A user cannot start a Sprint even though this user is granted the Start/Complete Sprints project permission
Platform Notice: Data Center Only - This article only applies to Atlassian products on the Data Center platform.
Note that this KB was created for the Data Center version of the product. Data Center KBs for non-Data-Center-specific features may also work for Server versions of the product, however they have not been tested. Support for Server* products ended on February 15th 2024. If you are running a Server product, you can visit the Atlassian Server end of support announcement to review your migration options.
*Except Fisheye and Crucible
Summary
A user cannot start a Sprint even though this user is granted the Start/Complete Sprints project permission (without being granted the Manage Sprints permission).
The purpose of this knowledge base article is to provide the list of root causes which are known to cause this issue, how to identify them, and how to address them.
Please note that the issue addressed in this KB article is different than the one described in Some users can't manage a Sprint (create, start, edit, complete, move) due to incorrect project permissions. This KB article is specifically about users who have been granted the Start/Complete Sprints permission (without the Manage Sprints permission), and who can't start/complete sprints, even though this permission should allow them to do so as per this documentation.
Environment
Jira Software Data Center on 7.0.0 and any higher version.
Diagnosis
First, verify that the impacted user is granted the Start/Complete Sprints permission in the right project(s). To do that
Follow the instructions from the section Step 1 - Identify the origin board of the Sprint of the article Some users can't manage a Sprint (create, start, edit, complete, move) due to incorrect project permissions, to identify the original board of the Sprint
Then go to the Filter Query associated to the board, and check the list of projects involved in this query
Make sure that the user is granted the Start/Complete Sprints permission in the right project(s)
Once you've done that, move on to the next step
Check the symptom that the impacted user is facing when they try to start the Sprint:
If the Start sprint button is greyed out:
Ask the user to hover over the button, and check if the error message matches:
1This sprint needs start and end dates to be started. You need the Manage sprints permission to add the dates.If this user sees the same error, then the Root Cause 1 is relevant and you can move on to that section
If the Start sprint button is not greyed out:
Check if you can see a label with a name starting with "AGILE HIVE..."
Ask the user to click on the Start sprint button next to this Sprint, then click on Start button from the pop-up, and check if they are getting the error below:
1To update this sprint, you must have the Manage Sprints permission for all of the following projects: <Some Project Names>.If this user sees the same error and if the Sprint has the "AGILE HIVE..." label attached to it, then the Root Cause 2 is relevant and you can move on to that section
Cause
Root Cause 1
For a Sprint to be started, this Sprint needs to have a start and end date. If either date is empty, a user who is only granted the Start/Complete Sprints permission will not be able to start it, because this permission does not allow this user to set the Start and End date. Being granted the Edit Sprints permission is not enough either. A user who is granted the Manage Sprints permission needs to set the start/end date of this sprint.
Root Cause 2
The Sprint was automatically created by the 3rd party add-on Agile Hive (Sprints created this way will be given the label with name "AGILE HIVE..."). Because of a bug that impacts versions from this add-on that are below 3.65.1, the Sprint gets created in a "inconsistent" state, and as a result, the Start/Complete Sprints permission does not allow users to start the Sprint.
Solution
Solution for Root Cause 1
Ensure that the Sprint has a start/end date, to allow users who are only granted the Start/Complete Sprints permission to start it.
Note that only users who are granted the Manage Sprints permission can set the start/end date of sprints.
Solution for Root Cause 2
Since the bug in Agile Hive was resolved in 3.65.1 as per the add-on version history page, upgrading to this version or any higher version will resolve the issue.
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