Steer on an automation to list the missing ticks in a checkbox field

[James_Noble]

Hi

I am a bit new to automation writing but would like to know if the Community thinks it is possible to natively (we don't now and won't be getting ScriptRunner etc) to run an automation to create a string of the missing items in a check box and write that to a new field.

Example - my check box has 10 teams who need to tick that they have done their bit.  I need a new field to auto update, each time a team ticks a box, to show the remaining teams.

Any help very welcome.

[Bill Sheboy]

Hi @James_Noble 

I can think of several ways to do this, with varying complexity and brittleness.  But first...

What problem are you trying to solve with the second field?  That is, "why do this?"  Knowing that may help the community offer additional options.

Until we know that "why", some options with your current scenario:

• Two option fields
  • You could have another multiple-select option field to represent the remaining teams.  Then, using multiple rules (and it will take multiple rules), set the values in the remaining field by de-selecting values when they are selected in the primary field.
• Hard-code the options
  • Using a Created Variable with the hard-coded list of values, use methods described in this article I wrote to find the difference between the two lists to store in the other custom field.  This is brittle as it hard-codes values in the rule.
• REST API to get options
  • As a variation of the above method, use the REST API with the Send Web Request action to first get possible values for the field, and then perform the list comparisons

Kind regards,
Bill

[James_Noble]

Hi - thank you so much for looking at my post.  Why do we want to do this?  It is to clearly see which teams have done their tasks and which have not.  Yes it is a bit of a 'spotlight on' type thing.

The issue I seem to have hit is that apparently jira does not see check boxes reliably, when it comes to doing a comparison of one list vs another.

I am able to create a tracker field reliably, which which says '3 of 20 completed' but the next step is obvs to call out those 17 as incomplete.  

I will now try and digest your article, although at first glace I can see you are someone who knows a thing or two.

[Olga Cheban _TitanApps_]

hi @James_Noble ! 

It sounds like what you're really after is a clear view of which teams have completed their part and which ones haven't - updated in real time, without writing complex automation rules.

If you're open to a slightly different approach, our solution Smart Checklist for Jira can handle this well. Instead of a checkbox custom field + automation to track what's missing, you'd create a checklist right inside the Jira issue with one checklist item per team. Each team checks off their checklist item when they're done. You can see progress at a glance - both in the issue itself and on the Agile board. Each checklist item has its own status, so it's easy to track. 

Here's an example of what it can look like. In this case, the release readiness checklist is organized with headers grouping exact steps for each team. But you can create a simpler list without specific steps, if you need.

A few more things that might be useful for your scenario:

• You can mark checklist items as mandatory and set up a validator, so the work item can't be moved to "Done" until all 10 teams have checked off their part.
• You can tag people on specific checklist items, and they'll get notified.
• You can save this 10-team checklist as a template and reuse it across work items.
• Checklists can also be added to work items automatically based on your conditions, using Smart Checklist's built-in automation feature with an intuitive UI.
• You can search for incomplete checklists with JQL - for example, find all work items where not all teams have finished yet.

No Jira automation rules needed for any of this. The setup is lightweight and the UI is intuitive, so your teams can start using it right away.

Happy to help if you have questions!

[James_Noble]

Hi - thank you so much for looking at my post.  Your solution does appear to be pretty much what we want but I think I need to explore the 'in-house' solutions first.

Thank you though