Will moving all subtasks of a story to "Done" automatically move the story to "Done" too?

[Melvin Sng]

Hi all,

My Scrum Board is not using the simplified workflow. I have a story that contains a couple of subtasks. I'd like to check if this story will automatically move to "Done" if all the subtasks under it are "Done"? Or will there be a button / prompt to allow me to do it myself?

Thanks!

[Ste Wright · Accepted solution]

Hi @Melvin Sng 

Not by default - and there's no condition by default that sub-tasks need to be closed to close a story.

You can manage these two scenarios if you need to:

• Workflow Condition: You can add a workflow condition on your "Done" transition - the "Sub-Task Blocking Condition". You can use this to state closing the Story is blocked unless the Sub-Tasks are also in "Done" statuses
• Automation: You could use Automation for Jira to automate that when all Sub-Tasks are closed, it automatically closes the parent.

If you'd like more specific instructions to set up either of these, please let us know :)

Ste

[Melvin Sng]

Hi @Ste Wright 

Thanks! I'm not looking to have the story closed automatically when all the subtasks are closed. I'd like to decide and do so manually.

Can I. understand your reply as that is the case by default?

- Mel

[Ste Wright]

Hi @Melvin Sng 

Yes, that's the default :)

Ste

[Beverly]

 You can have a story in a sprint with subtasks can you keep the story open until all the subtasks are done?  What if all the subtasks for a User Story are not completed in a sprint? How do you carry over those subtasks for that User Story to the next sprint?  When is the User Story closed?

[Ste Wright]

Hi @Beverly 

You need to have all Sub-tasks closed under a Story when closing a Sprint.

If not, you need to keep the Story open and move it into the next Sprint to also bring over the Sub-tasks (both open and closed).

Sprints are related to Story-level issues - Sub-tasks cannot be in a Sprint by themselves.

Ste

[Carolina Chang Herrera]

Please explain me a little more, if the all subtask are Done and the Story is Open and the Sprint is completed.  What happen with the story?  Remains Open and I have to move it into the next sprint, but what happen with the subtasks? The substasks stays in the closed Sprint? or do I have to move them into the next sprint too.

[Ste Wright]

Hi @Carolina Chang Herrera 

Only the Story is in the Sprint - the Sub-tasks are intrinsically linked to the Story, and will always follow it.

This means if the Story is open when the Sprint completes, it will move to the next Sprint with all the Sub-tasks, regardless of their Status.

Ste

[Faisal Shamim]

Is it possible that  no one should be able to create any sub-task for an already DONE Story? thanks

[Ste Wright]

Hi @Faisal Shamim 

You can - there's two native options.

---

Workflow Validator

Note: This only works for Company-managed Projects

You can set which Statuses a Parent must be in as a validator for the "Create Issue" transition. This would let you "exclude" the Done Statuses.

To do this...

• Go to Jira Settings > Issues > Workflows
• Locate/edit the appropriate Workflow for the Sub-task Issue Type
• Select the "Create" transition - this is the line between the grey circle and the first Status
• Select Validators from the pop-up menu
• Select Add Validator
• Select the Parent Status Validator and press Add
• Select all Status that a Parent can be in
  • You can select all Statuses using Ctrl/Cmnd + A
  • You can then deselect the "Done" Statuses using Ctrl/Cmnd + Click
• Press Add again, then publish the Workflow

Once published, this should now stop a Sub-task being created when the Parent is in any Status you didn't select!

---

Automation

If the above isn't sufficient - for example, this should only be for Stories, and not for Bugs, you might need to use automation.

This is a workaround rather than a direct solution - the rule will "delete" a sub-task if it's created based on the conditions.

• Go to Project Settings > Automation, and create a new rule
• Set the details as follows...
  • Trigger: Issue Created
  • Condition: Issue Fields Condition
    • Field = Issue Type
    • Condition = equals
    • Value = Sub-task
  • Condition: Advanced Compare Condition
    • First Value = {{issue.parent.resolution}}
    • Condition = does not equal
    • Second Value = empty
  • Action: Delete Issue

A few notes on this rule...

• Assuming resolution is being set, I find this option in the "Advanced Compare Condition" to be simpler than using Status
• You could add more Conditions if needed, eg. if this was only relevant to certain Issue Types as Parents
• This could confuse users - so if I were you, I'd add a second Action - Send Email. That way you can send the Initiator an email alerting them as to why their Sub-task was removed.
• You could also reopen the Parent using Automation if preferred, and send a notification for this instead.

---

Let us know your thoughts!

Ste