Optimize rules

Summary

This Kb discusses various factors that should be kept in mind to optimize automation rules.

Solution

Optimize best practice for manageability

• Plan your rules before creating them - this will help you work out what rules you absolutely must have and where you can combine rules by using conditions. Start with your workflows and the actions you want to occur then work backwards to what you want to trigger those actions to occur and when. Do you want to send out emails on every customer feedback comment on an issue or only on issues of a high priority

• Automation rules are there to help your business and operational processes work more efficiently, they should align. A review of your automation rules should occur alongside reviews of your business and operational processes.

Optimize for performance

• Restrict your rules to specific projects only - Convert as many of your rules from Global to Project rules as you can. Any events from projects where there’s no matching rule are filtered out. Thus, there are less rules that need to be queued for execution.

• Combine Rules - you might have one rule that branches on the current rule and then runs conditions and actions underneath.

• Try to catch out actions from running as early as possible - Try to be specific with when your rule runs, e.g. ‘Field Value Changed’ is far more economical than ‘Issue Updated’ even better when you limit it to certain actions

• Use compare conditions as early in your rule as possible. Ideally, you should be chaining compare conditions at the start of your rule to exclude all the issues you don’t want to operate on as early as possible.

• Move more expensive checks as far back as possible if you must have them. JQL conditions are more expensive than running a compare condition — for example, checking if status = ‘Done’ is worse than comparing {{issue.status.name}}. equals ‘Done’ — so try to avoid them as much as possible or push them to the back of the chain.

• Only use branch rules where you absolutely must. For example, the ‘For current issue’ branch rule will spawn a new process. Great, if you are combining rules as mentioned above but if it doesn’t serve a purpose, it will hold you back.