How to make sure that reporters from one board get notification when the task is moved

[Preslava Petrova]

At the company I'm currently working in we have to optimize the workflow of the issues. It's a very big company and we have a very long budget approving flow. For that reason it's kept in it's own board. The design and dev work have their own board as well.

The question which appears is how can we make sure that the reporter who logged the task in the budged approving project board (they logg them by filling in a request form, they don't have admin access) gets notifications what's happening with their demand after the budged is approved and the task goes in backlog for specifications, the design, etc.

We can't just move the task from one board to the other because we loose budgeting info. Do I need to clone it or maybe create a linked task and then move it? Do I need to personally make the reporter a watcher or can I make sure that it happens automatically? 

[Nagabharana S]

Hello @Preslava Petrova , thanks for your question. :)

You're facing a classic cross-project workflow and stakeholder visibility challenge in Jira, especially common in large organizations with separate boards for budget approval, design, and development. Here's how you can handle this while preserving budget history and keeping reporters informed automatically:

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Recommended Solution: Linked Issues + Automation

Instead of moving the original issue, create a linked issue in the design/dev project using Jira Automation and keep the original in the budget board for audit and reference. Here’s a clear workflow:

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Step-by-Step Setup

1. Keep the original issue in the Budget Board

• This retains budgeting data, history, and audit trace.

2. Use Jira Automation to create a Linked Issue

When budget is approved, set up an automation rule to:

• Trigger: When Status = "Budget Approved"

• Action:

  • Create a new issue in the Design/Dev project (use “Clone Issue Fields” smart values).

  • Link it to the original issue with a relationship like “is caused by” or “relates to”.

  • Add the original Reporter as a Watcher to the new issue (optional but useful).

  • Add a comment on both issues to show linkage and notify.

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Visibility for the Reporter

Option A: Add Reporter as a Watcher Automatically 

• Use the "Add Watcher" action in the Automation rule to add the original reporter to the new task.

• Pre-requisite: Jira must allow watchers to be added and visible to reporters (check project settings).

Option B: Use Comments to Notify 

If Watcher auto-add is restricted:

• Add a comment in the original issue:

  "This request has now moved into the Design phase. Follow progress here: [new issue link]"

• Or add a comment on the new issue tagging the reporter:

  "Hi @[~reporter], this issue was created based on your approved request. We’ll keep updates here."

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Automation Sample Rule Summary

Condition	Action
Issue transitioned to "Budget Approved"	Create issue in another project (Design Board)
	Link the new issue to the original
	Add reporter as watcher (if allowed)
	Add comment with a link on both issues

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Why Not Move or Clone?

• Move: You’ll lose budgeting board traceability.

• Clone: Results in disconnected tasks unless manually linked and followed up.

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I hope tis helps. :) 

[Walter Buggenhout]

Hi @Preslava Petrova,

The most common approach is not to move the original item to a different project, but create a linked work item in a different project.

The linked item will then be the item your team(s) do the work. Using automation, you can add update comments to the original item when e.g. the status of the linked item is updated. If the original reporter gets notifications when a comment is added (this is standard, default behaviour), then that should be enough to keep the reporter informed of key changes.

Hope this helps! 

[Preslava Petrova]

Hi @Walter Buggenhout ,

interesting, thank you! Btw I'm a designer and it's my fisr time configuring Jira. Sorry if I'm asking dump questions. Where do I find project related automations? I've seen such only in epics and tasks for assigning to someone for example. 

[Walter Buggenhout]

There is no such thing as a dumb question, @Preslava Petrova 🤗 - we've all been there at a point where we needed help or support to help us grow. So happy to help!

If you don't see automation, you are probably not an administrator of your project and/or not a Jira administrator. Automation is in Project settings > Automation or for automation rules that operate across multiple projects in Jira Settings > System > Global Automation. If you don't have access, you'll need to reach out to an internal admin of your site to help you set this up.

[Preslava Petrova]

I have admin access because I'm just playing around with projects that I have created myself so that I can offer demo to the team. I'm not sure how to set the rule for the automation and didn't find the exact one in the forum. Anyway, I hope that I could ask someone from the team for help. Thank you for your time!

[Walter Buggenhout]

To give you a sample rule:

It is not exactly what you need, but the structure is quite relevant.

Suppose you want to add a comment to linked work items when the status of an item changes, all you would need to do is:

• update the trigger to Work item transitioned
• change the text of the comment you would like to add on the linked issue
• (optionally specify the link type in the condition at step 2, so it only adds a comment on specific linked items)

[Nikola Perisic]

Hello @Preslava Petrova 

For having this to be fully functional using workflows you would need an app called JWME that has additional post-fucntions that you can add to your transitions within your workflow. This should be a preffered way since it fulfills the requirement. JWME is a paid app, but you can use it for free for 30 days.

Second option is to use the automation rule where the setup would look like something like this:

• Trigger: Issue transitioned
• Action: Either comment on the issue or send an email - with an email option you can choose which users would receive this email - in this case it would be the Initiator (reporter)