Sum the original estimate field of a parent (epic, task, story) from subtasks

[MaximeDu74]

Hello everyone,

I would like to sum the original estimate field of a parent (epic, task, story) from subtasks. My automation works for weeks, days and hours but not for minutes :(

And for exemple, if I have 2 tickets with 35m and 25m it will not sum and add 1h.
Do you have a solution for that ?

Thank you !

[Bill Sheboy]

Hi @MaximeDu74 

Have you confirmed the values in the lookup results match what you expect?  For example, you could write all of the values to the audit log to check them:

original estimate values: {{#lookupIssues}}{{key}}:{{Original Estimate}}; {{/}}

Update: please see the end of this thread for a better solution.  I'm striking-out this one.

Next, the way your rule is written, it uses the human-readable smart value for Original Estimate (e.g., 35m) and lets the expression automatically convert to seconds.  Perhaps try using the specific smart value for the seconds value:

{{lookupIssues.timetracking.originalEstimateSeconds.sum.divide(3600)}}

Kind regards,
Bill

[MaximeDu74]

Hello @Bill Sheboy 

Thank you for your reply.

The value in the lookup results match what I expect. If I have 3 tickets with : 1d 2h; 1h; 0m, I will have in the parent 1d 3h.

I tried to modify the "edit issue" with what you told me but it didn't work (see the screenshot).

I checked in the log with the code you gave me. For ticket GOUV-42 I have 5400, which is correct and equals 1h 30m. But the 30m is not added to the parent :(

Thank you for helping me,

Maxime

[Bill Sheboy]

Update: please see the end of this thread for a better solution.  I'm striking-out this one.

How about this: remove the divide by 3600 and add the units of measure of seconds:

"{{lookupIssues.timetracking.originalEstimateSeconds.sum}}s"

I hypothesize there is some truncation happening and this would confirm / resolve that. 

[MaximeDu74]

Now, I have this problem, and the sum still doesn't work for minutes but works for hours/days/weeks.

[Bill Sheboy]

After experimenting a bit I confirmed three things:

• when the time tracking Original Estimate and Remaining Estimate values are set with JSON, they are always in integer minutes
• passing a unit of measure does not alter that behavior
• passing a non-integer value causes it to "floor" the value down to the nearest integer

And so this JSON will correctly set the value from the lookup values:

{
  "fields": {
    "timetracking": {
      "originalEstimate" : "{{lookupIssues.timetracking.originalEstimateSeconds.sum.divide(60)}}"
    }
  }
}

I will go back and strikethrough my earlier, incorrect suggestions.

[MaximeDu74]

Hello @Bill Sheboy ,

This solution doesn't work. 2h (child) => 3w (parent). I tried to modify "divide(60)" with "divide(3600)" but the minutes are not record.

I don't know how to manage this problem...

Thank you,

Maxime

[Bill Sheboy]

These cases work for me with Jira Cloud automation rules.  If your rule matches what I have described, I am unclear what else to check.

At this point, please work with your Jira Site Admin to submit a ticket to Atlassian Support to take a look at your rule: https://support.atlassian.com/contact/#/

[MaximeDu74]

Okay thank you for your time. I'll be in touch. I'll add their reply here.

[Hannes Obweger - JXL for Jira]

Hi @MaximeDu74

I trust that you'll be able to resolve this using Jira Automation!

Just as food for thought: If you are open to solutions from the Atlassian Marketplace and want to save some Automation budget, there's also a number of apps available that can help with this. Depending on your exact use case, some app will be a better fit than others, but it might be worth some research.

As an example, estimate sum-ups are easily possible using the app that my team and I are working on, JXL for Jira.

JXL is a full-fledged spreadsheet/table view for your issues that allows viewing, inline-editing, sorting, and filtering by all your issue fields, much like you’d do in e.g. Excel or Google Sheets. It also comes with a number of advanced features, including support for (configurable) issue hierarchies, issue grouping by any issue field(s), sum-ups, or conditional formatting.

With these, you can build a view like e.g. this in just a couple of clicks: 

As you can see above, the summed up original estimates would update live as you enter your values.

This is really just one of a virtually endless number of possible views and reports: You can also view, group, and sum-up any other issue fields, configure different sum-up styles (like min, max, or average), etc. etc. All this just works - there's no scripting or automation whatsoever required.

Any questions just let me know,

Best,

Hannes

[MaximeDu74]

Hello @Hannes Obweger - JXL for Jira ,

Thank you for your reply but I would like a free solution, it's why I want to use Jira Automation.