Get the amount of time a Jira issue was in a status using automation

Summary

Using two separate Jira automation rules, we can track how much time an issue was in a status. Our example covers a status named Pending, but it can be used to track any status that has been set on a workflow.

There are three steps needed to calculate the time in a status.

1. Create a custom field to store the date/time an issue enters a status

2. Create an automation rule to update this custom field with the timestamp of transitions into the status

3. Create an automation rule to compare the time an issue transitions out of the status with the time it entered

The Automation for Jira (A4J) rule components in the following rules are available and will work in Jira Cloud and in Data Center and Server versions using A4J 9.0.3 or higher.  

Solution

Create a custom field to store the timestamp

We will need a new custom field to store the time an issue enters the Pending status. Choose the Date Time Picker field type.

In our example, we name this field Time in Pending. The field stores the number of seconds the issue was in the Pending status. We can also get time in days, hours, and weeks, as detailed in the following steps.

Create an automation rule to store date and time of transition

The finished automation rule will look as diagrammed below:

• Rule name: Store time issue enters Pending status

  • From status: leave blank

  • To status: Pending

• Rule trigger: Issue transitioned

• Rule action: Edit issue

• Choose fields to set: 

  • Time in Pending

  • Field value:{{now}}

Save and publish your new rule. When this rule is run, the Time in Pending field will store the date and time the issue entered the Pending status.

Create an automation rule to calculate the time spent in a status

The important part of this step is the first rule action, which is to Create a variable. This variable (named NumberOfSeconds in our example) will store the time difference between the date/time the issue was transitioned to the Pending status, and the date/time the issue left that status.

Our variable should use the smart value {{Time in Pending.diff(now).seconds}}

We can then post the value of the NumberOfSeconds variable as a comment on the issue using a second rule action.

Here is our finished rule diagram:

• Rule name: Calculate and report time spent in Pending status

  • From status: Pending

  • To status: leave blank

• Rule trigger: Issue transitioned

• Rule action: Create variable

  • Variable name: NumberOfSeconds

  • Smart value: {{Time in Pending.diff(now).seconds}}

• Rule action: Comment on issue

  • Comment: This issue was in Pending status for {{NumberOfSeconds}} seconds.

If you prefer, you can choose to use the NumberOfSeconds variable in other rule actions including the Send Email action.

Optional: Calculate cumulative time in status

If issues move into Pending status more than once, for example:

Created → In Progress → Pending  (1 day) → In Progress → Pending (2 days) → Done → Closed

The above cumulative time spent in Pending is 3 days. We'll have to save and append the time spent during each instance of the issue transitioning and leaving the Pending state into a Number type custom field.

We can accomplish this with the following steps:

1. Create a Number type custom field to store the total time spent in Pending

   • In our example, the field is named TotalPendingSeconds

2. Add a new action to the calculating automation rule (the second one) to increment the Number field with the following math expression:

   • {{#=}}{{NumberOfSeconds}} + {{IF(TotalPendingSeconds,TotalPendingSeconds,0)}}{{/}}

The reason we use the IF math function is to cover the edge case where the TotalPendingSeconds field is EMPTY (null) in cases where the default value of this field is not zero.  The Smart Value math operator '+' will fail if one of the operand's value is EMPTY.

Additional resources:

Currently, for Jira Data Center, there is the Jira Charting plugin that provides limited Time in Status tracking for issues.  There is a feature request to expand its functionality, JRASERVER-29214.