Linked Issues Validator

A workflow validator which ensures that issues linked to the current issue (existing and ones added during the transition) have certain characteristics.The transition to which the validator is added will pass only if the issue's linked issues respect certain conditions.

This validator does not work with remote links (links to Jira issues residing on another Jira instance/server).
Beware of the default "relates to" link type, which can cause confusion. The problem stems from the fact that "relates to" is both the inward direction and the outward direction of the "Relates" link type. We recommend that you rename one of the directions to "is related to" to avoid confusion. This can be done on the Issue Linking Jira admin page.
Jira portfolio links are not supported in Jira expressions and hence not available in the validator.

To add 'Linked Issue(s) Validator' to a transition:

Click Edit for the workflow that has the transition you wish to configure the validator on.
In the Workflow Designer, select the transition.
Click on Validators in the properties panel.
Click on Add validator.
Select Linked Issue(s) Validator from the list of validators.
Click on Add to add the validator on the transition.
Input a Jira expression that returns a boolean value.
Input a message in the Error message field to display if the configured conditions are not satisfied.
Click on Add to add the validator to the transition.

On the Service Management portal view of a request, the customer will not see the Error message when the validator fails. This is due to a known limitation (JSDCLOUD-5853) with Atlassian.

Related links:

When you add this validator to a transition and trigger the transition, the add-on checks the specified condition on linked issues (existing and ones added during the transition) that are of the specified issue link type and issue type; all the other linked issues will be considered as satisfying the condition and hence pass the validation. You can further customize the validation using the following options:

What to validate

Require the creation of issue links on the transition screen: At least one issue link must be added on the transition screen, and that link must be of the specified link type and must respect the constraints below.
Validate issue links added on the transition screen, if any: If issue links are added on the transition screen, validate that they are of the specified link type and they respect the constraints below.
Require certain linked issues: The transition cannot proceed if linked issues respecting the constraints below do not exist. These issue links can either already exist or be added on the transition screen.
Check linked issues: If the specified linked issue(s) exist, the transition cannot proceed unless these linked issues respect the constraints below. These issue links can either already exist or be added on the transition screen.

Issue Link Type

Select the issue link type that links the current issue to the linked issues to check the specified condition against. Leave "Any" for no restrictions.

What to enforce on linked issues

Issue Type

Select the issue type of the linked issues to check the specified condition against. Leave "Any" for no restrictions.

Additional condition

None: Select this option for no additional condition

At least one linked issue must satisfy the condition below: Select this option for at least one linked issue to satisfy the condition specified under Jira expression below.

Jira expression: Input a Jira expression to be checked on all linked issues. If the Jira expression evaluates to true for at least one of the linked issues, the workflow condition will pass. If the Jira expression evaluates to false for all the linked issues the workflow condition will fail. See How to insert information using Jira expressions for information on writing a Jira expression.

Every linked issue must satisfy the condition below: Select this option for every linked issue to satisfy the condition specified under Jira expression.

Jira expression: Input a Jira expression to be checked on all linked issues. If the Jira expression evaluates to true for all linked issues, only then the workflow condition will pass. If it evaluates to false for at least one linked issue the workflow condition will fail. See How to insert information using Jira expressions for information on writing a Jira expression.

Avoid errors in Jira expressions

When a Jira expression throws an error, Jira considers the result as false and hence the workflow validator fails (for all linked issues irrespective of the option selected under "Additional condition"). The best way to avoid errors in your Jira expressions is to test your Jira expressions against an issue using the "Jira expression tester" before saving the validator. Here are typical problems you need to look out for:

null values: if your Jira expression accesses properties of an object that is null, then your Jira expression and thereby your workflow validator fail with an error. For example, to check that the issue's parent is a Story if you provide the Jira expression:
```
issue.parent.issuetype.name == "Story"
```
when tested against an issue without a parent, the Jira expression will return an error "Type null does not have any properties". To handle this you should include an expression to test that the issue has a parent.
```
!! issue.parent && issue.parent.issuetype.name == "Story"
```

Error message

Customize the error message that needs to be displayed if the validator fails.

Validator scope

Control the execution of the validator using this option. Check this option if you want the validation to be performed only in certain cases, such as if the issue is of certain issue type or only if the issue is unassigned, or more generally satisfies an arbitrary Jira expression.

Use case

A typical use of this workflow validator is to validate during the transition that the current issue has linked issues or during the transition, specific linked issues are added to the transition screen.

Consider a use case where you want to validate on “Start Progress” transition that the current issue has at least one subtask in the “In Progress” status. To configure this:

Add the “Linked Issues validator” to the “Start Progress” transition
Select “Required certain linked issues” under “Mode”
Select “Issue Link Type” as “is Parent of”
Select “At least one linked issue must satisfy the condition below” under “Additional Condition”
Input the following code under “Jira Expression”
```
linkedIssue.status.name == "In Progress"
```
Input the Error message: “No subtask in In Progress status”
Save the validator
Publish the workflow

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