Clunky Jira automation can be nearly as painful as manually solving a repetitive problem.

In that spirit, we recently released an update to Jira Misc Workflow Extensions for Jira Cloud that eliminates the need to use duplicate post functions to copy multiple field issues.

Now, a single post function, Copy issue fields, can be used to pass numerous field values from epics, issues or subtasks to any other issue fields you have.

Here's an example:

You want an issue's Assignee as the Approver of associated subtasks, while also ensuring a consistent Due date across the issue and its subtasks.

With the "Copy issue fields" post function, you simply map the issue to any related subtasks and connect Assignee to the Approver field within your Jira workflow. Do the same with the Due date fields and those field values will copy over as subtasks are created. 

Setting multiple field values 

Automation fields with pre-defined or calculated text or JSON values has long been a staple of JMWE through the "Set field value" post function. Now, however, you can set multiple field values within a single post function — no more building each in separate one-at-a-time processes. To highlight this multi-field functionality, we have renamed this post function "Set issue fields."

Some examples:

• Text value: Add an epic's Reporter as a watcher of related user stories when a new story is created.
• Calculated value: Set the Original Estimate field based on the difference between its creation and due dates.​

Also released this month, add the Comment Required Validator to your workflow transition to make it mandatory for the user to enter a comment while transitioning an issue. You can customize an error message to be displayed if the Comment field is left blank during the transition. You can also add conditional validation using Jira expressions to validate a transition for specific scenarios.

Undoubtedly, there are ample automations that Jira administrators want to run at regular intervals. And that's why Jira Misc Workflow Extensions (JMWE) introduced Scheduled Actions last year, enabling Jira admins to run post functions using JQL queries.

But what about those one-off instances when you need to perform an action in Jira and possibly repeat it at irregular intervals? 

 This solution was provided by Joy Melendez. It has earned a $100 donation to FIRST. 

Troubleshooting challenge:

A JMWE validator is being used during the issue creation step. It validates that the issue has a certain linktype associated with it. The validator works properly when issues are being created. However, it doesn't work when a user clones an issue in Jira UI - even if the 'clone links' option is selected. 

Jira automation is a no-code rule builder that lets users build "if-this-then-that" rules to automate their processes. The rules are triggered by Jira events and are relatively simple to build. Anyone with Global or Project Admin permissions can create automation rules to quickly automate many processes.

Automation is included with every Jira Cloud Standard, Premium, and Enterprise offering. However, there are notable Global and multi-project rule limits that may impact your experience with Jira's automation offering.

Automate processes outside of Jira Workflows with this new JMWE for Jira Cloud feature​

If you've ever configured a Jira workflow, you know that regular workflow post-functions run on transitions - that is, when an issue transitions from one status to another. Let's say an issue transitions from OPEN to IN PROGRESS. As part of a workflow transition, many rules can be set up to automate processes.

Jira Misc Workflow Extensions (JMWE) for Jira Cloud includes dozens of configurable workflow post-functions that can enable a virtually unlimited number of use cases. However, what if important issue updates take place outside of status changes - without a transition taking place? That's where our new powerful Event-based Actions come in.

The upcoming holiday season will feel quite different for many people this year, which is why it's important that we give back. Give back to communities and groups who need extra support and love. Give back to people in need and to organizations that care for others.

Recently, I was chatting with Rodney Nissen (a.k.a, thejiraguy.com) about the Holidays, this challenging year, and, of course, Jira. An idea was born. An idea that evolved from a mere competition for a prize into a much bigger project - a charitable contest that will give back to the community.

Since Atlassian has published the end-of-life timeline for Jira Server, we'd like to address a few points regarding features, pricing, and licensing related to our products. Hopefully, this can help you make confident decisions as you develop a plan for your team.  Please be aware that Jira Misc Workflow Extensions (JMWE) is available on all Jira instances; Jira Misc Custom Fields (JMCF) is available for Jira Data Center (DC) and Jira Server.

As powerful as Jira is, it is not always easy for some Jira beginners to start using it. Now and then, we all need a little help. Especially as your company adapts Jira's usage beyond your software development teams to business users. In addition to making Jira work for their organization, Jira Administrators have another responsibility: training users to properly use it.

