WEBINAR RECORDING: Delivering enterprise automatization for Jira with Atlassian, Appfire, and DEISER

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A couple of weeks ago, we organized the last episode of the DEISER's Co-Hosted Webinar series. We usually invite a couple of other Atlassian Marketplace Partners to discuss solutions, potential solutions, and joint solutions.

This time, we had the pleasure to work with representatives from two other great teams: Atlassian and Appfire; during the webinar, we've centered the conversation on large Jira instances automatization options (for Data Center) with Automation for Jira, Atlassian CLI, and Projectrak:

• @John McKiernan did an overview about Automation, Jira's built-in automation engine showcasing how to use it, and demoing use cases about how best to get started.
• @Michael Kuhl {Appfire} walked us through Atlassian CLI and how this app has become a wayfinding interface to accelerate complex administrative jobs.
• @Flora Rubio [DEISER] shared some tips on how Projectrak avoids wasting time performing repetitive tasks at the project level and how to keep your team aligned by automatically informing them about project changes.

Find an extract from the Q&A and the webinar recording embedded at the end of this post:

Questions and answers for Automation for Jira:

1. What's the URL for the Automation playground?https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/automation-template-library#/labels/all/customLabelId/1453
   
   

2. Is it possible to add a schedule to run an existing automation on a specific cadence (i.e., every day at 6 am)?
   Yes, it is possible by creating a Rule, selecting the "Scheduled" trigger, configuring it, and saving it. That simple! (full answer) 
   
   

3. And how do you add that to an existing automation?
   Unfortunately, you can't do that because it could result in looped rules. You could add a JQL search to your scheduled rule, so it starts based on an event from Jira, though.
   
   

4. Is there a sandbox to test Automation rules?
   You can use the playground shown above. And the propper sandbox is only available for the Premium and Enterprise plans of Jira. (full answer) 
   
   
5. Is it possible to assign priority or order of execution on many automations triggered by another automation?
   Unfortunately, not. There are loop protections in place. You can read more here if you want to geek out on it! (full answer) 
   
   
6. What's the version of Automation we can use on the on-premise version?
   - You can find it in the Atlassian Marketplace for Data Center and Server.
   - And it comes built-in within Atlassian Cloud products at no additional cost! Though there are usage limits to consider depending on the plan you have. If you need global and multi-project rules at scale, you'll need to use the Premium plan.
   
   
7. What is the best solution? If you add a project in rule detail or a rule that works for all projects (and we сut rule with a condition).
   It's best to add the projects in the rule details section. Keep in mind that you have unlimited automation in one project, but there are some limits when you start automating across projects. You can refine the rule quite nicely with the conditions.
   
   
8. Are you ever concerned about maintaining Jira instances with significant automations implemented across many projects?
   Automation has had this loop protection to keep everything in place from early on. It's possible to have visibility over any anomaly, e.g., by checking the Global log. 7. (full answer)
   
   

9. How can we get a report of all project-level automations? As the automations that exist on projects. I can only find a Global list for this end.
   So, in the global list, you can see the projects down the right-hand side. Unfortunately, there is no filter yet to get an easier view per project.
   
   

10. We have multiple instances and need to document all automations in existence. The API method is also OK.
    More good reading here about this topic.
    
    

11. Is it possible to automate sync of sub-Task fix version with parent fix version and at the same time have the possibility to sometimes have a different fix version in sub-Task? I worry that the script will overwrite the manually set version.
    It's possible. But!! First, you have to be very clear when defining the sync behavior. E.g., to synchronize the fix version ONLY when it hasn't been set manually and not doing anything when this field has a value already.
    Again, it's possible, but you have to be very clear when establishing the rule that will determine whether the field should be synced or not and then configure Jira accordingly.
    (this question was left behind during the webinar but later answered by Luis Lobo, from the DEISER team).
    
    

Questions and answers for Atlassian CLI:

1. I see you switched back and forth between your desktop and browser - How did you get what's on your desktop?
   It was made by installing the Atlassian CLI! As the app works for different Atlassian products, connecting them and making them interact it's possible. On the demo, Michael talked to a Jira instance with the Jira Command Line Interface (CLI) installed and communicated with a Confluence instance with the Confluence Command Line Interface (CLI) installed, providing the interface that allowed him to do so. (full answer) 
   
   
2. You showed adding projects - What other things could I do besides just adding projects? Could I remove things also?
   Yes, it is possible by using the CLI interface shown during the webinar and typing the command you need to work with. There are over 800 actions available to perform. 2. (full answer) 
   
   
3. What Admin tasks can be done via Atlassian CLI?
   At least a few hundred! To be more specific, it's a matter of thinking according to your role the action you need to take because the tool provides a lot of tasks. E.g., to grant permissions. (full answer) 
   
   
4. Does the Atlassian CLI work with any other Atlassian products?
   Yes, it works with Jira, Confluence, Bamboo, Bitbucket, Slack, and more...
   For further information, you can check:
    - Bob Swift's Documentation.
   - Atlassian Marketplace listing.
   (full answer) 

Questions and answers for Projectrak:

1. Which Projectrak Data Center functionalities are available in the Cloud version?
   The Projectrak team is working hard on the feature parity, focusing more on the user experience. Nowadays, the Projectrak Cloud edition has a plug & play feature named Predefined fields, the List View of all your projects, advanced project searches, creation of project-level custom fields, Public API, and integrations with:
   - eazyBI.
   - Dashboard Hub.
   - Power BI Connector for Jira.
   - Microsoft PowerBI, Tableau & Google Data Studio Connector. 
   (full answer) 
   
   
2. Does Projectrak have any security/permissions settings?
   Yes, it's possible to manage privacy and security settings through the Projectrak Administrator role, which can be assigned to a group or a single user; this grants the permissions to administrate projects, create fields, assign Layouts, and more.
   (full answer) 
   
   
3. Where can I learn more about the integration of Automation and Projectrak?
   Here you have:
   - A blog post about it. 
   - A guide. 
   - Our documentation center. 
   (full answer)

JIRA AUTOMATIZATION WEBINAR RECORDING:

Also, I cannot finish this without thanking @Cody Wooten _Appfire_ for hosting the Q&A section and @Fede -DEISER- for assisting Flora during the Projectrak's Q&A.

If you have any further doubts, please don't hesitate to leave your questions here, and I'll be sure to get them answered with the help of this great team.

[Taranjeet Singh]

Thanks, @Huwen Arnone _Deiser_ for sharing this useful information about the automation apps, and the recording of the webinar!

[Cody Wooten _Appfire_]

This was an amazing event! Huge thanks to everyone involved. 

Helping spread those golden nuggets of information! 

[Huwen Arnone _Deiser_]

Thank you, my man, @Taranjeet Singh. I hope you find this information useful!!

[Huwen Arnone _Deiser_]

Indeed! It was really fun to work on this project. Let's keep them coming @Cody Wooten _Appfire_! 🙌