Require duplicate issue link type when issue is marked Duplicate

[Kirtana Suresh]

Hi everyone,

We've added a transition called "Mark Duplicate" which moves to mark the issue as resolved. We're wondering if we could make it mandatory to link the duplicate issue in particular while transitioning?

I've added a custom screen to the transition, with a validator, that makes "Linked issues" field mandatory while transitioning.

However, the user is then allowed to choose from a list of "link issue types" (duplicates, clones, relates etc)

Is there a way to restrict it only to "duplicates"?

[Gaurav · Accepted solution]

Hello @Kirtana Suresh 

I am not aware of any way to restrict the options from the list of "link issue types".

An alternate solution can be the usage of the Automation rule. This will even reduce the effort required from the end users. Let me know if you need help with the rule.

Hope this helps!!

[Kirtana Suresh]

Thanks @Gaurav ! Yes please, I'd like to know more about using Automation for this scenario. What would you suggest?

[Gaurav]

Hello @Kirtana Suresh 

To set up the Automation, the trigger would be when the issue transitions from 'Ready for Review' to 'Close' status; then in actions you can link the issue as well as add comments.

Please refer to the documentation from Atlassian here.

[Kirtana Suresh]

Ah that might not work for us because the duplicate issue needs to be chosen by the user. If I was to do it via automation, it would choose "Trigger issue" or "Most recently created issue" as the duplicate issue (looking at the actions).

[Gaurav]

Hello @Kirtana Suresh 

This would be interesting!!

If you can share, please let me know how do you decide if an issue is duplicate or not? Is it based on the matching summary or are there any other criteria?

I am not sure but believe and think that there could be a way to identify the issue to be linked and would like to explore this further with you!!

[Kirtana Suresh]

Hey @Gaurav , there isn't much thought to our duplicate marking process, I'm afraid. Sometimes multiple end users may report the same issue to the developers and they will mark it as duplicate. It's more of a visual scan right now.

Maybe if there was a way for the automation to suggest duplicate issues by grouping similar topics within a certain timeframe? I might have to explore that.