Jira Automation: How can I create an Issue action to generate a story with multiple subtasks

Question

Jira Automation: How can I create an action to generate a story and multiple subtasks

I'm trying to create rule whereby a story with multiple subtasks is triggered by changing the status from Discovery to Started within a feature. I as was able to trigger and generate the story and sub-tasks. But the sub-tasks were added to the feature and not story. I was using Issue action" -> Create issue -> story and "Issue action" -> Create-sub-tasks. How can I generate the sub-tasks within a story? thanks for your help!

Arkadiusz Wroblewski · Answer

@Jim P

Yep  that screenshot is exactly the problem.

Right now you have:

Create Story

Create Sub-task

…but both actions are still running in the Feature context, because you never switched the “current issue” to the Story. So Jira happily creates the sub-task under the Feature.

What to change

You need a Branch between those two actions:

Create issue → Story

Branch rule / related issues → Most recently created issue

Inside that branch: Create sub-tasks (or “Create issue” with type Sub-task)

So the structure should look like:

And: Create a new Story

Branch: Most recently created issue

And: Create a new Sub-task

etc.

If “Most recently created issue” doesn’t exist in your DC

Use:

Branch → JQL

key = {{createdIssue.key}}

…and put the sub-task creation inside that branch.

That’s it. Without that branch, “Create sub-task” will always attach to whatever triggered the rule (your Feature).

Jim P_e3dw8a · Answer

Thanks Wroblewski for the quite response and detailed explanation.  Is there a way to place the sub-task branch under the story branch? I tried to do that but the drag and drop method did not work.

Arkadiusz Wroblewski · Answer

Hello @Jim P

You’re close, the problem is rule context.

Create sub-tasks always creates them under the current issue. Since your rule is triggered on the Feature, Jira treats the Feature as the current issue, so the sub-tasks get added there.

What you need to do is:

Trigger: Feature transitions from Discovery → Started

Action: Create issue → Story

Branch rule / related issues: Most recently created issue (this is the Story you just created)

Inside that branch: Create sub-tasks

That way, when “Create sub-tasks” runs, the current issue is the Story, so the sub-tasks land under the Story (not the Feature).

If “Most recently created issue” isn’t available in your DC version, the fallback is branching to the created Story via JQL using the created issue key (e.g. key = {{createdIssue.key}}).