Looking for a way to pull together epic estimates + actuals in an automated fashion

Question

Hi folks,

I'm looking to find a way to create an automated view using either the JIRA Dashboard or Confluence to display epic estimates + actuals.  Here is some more info:

* All of our epics have a unique component, which I am using pull a list of epics + their child stories using the issueFunction in issuesInEpics("component = MyUniqueComponent")
* For estimates, we use the Story points field in the epic.
* Actuals would be the sum of all pointed stories in that epic.

I can create these views separately--aka an list of epics with their story points (which, again, is estimates for us), and a sum of the story points in each epic using rich filters and he issueInEpics function, above.

But how can I put it together?  Is there a way to call the epic story points field in one of the rich filter gadgets?  I might be coming at this the wrong way.  I'd appreciated any ideas that people have.

Please note that I am not going to be able to install or download third party add ins to make this work.  I need a method that works in native JIRA or Confluence.

Ste Wright · Answer

Hi @Kimberly Stanley

There is functionality in Jira which visualises the summary on an Epic panel - but there's no field the "Estimate" function corresponds to.

Automation allows you to create automated executions, based on a trigger - you can read more about it on these help pages. I've used Automation to summarise Story Points from the Epic's children into a central field.

You need a field at the Epic level to utilise it in search.

If you can't add an additional field, are you using "Story Points" at the Epic level? If not, you could try using that as the field in the rule above, rather than a custom field?

Ste

Kimberly Stanley_s00y2j · Answer

Unfortunately, I don’t have the ability to add fields, and I am unlikely to be able to get my admin to do that.

I’m not following you on the suggestion you are making.  I’m pretty familiar with JQL,  but I am not sure what you mean by automation rules…can you clarify?

Clearly there is a field in Jira that sums up the points in an epic because I can see that in the epic panel in the backlog view.  I just need a way to access that field.

Ste Wright · Answer

Hi @Kimberly Stanley

Could you add another field to the Epic which summaries the story points below an Epic, then use that field from the Epic-level?

You'd need to:

* Create a custom number field - eg. Actuals
* Create an automation rule to sum the Story Points (based on the field being modified) - for example...* Trigger: Field Value Changed* Field = Story Points
* Change Type = Any Change

* Condition: Issue Fields Condition* Field = Issue Type
* Condition = is not one of
* Value = Epic, Sub-task

* Branch: Related Issues* Type = Epic (parent)* Branch-Action: Lookup Issues* JQL - "Epic Link" = {{issue.key}}

* Branch-Action: Edit Issue* Field = Actuals* Value = {{lookupIssues.Story Points.sum}}

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Let us know what you think!

Ste