Automation with tickets in 2 differents projets

Question

Hi everyone,

I need some guidance regarding a Jira automation workflow. Here is my current setup:

A user requests an account creation in Project A. If the "AD" field is empty, the trigger transitions the issue to "On Hold".

At the same time, a second issue is created in Project B for another team (Status: "Open"). (Because Ad filed is an action for the other team)

Both issues are linked as "related to".

This part is already in place and working fine.

The Goal: When the team in Project B transitions their issue to "Closed", I want the original issue in Project A to automatically transition back to "To Do" (or "In Progress").

My Question: Should I add this logic to my existing automation rule, or is it better practice to create a brand-new rule for this "return" transition?
and how would you build it?

Thanks in advance for your insights!

Arkadiusz Wroblewski · Answer

Hey @Alixanne FERAUD

You’ll definitely want a separate "return" rule for this, it keeps your logic clean and makes troubleshooting much easier.

Set up a new rule triggered when a Project B issue transitions to Closed. From there, use a Branch for linked issues (filter it to Project A and the "On Hold" status) to transition that original ticket back to To Do or In Progress.

Two things to watch out for:

Scope: Make sure the rule is scoped to include both projects, otherwise, it won't be able to "see" the linked ticket in Project A.

Workflows: The transition from "On Hold" back to your target status must actually exist in Project A’s workflow, or the automation will fail.

Enric Font_9rmi2h · Answer

Dear @Alixanne FERAUD

create a separate automation rule for the “return transition.”It’s cleaner, easier to debug, and avoids unintended side effects.

The rule should be:

Trigger:

Issue transitioned

From: any → To: Closed

Scope: Project B

Branch rule / related issues

Type: Linked issues

Link type: related to (or whatever you're using)

Inside the branch --> Condition: Project = Project A

Optional but recommended:

Status = On Hold (so you don’t accidentally move unrelated issues)

Transition issue

To: To Do or In Progress