Record the occurrence of repeating issues through a Task

[Utsav Kothari]

Hi, we have created a space called "Issue Log" which will act as a repository and record all the production issues that occur. It's pretty simple - we create a Task -> Add all the issue related details in the Title, Description and other custom fields. We're also recording the Root Cause of the issue in the task itself before closing it once the issue is resolved.

But, some issues can be repeating multiple times or may be re-occur even before we have closed the task for it's previous occurrence. To address this, and to not create new tasks for the same issue over & over, we're looking for a way to somehow record the occurrence of the issue in the 1st Task created for it. Basically, it's like a counter that will get +1 every time the issue occurs.

For this, I have thought of 2 ways -

1. Create a custom field "Occurrence count" & the user has to manually update the count every time the issue occurs.

OR

2. We can reopen the existing issue Task and the counter automatically gets +1 if the Task is moved to re-opened status. But is this possible to do with Jira automations?

So far, these are the solutions that we could think of. If you have any other process which may be you're already following or are aware of, please help me here.

[Germán Morales _ Hiera]

Hi @Utsav Kothari ,

Your second option works. Build an automation rule with the Work item transitioned trigger, set to the transition into your Reopened status, and one Edit work item action that sets the Occurrence count field using this math smart value:

{{#=}}{{issue.Occurrence count|0}} + 1{{/}}

The |0 gives an empty field a starting value of 0, so the first run lands on 1, and watch for a stray trailing space after you paste the smart value, which is a common reason it silently fails. You can reference the field by name as above, or by its id like {{issue.customfield_XXXXX}}. The syntax is covered in Examples of using math expression smart values.

One gap to plan for: you mentioned an issue can recur before its task is even closed, and a transition trigger only fires when there is something to reopen, so it will not catch a recurrence while the task is still open. A pattern that covers both states is a manually triggered rule with an action button on the work item, for example "Log occurrence", that runs the same +1 edit. Someone clicks it each time the issue happens, whether the task is open or closed, with no manual number editing. If you want a history rather than just a number, have that rule also add a comment with the date ({{now}}) so every occurrence is logged next to the count.

[Utsav Kothari]

how can I set up this manual rule with an action button?

[Germán Morales _ Hiera]

It lives in the work item's Actions menu rather than as a separate button on the screen, and you set it up like this:

• In your project's settings, open Automation and create a new rule.
• For the trigger, choose Manually triggered. You can restrict which groups are allowed to run it if you do not want it open to everyone.
• Add an Edit work item action and set Occurrence count to {{#=}}{{issue.Occurrence count|0}} + 1{{/}}, the same expression from before.
• For a history rather than just a number, add a Comment on work item action too, for example Occurrence logged on {{now}}.
• Name the rule and turn it on.

To use it, open the work item, click Actions at the top, and pick the rule. It runs immediately. One quirk: the work item does not refresh by itself, so reload the page to see the count update.

[Utsav Kothari]

thank you for the detailed response. let me try this & get back to you with the feedback.