Is there a way to add a context value from automation?

[Aaron Geister]

So I have a project that a stakeholder wants to edit the summary and then that would then add a context value to a custom field drop down.

So example I edit the summary to Business name A and this then would create a new context field value for custom field drop down"Example drop down"

Does anyone know if this is possible with? Automation for Jira/ Scriptrunner etc?

[Jakob KN · Accepted solution]

As far as i understand, you want to add a specific value to a customfield, when the summary of an issue is edited to contain a certain phrase (business name).

You should be able to achieve this with Automation for Jira with a rule containing the following:

Trigger: Field Value Changed (Summary)
If Condition: Issue Fields Condition (Summary equals/contains "specific business name")
Action: Edit Issue (Context Field, set to the needed value)

If the above fails, you might need place "Re-fetch Issue Data" action after the Trigger, to make sure the issue details have been saved correctly before the condition checks the Summary value. 

Note that if you have several specific business names you need to automatically set custom field values for, you can either branch out the rule with more conditions, or you can create separate rules for each business name.

[Aaron Geister]

I thought that this is what I needed to do and in the past I did this but couldn't remember. Thank you so much for the guidance. I appreciate the help.

[Aaron Geister]

@Jakob KNCan this be used to create a new value context that doesn't exist in the context value now when the summary is edited?

Summary says Business A but then edited to Business D, Business A is in the custom field drop down as a value but Business D is not. Will it add Business D as a new context value in the custom field drop down?

[Jakob KN]

It's not possible to create new values for a dropdown custom field through automation. 
You can only make the automation rule choose from the values that already exist. 

If you expect many different values, you could instead use a single line text field to minimize administrative overhead of adding new options to the custom field. 

[Aaron Geister]

That is what I thought. With script runner it can create new value though correct? Just not with Automation for Jira?

[Jakob KN]

I'm not a 100% sure if it's possible with scriptrunner, but it could very well be, since Scriptrunner is extremely versatile. 

If you manage this with scriptrunner, you'll however risk that duplicates are added to the field, such as:
-Business A / Busness A
-Business B / Business-B
-Business C / Business C QA tasks

Duplicates could be cause either by typo's, variations in naming, or if there's extra info in the summary either before or after the business name. 

(of course, with automation for Jira, you'll still have a risk that the value in the custom field isn't set automatically, if the user misspells the business name)

[Aaron Geister]

Yes, I agree with your thought. We have now refrained from doing this by automation and making this a manual task as it would be safer and prevent mistakes. It would be nice if we could add context to drop down by automation but I see the issue with doing so.

Thanks again and you logic and guidance is valued.