Automation "Related issues condition" Stopped Working
Asked by Jeff Hooper:

I have an Jira Software automation rule which triggers on a Task update, finds the "Epic (parent)", and checks for any "Sub-tasks" (i.e., Tasks under that Epic) that are in Status of "To Do". It worked perfectly through 09/26/2023. But starting on 09/27/2023, it has been finding "no match" on the Related issues condition.

What do I need to change in the rule, to react to whatever was changed by Atlassian? Thanks for any guidance.

![Automation_Problem_20231005_1.png](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/284681i511013C4B0929241/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999 "Automation_Problem_20231005_1.png")![Automation_Problem_20231005_2.png](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/284682i1E25CDC0B7BB7B9B/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999 "Automation_Problem_20231005_2.png")


Answers:
author: Bill Sheboy
body: Hi [@Jeff Hooper](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/5105722)

Although it was possible for a while to create Subtasks under an Epic, that is not a normal practice supported by the out-of-the-box issue hierarchy. Regardless...

I wonder if the recent changes to sunset some of the Epic fields (which seems to be completing work) caused an issue for your rule.

If you post images of your rule that may provide context to explain what you are observing. Please include...

* your complete rule (in one image),
* images of any relevant actions/branches, and
* the audit log details showing the rule execution examples when it worked as you expected and when it did not, and...
* please explain the business problem your rule is trying to solve.

Kind regards,  
Bill


author: Tim C
body: Hi [@Jeff Hooper](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/5105722)

Obviously, "sub-tasks" don't themselves sit directly under "Epics" but under the imain ssues types which are being children of Epics.

I have no idea if was working for you why it's now stopped.

However, I just checked that this JQL works fine as "branch" in automation (on cloud) ... assuming your running against a main issue ...

**issuekey in portfolioChildIssuesOf("{{issue.epic.key}}") and issuetype = sub-task and status in ("To Do")**

This finds any sub-tasks under any of the issue(s) within the Epic - in my case I added a comment on each and worked fine.

![parent-10-05.png](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/284696i578E892A72040594/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999 "parent-10-05.png")

I hope this workaround helps?

Thanks,

TC.

comments: author: Jeff Hooper
body: [@Tim C](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/4438063) thanks for the response. It was working for months, until it promptly stopped. If I can't get an explanation regarding what changed (and how to adapt to that change), then I'll try your proposed workaround.


author: Bill Sheboy
body: Hi [@Jeff Hooper](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/5105722)

Just following up to check if Tim's response answered your question. If so, please consider marking this one as "answered". That will help others with a similar need find solutions faster. If not, please let the community know what help you need with the rule changes.

Thanks!