Is there a way to log multiple entries within a single work item while using JWM ?

[Mussey_ Scott]

I would like to create a custom field in JWM so that users within my project can log multiple numeric entries into that field.  I would then like to create basic reporting to show how many entries were logged for that custom field within in a given timeframe along with the user who logged the entry.  Is that possible in JWM?

[Trudy Claspill]

Hello @Mussey_ Scott 

Could you provide more background on this scenario to give us more context?

What do the numbers represent?

My first thought, without more information, is that there the only natively available custom field type that allows users to dynamically create lists of values is a Labels type field.

However, there is no native reporting available that will tell you how many label values were added to issues within a time frame, not report who they were entered by. The History information in each work item will tell you who made changes and what changes were made and when the changes where made, but there is not a native function to generate reports from that history.

Perhaps if your provide a more detailed explanation of your business case we may be able to suggest some methods for achieving it.

[Mussey_ Scott]

I've created an issuetype in JWM to track production defects for a product my team supports.  I'd like to create a field in JWM where a user from my team could log additional defects by entering a file number into a custom field I would create on that issuetype.  I was originally thinking of using  "Number" field.  Then every time a new defect is reported the file number could be entered into that custom field.  I understand that only the most recent example would be visible in that field, but I was hoping I could somehow create reporting or some filter looking at the history to determine how many times that field was updated during a given period of time.

[Trudy Claspill]

Thank you for that additional information.

Have you considered creating an additional issue in your project for each defect where you can record the file number, and linking each of those "defect" issues to the "production defect tracking" issue?

There is not a native reporting capability for reporting on number of times a Number field has changed nor each value that has been in that field. There are third party apps that can be used to get more reporting capabilities related to the historic changes in issues. Without a third party app you would need to consider creating your own custom solution leveraging the Jira REST API.

By creating a new issue for each "defect" you can use native issue searching capabilities to retrieve a set of issues based on their creation date and the person that created them. That would satisfy your reporting requirement at least for "the number of entries made in a time period". In the query results you can include the Reporter or Creator fields to see who "logged" the "defect". If those "defects" are also linked to your "production defect tracking" you can also at least see which issue they are linked to in the query results.

Example:

You can display the results in a Jira Dashboard gadget, or set up a subscription to run the query on a schedule and mail you the results.

Let me know if that sounds like it would satisfy your needs and/or you have more questions.

[Mussey_ Scott]

Thanks for the reply.  I do agree the solution you recommended would provide more insight to the volume of issues and would allow for better reporting.  I'll review this option with my stakeholders to see if that would be acceptable for them.