Schedule an issue to recur every six weeks

[f_tramnitzke]

Hello,

I want to create a schedule such that an issue recurs every six weeks. I thought of using the recur feature of the due date, but it does, amongst other options, only allow two weeks or month.

I saw, the this feature does create an automation. Yet this automation is read-only.

Neither I, who is owner of this automation and has certain admin rights, nor our Jira admin for the whole instance, has the rights to edit this automaion.

1. Is there a way to circumvent this read-only state?

2. Why does the recur feature of the due date does not allow other occurrences, e.g. an integer number of weeks, when the automation allows it.

3. Why is the automation read-only? There seems no real logic why it should be, because it is a "normal" automation and I am its owner.

The recur feature seems nice in its idea, yet seems like not fully thought through to satisfy customer needs.

Kind regards,

Florian

[John Funk · Accepted solution]

Hi @f_tramnitzke  - Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

Here is an article that should help you achieve what you want to do. 

https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Jira-articles/Creating-a-Flexible-Recurring-Task-Issue/ba-p/2040862

[Arkadiusz Wroblewski]

@John Funk 

Awesome that you fished that out, I was looking lately for something like Article for me to read about that. 

Thank you.

[John Funk]

Well, I wrote it so the fishing was easy haha. 

[f_tramnitzke]

@John Funk thank you for the article. I know, that I can create an automation from scratch to achieve my goals. :) But since there is a seemingly easier way through the "recur" feature, I was wondering why it works in such limiting ways. If all else fails, I'll create an automation myself.

[f_tramnitzke]

As @Arkadiusz Wroblewski stated, there seems no other way than creating a rule from scratch.

[John Funk]

The Recur feature is somewhat limited and will not give you the flexibility you need. So yes, creating from scratch is probably the best way. 

[Olga Cheban _TitanApps_]

Hi, @f_tramnitzke !

I can recommend another option to solve this.

In our team, we use our solution Smart Templates for Jira to handle recurring work items. The idea is simple: you create a template from any work item(s) - with all the fields, descriptions, and child tasks you need - and then set up a schedule for it. The tool will automatically create a new work item from that template at the interval you define.

The scheduler supports custom intervals, so six weeks is not a problem. You configure it once, and every six weeks a ready-to-go work item appears in your project. This works the same way for a stand-alone work item or a whole set of work items - any custom work hierarchy can be turned into a reusable template. No need to build automation rules from scratch or deal with read-only restrictions.

Here's an example of how the scheduled creation setup looks:

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions.

[f_tramnitzke]

Hi @Olga Cheban _TitanApps_

we actually want to try Smart Templates for different reasons. And this could be one reason more. :) Thanks for the hint.

[Arkadiusz Wroblewski]

Hello and welcome @f_tramnitzke 

1. Can you circumvent the read-only state?

Not for that built-in recur rule itself, as far as I can see. Atlassian documents how to set and delete recurring work from the issue or from Project settings → Automation, but I do not see a supported path to edit that generated recurring rule directly. 

2. Why no 6-week option in the recur UI?

Because the recur UI is limited, while Jira Automation in general is more flexible. Atlassian documents that the normal Scheduled trigger can run at a fixed rate like every 7 days or use a cron expression for more complex schedules. So 6 weeks is doable in a custom automation rule, even if the issue-level recur dialog does not offer it. 

3. Why is that automation read-only?

I do not see Atlassian giving a clear product explanation for that in the docs. What I can say with confidence is that recurring work created from the issue is treated as a special recurring work automation flow, and Atlassian documents managing it through the recurring work form / delete flow rather than normal rule editing. 

[f_tramnitzke]

Hi @Arkadiusz Wroblewski

thank you for the detailed explanation and research in the docs. As I stated, it is a little bit frustrating that there is a seemingly helpful feature, that is limited for no apparent reason. Either making the occurrence options more flexible or the created automation rule not read-only would make this feature really helpful.

I'll create a feature request and maybe there will be some traction for it.