Copying multi-select field values from parent to child fails

Question

In Jira Cloud, company managed project, I'm trying to update a custom field ("Field A") in a child issue when the parent issue is updated.  The custom field is in both issues, and the automation says it's successful.  However, the child issue doesn't actually change.  Screenshots below.  This is the beginning of the rule (I know I don't need both values in the second audit log; that was more for me to make sure I had the trigger Issue straight in my head):

The second part of the automation

This is the result in the audit log when I change the Risk Category

The "Risk Category" field in both issues is the same (custom field 13550), but the destination issue shows no value at all.  Please help, I've been working on this for days!

Trudy P Claspill · Answer

Hello Lana,

My first question in my last response was to ask for clarification on whether you truly meant you were updating "child" issues as defined by the issue type hierarchy or if you wanted to update generically linked issues. Based on your response above about "linked to only one other thing" I understand you are trying to update generically linked issues.

In your last response you said

"but if we need it to update and not delete what was already there"

However, in a previous response on April 23 you said

"When I remove an option, the option in the linked ticket isn't removed."

Can you clarify which of those contradictory statements is the actual requirement?

Lana Kelly · Answer

That works if the linked issue is linked to only one other thing, but if we need it to update and not delete what was already there, we need it to add.

Trudy P Claspill · Answer

Thank you for that additional information.

One point of clarification. In your original post you talked about updating "child" issues. However your branch is operating on "linked" issues.

"Child" is a specific term in Jira, and it refers to an issue where the Parent field is set to another issue; i.e. Epics have child issues, and Sub-tasks are child issues of their parents.

Linked issues have no inherent parent/child relationship. Links are a method to establish a generic, non-hierarchical relationship between two issues.

So, my first question is based on the output you see in the log is ERM-54 the issue that you expected to be impacted when you said you were trying to update the "child" issue?

Next, when copying data from a multiple selection list there is an extra option in the dialog. Do you have this box checked or unchecked?

Based on my testing with a Company Managed Software project, with the scope of the rule set to that one project and both the source and destination issue in that one project, when that box is not checked, then the linked issue will be updated to match exactly the multiple selections in the trigger issue, whether values are added or deleted from the multiple selections.