How to display, how many times a Custom Field's value has been changed (history filter?)

Question

Hi all,

I'm lacking an idea how to start research on this. Please help:
I need to show the number of times a certain custom field (of time "date") has been changed since the issue was created.

I thought I need to use a JQL involving the issue history for that, however, all instructoins and examples I found about that lead into a wrong direction (filter issues for some criteria *at a specific time in the past* - not what I want).

I'd like to show that number next to the custom field in the issue view screen, and I need to include it in statistical evaluations on dashboards.

If it's not possible with Jira's own features, I also have Jira Workflow Toolbox and PowerScripts to work with, but no other add-ons.

Thanks!
Daniel

Daniel_ocfidy · Answer

Thanks! Acquisition of Automation for Jira is good news! But it's not available as a free add-on at this time, is it?

I stumbled upon that other thread with the API reference already. However, I don't know yet how to use it. Can the API be used with PowerScripts add-on?

Petter Gonçalves · Answer

Hello Daniel,

Thank you for reaching out.

Per your description, I understand you would like to know how many times a specific custom field was changed in your issues. Is that correct?

Unfortunately, Jira does not have this functionality inbuilt, however, it is possible to access this information by the following ways:

1 - Use the Automation for JIRA or Enhancer Plugin for JIRA to return the information you want in a different custom field:

As you can see in the articles below, both plugins can be configured to increment a new custom field every time a specific custom field is updated:

- Automation for JIRA - Working with numbers

- Enhancer Plugin for Jira - Field Change counter custom field

Let us know if you choose one of the plugins above to achieve your need.

P.S: Automation for JIRA was acquired by Atlassian las month. Anytime soon, this app will be part of JIRA Server application.

2 - As mentioned in this thread, you can build your own script to have the information you want.

You can use the following JIRA APIs:

- JIRA Server APIs

Let us know if you have any questions.