For those of you who have that responsibility, you'll be excited to know that now there are additional resources available. Rachel Wright's new LinkedIn Learning courses can help you ensure Jira is fully utilized across different teams. 

Today, we're entering our next chapter by announcing Innovalog's acquisition by Appfire. It's the right next step for us, our customers, and partners. Here's why.  

First, on behalf of Innovalog, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers for their business. This patronage truly matters to us, especially in these turbulent times. We strive to meet and exceed expectations whenever our customers need help, have a question, or reach out to our support team, and we are always committed to doing our best.  

At Innovalog, we never increase our prices without first giving you valuable new functionality to automate more of your Jira processes. In the past 12-18 months, we have invested in a significant amount of new features and improvements, and we hope you find them helpful. This year, we have decided to make all pricing changes in one shot, on September 16th, 2020, as we have postponed some pricing changes from Spring to help organizations stabilize their business during this difficult time.

JMCF v. 2.3.0 for Jira Server and Data Center is here, and it brings the following new features: 

Auto-indexing of related Jira issues makes searching accurate​

​When displaying an issue, the value of all its Calculated (Scripted) fields is re-computed on-the-fly. Therefore, the value of any Calculated field will always be up-to-date. But when searching for issues, Jira uses the Jira index, which stores the value of all standard and custom fields and is only updated when an issue is modified (or the index is re-built).

We are excited to introduce a new version of JMWE for Jira Server and Data Center. It includes several significant new features, as well as many improvements. We hope that JMWE will help you automate more of your Jira workflows.  

We are super excited to introduce new major features in JMWE for Jira Cloud. We hope this release will help make your job easier, and while we are making our product more feature-rich, we will not be raising prices. Now is not the time to burden your team and your company. Now is the time to help you better optimize your work and automate more of your Jira workflows. 

Take a look at the new features now available in JMWE for Jira Cloud:

In Jira Cloud, during a transition, all post-functions run in parallel. Often, however, you need actions to be executed in sequential order. This new post-function, Sequence of Post-functions, allows you to combine several JMWE post-functions into one sequence so that they can all run in a predefined order. For example, if you need, during a transition, to first create a new issue and then send a notification email mentioning the new issue, you need to make sure that the first post-function has finished running before starting the second one. The sequence would ensure that it runs properly.

Schedule actions for one or more JMWE post-functions to run against issues returned by a JQL search.  

Regular workflow post-functions run on transitions, but now you can schedule JMWE post-functions to run against issues returned by a JQL search. For example, you can automatically transition any issue escalated yet not addressed for over 24 hours.

Create shared JMWE post-functions (or sequences of post-functions) that can be reused in multiple workflow transitions. 

​In Jira Cloud, JMWE post-functions (or sequences of post-functions) can now be configured once and then added to multiple transitions across different workflows. It lets you quickly reuse (and then maintain) common configurations. For example, set multiple fields using set field value post-functions and then add them to transitions as one Shared Action, without the need to recreate them again and again. Or configure a post-function to send an email, and then reuse it in different workflows.

JMCF v 2.2 is here! This version brings new features such as the new Transition Callers field type, support for Botron's Configuration Manager, and improvements that include better Duration field types, and more.

The highly-anticipated Jira Misc Workflow Extensions (JMWE) 6.2 is here, and we are excited to let you know about a few important new features, as well as many improvements.

​If you are contemplating attending Atlassian Summit 2020, consider this: you will spend a few knowledge-packed days amongst the most expert professionals, all available to you to ask questions, gather ideas, and explore future opportunities. Those professionals not only include the 'Atlassians' themselves, but also many super-knowledgeable consultants and trainers, such as our friend Rachel Wright. She is an entrepreneur, Certified JIRA Administrator, and author of the JIRA Strategy Admin Workbook.

Recently, Rachel published an article on how to convince your boss to send you to the event - get a few good ideas here.

Innovalog again is a proud sponsor of this mega event and we hope to see you in Las Vegas.