Avoiding duplication of Jira issues

Imagine a bad dream. You log into Jira and see that you have a bunch of tasks on your board, but they all seem the same. You try to sort them out and fall into a quagmire. Something needs to be clarified, such as if the summary is the same, but the tasks' assignees are different, and the descriptions do not match. You are in a state of panic and misunderstanding. Your work chats are filled with the same questions to other team members to understand the tasks. Brrrr... It's scary to imagine. 🫣

Or you decided to analyze the Jira backlog. You've reached the bottom of the backlog (believe me, it's terrifying there, with cobwebs everywhere and wrinkled mummies of long-forgotten tasks), and there's the same thing - three or four identical issues. 🫠 

Everyone faces the challenge of duplicate tasks in Jira. So, let's break it down and understand it:

  1. How do you sort through and audit tasks?
  2. How to prevent this from happening?

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How to find duplicate tasks in Jira

Handling duplicate issues in Jira involves identifying and managing instances where users create multiple tickets for the same problem or request. Here's a step-by-step guide on addressing identical issues in Jira. 

  1. Identify Duplicate Issues
  • Manually review the issues. Look through your project's issues and identify duplicates. Check for similar or identical titles, descriptions, or attachments.
  • Use Jira's search functionality. Use Jira's search features to find potential duplicate issues. You can search for keywords, assignees, or other relevant criteria to identify similar problems.
  1. Linking Duplicate Issues.
  • Once you identify duplicates, link them together. Jira provides various link types, such as "is duplicated by" or "duplicates." Choose the appropriate link type to establish the relationship between the duplicate issues.
  • To link issues, navigate to the issue, click on the "More" button, and select "Link." Choose the appropriate link type and search for the duplicate issue.
  1. Communicate and Merge.
  • If different users or teams identify the duplicates, communicate with them to avoid further duplication efforts.
  • Decide which issue should be the primary one. Consider factors such as the amount of information, attachments, and comments on each issue.
  • Merge the duplicate issues by copying relevant information from one issue to another. You may need to update comments, attachments, and custom fields manually.
  1. Use Add-ons or Automation Rules.

Consider using Jira add-ons or automation rules to automate the duplicate identification process. Some add-ons can automatically detect and link identical issues based on predefined criteria.

  1. Training and Guidelines.

Educate your team members on the importance of avoiding duplicate issues. Provide guidelines on how to search for existing issues before creating new ones.

  1. Custom Fields and Labels.

Utilize custom fields or labels to mark and categorize issues identified as duplicates. It can make filtering, searching, and managing duplicate issues easier.

  1. Regular Audits.

Conduct regular audits of your Jira project to identify and address any new instances of duplicate issues.

  1. JQL.

Use JQL queries to search for potential duplicate issues based on specific criteria. It can help automate the identification process. For example:
a) Search for Similar Summary - project = "Your Project" AND summary ~ "your summary keywords"

  1. b)  Search for Similar Descriptions - project = "Your Project" AND description ~ "your description keywords"

How to prevent duplicate Jira issues

The SaaSJet team has recently released a new feature for the Issue Creator for Jira Cloud app.

It is a multifunctional extension for Google Chrome. With it, you can take screenshots to send directly to a Jira issue, experiment with web elements on pages, create issues in any Jira project, and many more different and valuable things.

So, what's the new feature about? If you create a summary task duplicating an existing task in the current project, the extension will notify you immediately.

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You will immediately know if such a task exists and will not create a duplicate.

It's easier to predict than to fix things later. It is wisdom as old as time but always relevant. We are waiting for you in the Issue Creator team - you have 30 days of free trial, and the app is free for teams of up to 10 users.

See you soon! ☺️

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