Change Request type to one with a different issue type

[Mike Gross]

Just getting started with JSM.  Before, all tickets were coming in via email, so I've set up that channel in JSM and will eventually have it watch the mailbox that's currently feeding our old ticket system.  

The requests all come in with the "Emailed request" request type, which has the issue type "[System] Service Request".  I created a different Request Type called "Request Access to Financial Systems" which has the issue type "[System] Service request with approvals".  

My problem is that if a request comes in via email, I'm not able to change it to my "Request Access to Financial Systems" Request Type, and I'm assuming it's because they're different Issue Types.  But I really need to find a way to do this, so I can collect the approvals needed.  I tried to figure out a way to do this via Automation but ran into the same issue.  Researched a bit and I thought I saw that folks were able to do this via GUI, but I can't figure this out either.

I'm hoping it makes sense and that I used the proper terminology here.  Thanks in advance for any suggestions I'll attach a screenshot showing the two request types I'm referring to.

If there's a better way to accomplish the same goal, I'm all ears.  My goal is to initiate the approval process for any financial system, and not rely on the agent to remember that an approval is needed.  The Request Type I created has that approver baked in.

[Dwight Holman · Accepted solution]

Hi Mike,

Not sure if I'm missing something, but it seems the key piece in the puzzle is how Issue Types relate to Workflows.

Suggest you read this: How do workflows, Issue Types, and Request Types connect? 

The Issue Type determines the Workflow which determines the valid Status values for the issue.

This means you usually cannot change the issue type directly; e.g. if the issue state is not valid for another workflow. To enforce the workflow Jira does not allow you to edit the Issue Type unless the new issue type has the same workflow.

See: Community: How do I change the issue type after an issue has been created? 

But you can still change the type of an issue:

• By using the Move feature. This wizard you to move tickets to other projects, but also allows you to 'move' an issue to a different workflow (in the same project).
• Or by Cloning the issue to a new type (and closing or deleting the original).

Recommend you do some reading and experiments. I hope one of these is workable:

1. Use a single Workflow for "[System] Service Request" and "Request Access to Financial Systems" issue types. May require more complex workflow logic, but would make it simple to change Issue Type.
2. Clone the issue to the desired issue type and delete the old one. Might sound clunky but could be automated if this scenario is common.
3. Manually Move requests to the new type using the wizard. Probably the easiest if this is a rare occurrence.

[Charles Gage]

I don't know if this is much help, but we had a similar situation where we had a company that was emailing "tickets" to us which we then had to input into our Jira.  Since it was a short-term project, we didn't want to take the time to stand up another JSM project for what would have been about three weeks of their work.  They would email us with any problems they encountered.

We installed the free "Jira Cloud for Outlook" plug-in.  This allowed our Help Desk staff to monitor emails for those issues and create a Jira "ticket" (Issue) on the fly for the type of issue needed.  So, if it was a defect, the Help Desk would create a Defect Issue in Jira.  If it were an Enhancement, they'd create a Task ticket, etc.

The split-screen display for this plug-in was perfect and the bi-directional connection between the newly created Jira issue and the email that spawned it was very helpful.  All this was a quick & easy way to create any issue type needed.  Like most projects, three weeks turned into three months but the process eventually wrapped up.  Everyone was happy.

The ability of the plug-in to pre-fill the Title and Description and attach a link and/or copy of the email made the process of converting an email into a Jira issue very easy and accurate, and quick.

As I said, this may not work in your case but for us, it was easy and accurate.  Good luck.

[Dario Alarcón]

Hi @Mike Gross 
From what I understand, I think the solution that meets your need is to generate a new workflow for that type of requests and associate the "issue type" called "emailed request" to the new workflow.
I have some projects that work that way, all emails received from the client generate a ticket in Jira with the Subject, the Description and an attachment if so, these tickets belong to an "issue type".

[Dario Alarcón]

here is a screenshot

[Mike Gross]

Right now I have email requests coming in properly, I just cannot change the request type to one of a different issue type.  Not all requests coming in via email will require an approval, but some will.  That's why I'm trying to figure out how to choose a request type of a different issue type.