Automation to change the Project of a issue

[Joel Hunn]

Hi Guys

We would like to use automation to move a support ticket between two projects.

Our case is as follows. The apprentices are responsible for the orders and have their own service desk for this purpose. Once the corresponding products have been ordered, these tickets should be returned to the normal IT ServiceDesk.

If I create the automation by cloning, the comments are deleted.

Do you have similar experiences or do you have any tips on how you solved this?

[Trudy Claspill]

Hello @Joel Hunn 

Welcome to the Atlassian community.

Automation does not support the Move Issue operation. The only option is to Clone the issue into the new project and delete the original.

https://support.atlassian.com/cloud-automation/docs/move-an-issue-to-another-project-using-automation/

There is a change request to add that functionality. You can add your vote/comments to it here:

https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/AUTO-549

The Clone process is essentially creating a new issue, so it will not copy issue history or comments as those are not part of the Create New Issue process. If you want the comments to be retained, you will have to add steps to your rule to copy those over.

Where are the issues being created originally? I ask because you say the tickets should be "returned" to the normal IT Service Desk, which implies that's where they were originally.

As an alternative to moving the issue between projects, have you considered creating a separate issue and simply linking them together? You could have automation rules to update one based on changes to the other, such as updating the "parent" issue when the apprentice's "child" issue was completed.

[Luka Hummel - codefortynine]

Hi @Joel Hunn and welcome to the community!

For your specific case, you might look into our app Deep Clone for Jira. This app allows you to clone issues, including all comments, attachments, and even work logs, to another project. While the primary function is cloning, it also offers the capability to move issues more seamlessly compared to the native functionality in Jira and do this as a part of a Jira Automation.

I also agree with @Trudy Claspill that you probably have the clone just link to the original issue instead of deleting the original issue. You could also have a specific status for the original issue until the issue has been worked on in the other project.

Here's how you could approach your scenario with Deep Clone for Jira:

1. Automate the Cloning Process: Set up an automation rule that triggers the cloning of the ticket with Deep Clone to the IT Service Desk project once the apprentices mark the order-related tasks as completed.
2. Link the Clones: Ensure that the cloned ticket is linked back to the original ticket in the apprentices' service desk. This maintains a connection between the tickets, allowing for easy navigation and reference. 
   You can have Deep Clone create the links while cloning.
3. Cleanup: If necessary, you can automate the closure or resolution of the original ticket in the apprentices' project once the clone has been successfully created in the IT Service Desk project, ensuring that your project boards remain clean and up-to-date.
4. Preserve Context and Data: Since Deep Clone for Jira is designed to handle complex cloning operations, including moving issues between projects, it ensures that all the context and data associated with the original issue are preserved, addressing your concern about losing comments.