Numbering of sub-task in JIRA is same as that of a new task

[Warwick Boardman]

Hi,

I've had an idea of documenting my activities in my work diary based on JIRA task numbering. However, within an Issue, say Project-6, when I created a sub-task instead of getting something like Project-6-1 I got Project-9 (I already had some new Issues running). Is there a way of getting a proper number for my sub-task?

Warwick

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Accepted solution]

No, that is done by design. Subtasks simply take the next free issue number in the project. I think I saw a feature request over at jira.atlassian.comto change that scheme but I didn't bookmark it

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

A sub task is NOT just a little afterthought on the parent issue, it is a fully fledged issue in its own right.  It needs a unique key and to fit in with the rest of the project.  It's not "automatic numbering", it's "giving an issue the unique identifier it needs to be useful".  So no, because you need it.

[Tracy F]

"...it is a fully fledged issue in its own right"  -- except when it's not.  For us, each sub-task is a piece of work to be performed by a different department, and the sub-tasks are interlinked. We cannot consider the parent task completed until the underlying sub-tasks are all completed. Some sub-tasks cannot be progressed independently.

Being able to recognise that a task is a sub-task just by looking at the task id, for example, seeing task id XXXX-1234.005, would make it immediately evident that this is a sub-task for parent task XXXX-1234 and that there are at least 4 other related sub-tasks.

Task id is part of the key - understand. However, this limitation/construct is probably one of the most frustrating things we've encountered. It just adds to the sheer number of numbers.

Has anything changed in this regard since 2017?

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

No, Jira has not changed its key system, and its not going to, for the reasons above.  Your numbering scheme does not do anything to add towards "parent can't be completeted until sub-tasks done" - Jira already handles that in the workflow and reporting with the simple numbering scheme.  Recognising a subtask is also easy - in most places Jira displays it with its parent as a breadcrumb, and it'll have its own icon.

[Sylvain Deschenes]

so, is there a way to stop the "automatically numbering" feature of a new task?

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

It's not a problem with JIRA, it's built to treat sub-tasks as issues in their own right with their own sequential number.  They display their parent in most places when you need it, so you're not losing anything by having a flat numbering scheme.

[Sylvain Deschenes]

Hi. we have the same problem. a sub-task is created with the next available number instead of added a .number at the end of the task number.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

They do show up with their actual number. Unless you've deliberately turned it off in the subtask diskplay.

[Elaine Gamble]

Yes - we are very much wanting to see the actual jira ticket number and not a numbering of 1, 2, 3, etc. Why do these subtask not show up with their actual ticket numbering?