Can rule run for both subtasks and tasks?

[deseymour]

I have a simple rule that says to transition a work item parent to In Progress when the child is transitioned to In Progress. This works great when a subtask is moved to In Progress. However, I would also like the Task that is transitioned to In Progress to trigger the rule so the Epic is put In Progress. So, I want the subtask being put into In Progress to move the Task to move to In Progress AND the Task to move the Epic to In Progress. Is this possible?

[Marshall Walker Lee · Accepted solution]

Yes, this is possible by creating a Jira automation rule that uses a "Branch rule" and the "Issue transitioned" trigger. The rule can be set up to trigger when any sub-task or task is transitioned to "In Progress," and then a separate branch will handle the parent issue by checking its linked sub-tasks and transitioning the parent accordingly. This creates a chain reaction: the sub-task's transition triggers the rule, which moves the parent Task to "In Progress," and this action then triggers the same rule again, which moves the Epic to "In Progress".