nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Will moving all subtasks of a story to "Done" automatically move the story to "Done" too?

Melvin Sng

Hi all,

My Scrum Board is not using the simplified workflow. I have a story that contains a couple of subtasks. I'd like to check if this story will automatically move to "Done" if all the subtasks under it are "Done"? Or will there be a button / prompt to allow me to do it myself?

Thanks!

Accepted answers

Ste Wright

Hi @Melvin Sng

Not by default - and there's no condition by default that sub-tasks need to be closed to close a story.

You can manage these two scenarios if you need to:

Workflow Condition: You can add a workflow condition on your "Done" transition - the "Sub-Task Blocking Condition". You can use this to state closing the Story is blocked unless the Sub-Tasks are also in "Done" statuses
Automation: You could use Automation for Jira to automate that when all Sub-Tasks are closed, it automatically closes the parent.

If you'd like more specific instructions to set up either of these, please let us know

Ste

All comments

Ste Wright

Hi @Melvin Sng

Not by default - and there's no condition by default that sub-tasks need to be closed to close a story.

You can manage these two scenarios if you need to:

Workflow Condition: You can add a workflow condition on your "Done" transition - the "Sub-Task Blocking Condition". You can use this to state closing the Story is blocked unless the Sub-Tasks are also in "Done" statuses
Automation: You could use Automation for Jira to automate that when all Sub-Tasks are closed, it automatically closes the parent.

If you'd like more specific instructions to set up either of these, please let us know

Ste

Melvin Sng

Hi @Ste Wright

Thanks! I'm not looking to have the story closed automatically when all the subtasks are closed. I'd like to decide and do so manually.

Can I. understand your reply as that is the case by default?

- Mel

Ste Wright

Hi @Melvin Sng

Yes, that's the default

Ste

Beverly_5ttfde

You can have a story in a sprint with subtasks can you keep the story open until all the subtasks are done? What if all the subtasks for a User Story are not completed in a sprint? How do you carry over those subtasks for that User Story to the next sprint? When is the User Story closed?

Faisal Shamim_b0qova

Is it possible that no one should be able to create any sub-task for an already DONE Story? thanks

Ste Wright

Hi @Faisal Shamim

You can - there's two native options.

---

Workflow Validator

Note: This only works for Company-managed Projects

You can set which Statuses a Parent must be in as a validator for the "Create Issue" transition. This would let you "exclude" the Done Statuses.

To do this...

Go to Jira Settings > Issues > Workflows
Locate/edit the appropriate Workflow for the Sub-task Issue Type
Select the "Create" transition - this is the line between the grey circle and the first Status
Select Validators from the pop-up menu
Select Add Validator
Select the Parent Status Validator and press Add
Select all Status that a Parent can be in
- You can select all Statuses using Ctrl/Cmnd + A
- You can then deselect the "Done" Statuses using Ctrl/Cmnd + Click
Press Add again, then publish the Workflow

Once published, this should now stop a Sub-task being created when the Parent is in any Status you didn't select!

---

Automation

If the above isn't sufficient - for example, this should only be for Stories, and not for Bugs, you might need to use automation.

This is a workaround rather than a direct solution - the rule will "delete" a sub-task if it's created based on the conditions.

Go to Project Settings > Automation, and create a new rule
Set the details as follows...
- Trigger: Issue Created
- Condition: Issue Fields Condition
  - Field = Issue Type
  - Condition = equals
  - Value = Sub-task
- Condition: Advanced Compare Condition
  - First Value = {{issue.parent.resolution}}
  - Condition = does not equal
  - Second Value = empty
- Action: Delete Issue

A few notes on this rule...

Assuming resolution is being set, I find this option in the "Advanced Compare Condition" to be simpler than using Status
You could add more Conditions if needed, eg. if this was only relevant to certain Issue Types as Parents
This could confuse users - so if I were you, I'd add a second Action - Send Email. That way you can send the Initiator an email alerting them as to why their Sub-task was removed.
You could also reopen the Parent using Automation if preferred, and send a notification for this instead.

---

Let us know your thoughts!

Ste

Welcome!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.

Quick Links

Find more posts tagged with

cloud

jira-software

jira-software-cloud