Conditionally require field during transition based on other field in Jira

Summary

When a user transitions an issue from one status to another, if a particular field contains a value, we need to enforce a different field to be set as well.

For example, imagine our project captures a user's chosen device using two fields with limited options:

• Device

  • Mobile

  • Computer

    • Computer type

      • Desktop

      • Laptop

If the user is on a mobile device, the issue can transition without a value in the Computer type field.

If the user is on a computer, we want to capture whether they're on a desktop or laptop computer, so the Computer type field must now be filled.

Solution

Create two workflow transitions between the specific statuses

One transition will cover cases where Device is set to Mobile. The second transition covers the Device field set to Computer.

1. Navigate to Settings > Issues

2. Select Workflows

3. Scroll or filter for your desired workflow

4. Select ... (More options) > Edit

5. Switch to the Diagram editor

6. Choose Add transition

7. Select your desired From and To statuses, and choose a descriptive name for your transition

8. If necessary, repeat steps 6 and 7 until you have the proper number of statuses to cover your requirements

Configure the Device = Mobile transition

1. From the workflow Diagram editor, select the transition you'll use when the Device field is set to Mobile

2. Select Conditions, then Add condition

3. Choose the Value field condition and select Add

4. Select the Device field from the dropdown, choose = for the condition, and set value to Mobile

5. Select Add

Now, this transition will only be available when users set the Device field to "Mobile." Otherwise, they'll be presented with our next transition option.

Configure the Device = Computer transition

Because we require a specific field to be set during this transition, we also need to create and associate a transition screen. This screen must include the field we're requiring - in this example, the Computer type field.

For instructions on creating and configuring screens, please refer to: Configure work item screens.

Set the transition screen

1. Return to the workflow Diagram editor

2. Select the transition for when Device = Computer

3. Select Edit

4. In the Screen dropdown selector, choose the screen that includes Computer type created previously, and Save

Add condition for Device = Computer

1. Select Conditions, then Add condition

2. Choose the Value field condition and select Add

3. Select the Device field from the dropdown, choose = for the condition, and set value to Computer

4. Select Add

Add validator to require Computer type field

1. Select Validators, then Add validator

2. Choose the Field required validator and select Add

3. Choose the Computer type field from the field selector

   1. Optionally, add an error message that users will see if they leave this field empty during transition

4. Select Add

Now, when a user sets the Device field to Mobile, they can proceed with transitioning the issue without any further input.

If Device is set to Computer, the Computer type field must be filled before proceeding.

You can use the same method to configure multiple branching transitions depending on your project's fields and options as well.