Automation of Status of parent task based on status of its subtasks

Question

Hi all,

I would like to automate the Status transition of my Tasks based on the status of their subtasks. There are 4 Status in total: "Blocked", "To Do", "Done", "In Progress".

Here should be the rules:

* As soon as there is a Subtask changes status, 
* Search for its parent task and change its status with following rules: * If at least one subtask is "Blocked", The parent Task is "blocked"
* If status of all subtasks is not "blocked" and at least one sub-task is not "to do", then status of parent task is "in progress"
* If status of all sub-tasks is "done", then status of parent task is "done" 
* if status of all sub-tasks is "to do", then status of parents task is "to do"

Is that doable?

Aaron Coonce_io6jua · Accepted Answer

Siala,

I drew something up for you let me know if this helps. Please note I am on Data Center.

Mourad Siala · Accepted Answer

Hi Aron!

This seems to work, thanks!

One question though: How to enter the conditions on sub-tasks?

For example, how to say if sub-task match status "Blocked"?

Bill Sheboy · Accepted Answer

Hi @Mourad Siala

Beyond the scope of your question...Please consider using the issue "flag" feature (or other Jira feature) to indicate blocking rather than having a status for that condition.

In my experience, when teams add "Blocked" as a status to their board, they are accepting "blocked" is a normal condition rather than as something which is unusual.  And so they are less likely to reduce the number and frequency of blocking things.  Instead they grab another work item, increase their amount of work-in-progress (WIP), and so slow down delivery.  Using the issue flag instead makes the condition highly visible, and temporary.

Perhaps discuss this with your team and scrum master / coach to learn their thoughts on this approach.  Thanks!

And if you are concerned about having the parent issue reflect the progress of the child items, it is also possible to set / clear flags using automation rules.

Kind regards,
Bill