]

@Rebekka Heilmann _viadee_ - Thanks a lot for your help! I will be working on this in the next couple of weeks so hopefully everything works fine. Worst case I'll seek out some extra support. :)

[Mateusz Slifirczyk]

So just done some testing, and things seem to be working fine. Just a quick question regarding live updating of the field. At the moment, the due date is set depending on the start date, but if I change the start date again, the due date field won't update, is there a way to fix this?

[Rebekka Heilmann _viadee_]

Can you post Screenshots of the Automation rule(s) you created?