Story API - What is the "automation" field?

[Nigel Jewell]

Hi,

I am accessing story data via the API with rest/align/api/2/stories/{id} and getting the data I'd expect in the response.  However, with about 10% of the stories I get back an "automation" field that is set to 0.  In most cases it is empty. 

What is this automation field?  I can't find any documentation and / or reference to anything similar via the web interface.

The reason I ask is that if I try a PATCH to edit a field I sometimes get a "Value for automation is invalid." error if automation is set to 0.  If I also set automation to be empty then my PATCH works, but I'm concerned that this could have other sider effects.

Thanks,

Nige.

Array
(
    [id] => 15759
    [title] => <snip>
    [description] => <snip>
         [state] => 1
    [type] => 339
    [mmf] =>
    [automation] => 0
    [programId] => 4
    [ownerId] =>

...

[Rodrigo San Vicente · Accepted solution]

Hello @Nigel Jewell !

A story created from a story template inherits such template’s fields as Description, MMF, Automation status, parent Feature, Assigned, Program Increment, Team, LOE and LOV, Tags, Design/Assumptions/Notes, Persona, Tasks, Acceptance Criteria, and any comments left in the Chat section.

• MMF shows whether the story is a part of the minimum marketable feature. This is typically determined during story mapping and is critical for optimal flow and impact.
• Automation identifies the level of automation related to the story.

Create story templates from the stories page:

If you’re using the new navigation:

1. Select Items in the top navigation bar.
2. Select Stories; the stories page displays.

OR

1. Select Teams in the top navigation bar and select the team you want to view stories for.
2. On the sidebar, select Stories in the list of options; the stories page displays, filtered by the selected team.

If you’re using the old navigation:

1. Select Team from the left Nav menu.
2. Under the Manage section, select Stories; the stories page displays.

To create a story template:

1. On the stories page, select Add Story on the toolbar.
2. Enter the story’s name and description in the corresponding fields.
3. Select the story’s state, and then select Template from the Type drop-down menu.
4. Fill in all the necessary fields. You can find more information on the fields in the Manage stories topic.
5. Click Save & Close.

To create a story from a template:

1. On the stories page, select the Add Story button on the toolbar (top-right of the page).
2. On the story's slide-out panel, click Add from template.
3. From the Program drop-down menu, select the program with the story template you want to use.
4. From the Template drop-down menu, select the story template.
5. In the Story Name box, type the story name.
6. Click Create. All the tasks belonging to the story are also included.

I hope it helps!

Should you need any help with the above instructions, please kindly raise a JA support ticket using this link and we'll be more than happy to assist you!

[Rodrigo Cortez]

The Automation field in the Story work item slide-out is disabled by default. So, should you want to work with it, you must first enable it via Details Panels Settings, where you can define whether it's required or not.

Aside from that, from the API standpoint, find below the valid values and their representation in the UI:

0 - Not Set
1 - Not Reviewed
2 - Not Automated
3 - Partially Automated
4 - Fully Automated

[Nigel Jewell]

Thanks.  Your second post answers my question.