How to use Jira automation with 3rd-party apps - News, tips & guidance for agile, development, Atlassian-Software (JIRA, Confluence, Bitbucket, ...) and Google Cloud

Automation is no longer this cool new thing everyone wants, but a commonplace component everyone expects. Our Jira workflows are no exception, which is why Code Barrel’s Automation for Jira app was bought by Atlassian and made available natively in Jira Cloud in 2019.

Since then, Jira automation has become the most popular way of speeding up workflows and eliminating routine and repetitive tasks in Jira. This rule builder allows Jira users to create if this – then that behaviors based on a wide selection of events, e.g. when a project is created or a Jira issue is transitioned.

Let’s take a closer look at what Jira automation is and how you can use it with third-party apps from the Atlassian Marketplace.

What are Jira automation rules?

An automation rule in Jira has three components: a trigger that kicks it off, a condition that has to be met, and an action that performs a task in your Jira.

For example, a task is assigned to a particular user (action) when the issue is created (trigger) and the issue type is “bug” or the component is “UI” (condition).

Other examples of common Jira automation rules are:

Notifying stakeholders when the priority of an issue changes
Automatically escalating overdue issues
Automatically closing support tickets in Jira Service Management if the customer has not responded for more than five days

You can also use branching to perform actions against related issues, e.g. when a subtask moves to in-progress, the parent issue moves along with it.

If you have Jira and Confluence and they are integrated, you could think about automating processes between them. For example, automating the creation of a page in Confluence each time a new Jira epic is created. The page name would be the epic key, followed by the epic summary.

If you want to expand on this idea of documenting your Jira issues automatically, you could try the Atlassian Marketplace app, AutoPage. This goes further than Jira automation by documenting more than just the issue summary and by keeping your Confluence page and Jira issue in sync with each other; change one and you automatically change the other.

The benefits of Jira automation

The two main benefits of Jira automation are the same as automation of any manual process: reduced errors and improved efficiency. Manual, administrative tasks can be forgotten or done wrong, and they also take time away from core work. Jira automation ensures that you don’t forget to assign a task, notify stakeholders when issues change, or close/link/update issues. It also removes the need to do these things in the first place, allowing team members to progress faster through their Jira workflows.

Jira automation has the added benefit of improving team collaboration and visibility of work. Automated notifications, task assignments, and updates keep team members informed of their responsibilities in real time, leading to a more cohesive work environment.

Does automation for Jira work with 3rd-party apps?

The best thing about Jira automation is that it’s not limited to the built-in functionality. You can also use it with third-party add-ons that support Jira automation. In other words, the functionality in your apps can be configured to be triggers and actions in your Jira.

This is great for Jira admins who have already set up Jira automation rules based on the native functionality and are looking to improve and speed up their workflows even further. With third-party app automation they can do exactly that.

How does Jira automation work with 3rd-party apps?

One of the many triggers to set off an automation rule in Jira is called an “incoming webhook”. An incoming webhook is something from outside Jira, e.g. an app, telling Jira to start a rule. It means that something happening in a third-party app could be configured to trigger an action in Jira.

In addition, one of the many actions to be automated in Jira is a “web request”. This means that the Jira automation rule is telling a third-party system or app to do something.

3rd-party app automation example: automatically apply a Jira issue template

Templating.app is an Atlassian Marketplace app that supports the built-in Jira automation functionality. The app is a Jira workflow automation tool that automates repetitive Jira ticket creation through the application of issue templates, kickstarting workflows faster. In effect, Templating.app and Jira automation were made for each other.

With Templating.app you can create templates for Jira projects, issue hierarchies, subtasks, and individual Jira tickets. That way, you don’t have to keep creating the same issues with the same information over and over again. You simply apply the template.

Jira automation takes this even further, by applying the template for you. When a specific trigger occurs, e.g. a new project or version gets created, Jira sends a web request to Templating.app and instructs it to apply an issue template to a project automatically.

Let’s take a look at how the use cases for Templating.app automation for Jira can help you.

Easier management of multiple projects

If you manage multiple Jira projects and all of those projects require specific issues, Templating.app Jira automation can apply the correct issue template every time a new project is created. This ensures consistency across all projects and speeds up their creation.

Consistent financial reports

If you need to prepare financial reports every quarter, you’ll need to undertake the same tasks and produce the same statements, analyses, and assessments every time. You can use Templating.app automation for Jira to apply the same financial report template full of preconfigured issues at the start of each quarter. That way you make sure every report follows the same structure and includes all necessary information, streamlining your reporting process.

Better release management

Most software teams will follow a procedure for every release. This means that each one will require the same tasks to be completed by the team, such as requirements gathering, code integration, environment setup, testing and bug tracking, and deployment.

Templating.app automation for Jira can apply a template of issues each time a version is created, so that the team has everything they need to start work right away. All of the issues can have preconfigured issue summaries and custom fields to help the team complete each one.

Have a read of our documentation to find out how to set up Jira automation for Templating.app.

To summarize (TL;DR)

Jira automation rules have three components: a trigger to kick it off, a condition that has to be met, and an action that performs a task in Jira.
You can use Jira automation with third-party add-ons that support it, like Templating.app, allowing Jira admins to speed up workflows even further.
Templating.app automation for Jira automatically applies an issue template when certain triggers occur.
With Templating.app Jira automation, you can speed up project and issue creation even more, and make sure recurring processes are always carried out consistently.
Use cases for Templating.app Jira automation include easier multi-project management, consistent financial reporting, and improved release management.

If you’re interested in improving and speeding up your Jira workflows by automatically applying issue templates to projects, book a personal demo of Templating.app or try the app for free on the Atlassian Marketplace.