Getting a ticket to reopen when a response comes from emailed request

Question

So the difficulty I'm having is that I am working to create a JSM for our CS department to replace our current software.  One feature they want to retain is that when a ticket is marked as solved if the customer responds via email within X days, the ticket will reopen.   After X days, the ticket is closed and cannot be reopened.

I thought perhaps it was because the ticket originated as an emailed request and once solved, it essentially closes the door on that connection because no matter how many emails that I sent back, nothing appears in the comments as they would if the ticket were live.

Any ideas on what I might be doing wrong with this configuration?  I would really appreciate help!

Suzi Firth · Answer

Hi @Arlene OConnor ,

For Comments on Resolved tickets

I believe the easiest way to reopen a ticket that's resolved when someone comments is to setup an automation.

Rule is triggered when a comment is added AND Status of ticket is Resolved.

Action is then to transition the Issue back to Waiting for Support (or whichever status you choose). Depending on how your system is configured, I would also recommend to clear the resolution field too.

Auto Close resolved tickets

I'm not sure if you already have this configured but I'll include it.

Your SLA for Time to close after resolution should be configured to X Days. Example below is setup to Close 24h after Resolution is Set:

Setup an automation to Auto-close resolved tickets.

Rule is triggered when SLA Threshold is breached for "Time to close after resolution is breached"

If the status of the ticket matches Resolved then it auto transitions to Closed

What happens to comments sent to Closed Tickets

I've had a similar problem with Jira still allowing comments on closed tickets. This is the response I received from Jira which I put in action in our Servicedesk and works great:

Jira will keep track of whether an incoming email is linked to an existing request or is a new request. Please see this diagram for more information on this.

By default, Jira doesn't make an issue uneditable after being closed. It is possible to both stop the issue from being edited or commented on after being closed. Here's how you can do this:

Make an issue uneditable/un-commentable

Jira workflows allow you to define properties on certain statuses. Referring to Use workflow properties, here are the ones that you're after:

* Set jira.issue.editable to false to make an issue uneditable
* Add jira.permission.comment.denied with an empty value to prevent anyone from adding a comment

To add these status properties, please do the following:

* From your Jira site, click on the settings cog in the top right corner of your screen
* Select Issues (under JIRA SETTINGS)
* From the left-hand side navigation bar, select Workflows
* Click the 3 dot menu next to the workflow you want to update, then select Edit
* The next step depends on whether you're in diagram mode or text mode:* Diagram mode: Click on the status you want to add the properties to > Properties
* Text mode: Click on View properties next to the appropriate linked status

* Add the following properties:

* Add property key: "jira.issue.editable" with property value: "false"
* Add property key: "jira.permission.comment.denied" and leave property value blank

* Publish the draft workflow

Additional, while testing this, I found that if a customer sends an email in response to a closed ticket, a new request will be created instead (since this customer doesn't have permission to comment on the closed ticket). This is great because then the comment does not go unseen by the Servicedesk too.

Regards,

Suzi

Trudy P Claspill · Answer

Hello @Arlene OConnor

How are the emails that are being "sent" being constructed? Are they replies to an email generated automatically by Jira about the ticket?

Have you confirmed that if emails are sent in the same manner before the ticket is closed then comments are added?

It is possible to set an issue as non-editable and non-commentable when it is in a particular status. That would be set within the workflow, and would be Properties set for a specific Status. There is more information on that topic here:

https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/use-workflow-properties/

Did you make such a modification to the workflow for the project?

If not, can you share with project Template was used to create the project initially. Then I can check the default configuration for a project from such a template in my own Jira instance.