Code Reviewer Update: Smarter Acceptance Criteria Checks in Code Reviewer

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A little while ago, we introduced https://community.atlassian.com/forums/Rovo-for-Software-Teams-Beta/Introducing-acceptance-criteria-checks-in-Code-Reviewer/ba-p/3066586 to help teams ensure their PRs meet requirements before merging.

Since then, we’ve heard your feedback and observed some pain points—especially around the agent picking up the wrong Jira work items when assessing requirements. For example, the agent sometimes grabbed requirements from unrelated Jira issues mentioned in commit messages, leading to confusing or irrelevant checks.

We’ve made improvements to make the agent much more selective and reliable. Here’s what’s changed and what you need to know:

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How the agent now picks the right Jira work item

To reduce errors and keep things simple, the agent now follows these rules:

1. One PR, One Jira Work Item:
   We believe most PRs are tied to a single Jira work item. The agent is now optimized to extract requirements from just one, provided it has enough detail.

2. Branch Name is King:
   If your PR’s branch name includes a Jira work item key, the agent will use that as the source of truth—fetching requirements only from that issue.
   Tip: Always reference the Jira work item in your branch name for the smoothest experience!

3. Fallback: Commit Message (with Caution):
   If your workflow doesn’t use branch names for Jira keys, the agent will check commit messages—but only if there’s exactly one Jira key present. If there are multiple, the agent will treat it as accidental and skip acceptance criteria checks.

4. No Requirements, No Check:
   If the linked Jira work item doesn’t have a description or relevant custom fields, the agent will skip the check, assuming there are no clear requirements to validate.

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What If These Rules Aren’t Followed?

If your PR doesn’t clearly reference a single Jira work item (either in the branch name or as the only key in the commit message), the agent won’t run acceptance criteria checks. This helps avoid confusion and ensures only the right requirements are assessed.
Bottom line: For the best results, always link your PR to a single, well-described Jira work item—ideally via the branch name.

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We hope these changes make acceptance criteria checks more accurate and less confusing. As always, we’d love your feedback—let us know how this works for your team!

Thanks for helping us make Code Reviewer better for everyone 🚀