How come I cannot print out an issues start date in my automation logs?

[Alexander Wilczek]

Hello, I'm having a bit of trouble with an automation rule where I am trying to calculate and update the due date of an issue based on the original estimate, similar to what has been done in these guidelines but I'm not having any luck. Any idea where I'm going wrong? 

The difference is that I am trying to do this calculation once an estimate has been filled in in a previously empty field (i.e the task is already created, but is now being edited as no estimate was initially provided). In addition, I am also setting the starting date to the current date (when the estimate was filled in).  

I've tried adding some debug-printouts and it appears that while it does update the starting date to the current date, it does not print out the value of the field, nor does it properly update the due date-  

I've attached screenshots of the rule, any help would be greatly appreciated! @Trudy Claspill I've been reading some of your replies to people and thought maybe you would be kind enough to provide some assistance? It would be greatly appreciated!

[Bill Sheboy · Accepted solution]

Hi @Alexander Wilczek -- Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

Your rule and audit log images did not post.  Will you please re-add them?  Thanks!

Until we see those...

I hypothesize two things may be happening:

• Smart values are name, spacing, and case-sensitive.  Perhaps you have the incorrect smart values for your fields.
• If you have updated a field in a rule and then later want to use the updated value in a later step, please add the Re-fetch Issue action after the first edit.  This will reload the issue data from the cloud.

Kind regards,
Bill

[Alexander Wilczek]

Hi @Bill Sheboy and thanks! I've re-added the screenshots to my original post now. 

Can you elaborate a little bit more on your second suggestion, how do I re-fetch the Issue action once more as suggested? It sounds like this may be the right way to go. 

All the best, 
Alex 

[Alexander Wilczek]

Hi again, 

I just attempted the re-fetching as I found the action and it did yield some new results, however the field itself did not appear to update (though the value of it did?). Please see the attached screenshots. The value looks updated in the audit log, but not in the ticket itself?  

Thanks again,

Alex

[Bill Sheboy]

Thanks for the images, and what you show confirms my hypothesis.

To reload the issue data after the first edit, you may add the Re-fetch Issue action: https://support.atlassian.com/cloud-automation/docs/jira-automation-actions/#Re-fetch-issue-data

However, I suspect that is not needed as both the Start Date and Due Date could be updated with the same action.  What value are you putting in the Due Date field?

Also, I note a typo in some of your steps where the custom field is incorrect.  Please note they should be singular and not plural:

{{issue.customfield_12345}}

Finally, when writing values to the audit log, it helps to add some prefix text to identify them in the log.  For example:

here is my value for customfield_12345: {{issue.customfield_12345}}

[Alexander Wilczek]

I managed to sort it out just now thanks to your suggestion. Thank you for all of your help both with the syntax and the suggested fix. It turns out I had forgotten to finish the actual due date field update action which is why it left it blank. 

It now updates as it should and I understand where I went wrong. I really appreciate the swift assist! 

All the best Bill and happy new year! 

[Bill Sheboy]

Awesome; I am glad to learn that helped, and a happy new year to you as well!