How do I compare a date field in a Discovery Space?

[Amy Everitt]

Hello,

I have been trying to set up an automated email in a discovery space. I want it to trigger when a custom date field (named Target Date) is 7 days away from today's date.

I can see how to do it using JQL in a software space, but a discovery space does not seem to be able to use JQL for date fields.

How would I go about creating this automation in a discovery space?

Thank you in advance for any help.

[Bill Sheboy]

Hi @Amy Everitt 

First thing: your field name "Target Date" is very similar to the names of a couple of built-in fields.  Please use caution to ensure you access the correct field, perhaps using the custom field ID within rules.

Next, Jira Product Discovery (JPD) uses its own date format with JSON represented as text, allowing the selection of a single date, a quarter, or a range of dates.  I do not believe JQL supports queries against such dates yet.

And unfortunately, global date and date / time picker fields cannot be added to JPD spaces.

A workaround for your scenario is to use a combination of JQL and rule handling for JSON:

• create your JQL to narrow down the possible Ideas to check, ignoring your JPD date field for now, running the rule daily
• add a smart values condition to check the value using the jsonStringToObject() function 
  • smart values condition
    • first value: 
      • {{now.diff(jsonStringToObject(issue.customfield_12345).start.toDate).days}}
    • condition: equals
    • second value: 7
• continue with the rule steps

Please test that condition to match your needs, perhaps by first just writing to the audit log rather than sending emails.

Finally, you appear to be on a Free license level.  If that is the case, please take note of the service limits for automation as this rule will use "one usage" each time it runs and sends an email.

https://support.atlassian.com/cloud-automation/docs/how-is-my-usage-calculated/#What-are-my-usage-limits

If you run into the limits, consider other ways to manage this date value, such as with a JPD view or dashboard to provide visibility.

Kind regards,
Bill

[Amy Everitt]

Hi @Bill Sheboy 

Thank you very much for your in-depth suggestion. 

I tried it myself, and changed my field to be named 'Expected Finish', as you mentioned in your reply. This is what my automation looks like:

 

I initially had a JQL condition in my scheduled block to check for a specific string in a different field, but that gave me an error:

So, I removed the JQL condition so it would progress to the condition block, but that also gave me an error:

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you again for your help with this, I appreciate your time.

[Bill Sheboy]

Thanks for that information, @Amy Everitt 

When a rule shows errors like this for smart value expressions, I recommend adding some log statements for each of the field values.  That will confirm they contain what you expect when the rule runs.  You may use the Log action to do this.

Next, I suspect your field's smart value is not actually "Expected Finish", and so that causes the error.  Smart values are name, case, and spacing sensitive, and often do not exactly match the value shown in the UX.

It might be this one to match the JPD date field naming convention:

"Expected Finish[Interval]"

If that does not work, please use either the { } at the right side of the rule step / field to lookup the custom field ID, or use this how-to article with an example Idea to check it:

https://support.atlassian.com/cloud-automation/docs/find-the-smart-value-for-a-field/

One last thing: if your JPD date field is empty for an Idea, I would expect that smart value expression to not work.  To solve that, add the following to your Scheduled Trigger's JQL expression to only include Ideas with a date value:

AND "Expected Finish[Interval]" IS NOT EMPTY

[Marc -Devoteam-]

Hi @Amy Everitt 

What if you base the rule on a scheduled trigger, in this trigger you can specify a JQL clause.

[Amy Everitt]

Hi!

I tried this first, but the JQL clause does not allow me to use a custom date field input. It says the operators are not supported by the 'Target Date' clause.

[Marc -Devoteam-]

Hi @Amy Everitt 

Can you show the complete JQL, as this is not visible?

Or just use "target date" = startOfDay("+7d")

[Amy Everitt]

Hi @Marc -Devoteam- 

I have tried all of the following options:

• "Target Date" = startOfDay("+7d")
• "Target Date" = startOfDay(7d)
• "Target Date" >= startOfDay(7d)
  AND "Target Date" < startOfDay(8d)

And receive the same or similar warnings each time.

The third option is the one seen in the screenshot.

[Marc -Devoteam-]

Hi @Amy Everitt 

Ah, I tested it now. 

But if you add a date type field to a JDP space, the input is not seen as a date, but text

And you can't add global custom fields of type date to a JPD project.

I can't find any open feture request for this.

[Amy Everitt]

Hi @Marc -Devoteam- 

That makes sense now as to why it was not working.

Is there another way that I can accomplish this then? Or is there a process I should follow to submit a feature request for this?

Thank you for your help.

[Marc -Devoteam-]

Hi @Amy Everitt 

There are currently no ways to accomplish this.

You can raise this at Atlassian Support or create an issue on https://jira.atlassian.com/ 

[Amy Everitt]

Hi @Marc -Devoteam- 

I see, I will be sure to reach out support for more help.

Thank you very much for your help!