How can I control Jira "convert to issue" operation ?

Question

Hi ,

Today  user can convert sub task issue to any type (from example from sub task to Bug) , which is OK .

My problem is start when issue move to "illegal" state on the new issue type.

Example from what it happen to me :

* User created sub task - status New 
* User promote sub task from New --> Block (till here all ok)
* User "convert to issue" to Story type 
* I reach illegal status - Story is in Block status while in Story workflow you can reach Block only from State A / B . As Story didn`t reach to Block from A / B status . Bug is "stuck" and no "workflow" option available 
* Be advise that Block is valid status in Story but only from specific statuses

Same can be happen also when I will use Jira "Move" option and change issue type.

How can I force issue to be created in New status when issue type is change (and not to move with current status) ? is it configurable via jira / do I need add-on for it ?

Will be happy to get suggestions .

Thanks

Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Answer

I understood the situation fine, but I think I missed a point in the beginning of my answer.  You can not do anything about the conversion process.  There is nothing wrong with it as far as the data is concerned - an issue is in "block", the status is there in the new workflow, so changing the type and keeping the status is perfectly valid and the right thing to do.

The "change issue type" thing is not a transition, it is a structural change to an issue's settings, and has nothing to do with the workflow.

My suggestion was that you allow people to move blocked issues to a new "correct" status, and protect the transition so that it's only used at the right time.

Ofira Daniel · Answer

Thanks for your fast answer , I wants to clarify my problem .

Block is valid status in Story workflow but not from all states.

In sub task - user can move sub task from New to Block while in Story there is no transition from New to Block But the option in Jira "convert to issue" cause that sub task moved to Story issue and its status is Block (and previous status) is New and this bring me to "broken workflow" as you mention.

How I can control / protect the transition ? it not pass via my workflow ? (or maybe it is ? and I can add some validation in my workflow ?)

Ofira

Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Answer

If "Block" is in the target workflow, then it's not an "illegal" status, it's valid.

You have two options

* Remove "Block" from the target workflow.  Users will be forced to select a valid status when they change the issue type
* If you can't move the converted issue to a new status, then your workflow is broken - you should change that so it does have an outgoing transition the users can use.

If you have ScriptRunner or a bit of coding time, you could protect the transition with a condition like "only if issue type used to be a sub-task type"