Why can’t I change the rank of subtasks?

[Kinsey]

I am unable to change the rank of subtasks. I have target start and end dates on some and others are blank but I am still unable to rank them differently. I am using a filtered view for specific sub task types. 

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Accepted solution]

When you say you are trying to rank sub-tasks, are you talking about the order of sub-tasks within their parent issue, or outside their parent (in the backlog, issue navigator or reports?)

[Bruce MacNeil]

Hello, does anyone happen to know what webhook event is generated when the order of sub-tasks is changed (via drag and drop) within their parent issue?  We are expecting the jira:issue_updated event, but it is not occurring.  From what I have found so far, sub-task ordering is relative among other sub-task siblings and doesn't use rank / global rank.  But how is this stored internally and how can we be notified via a webhook event of the sub-task ordering changes?  

[Trudy Claspill]

@Bruce MacNeil 

Since this thread has already been marked as Answer Accepted, I suggest you start a new thread so that your question will show up on the first page of the Questions list and get attention from the entire community rather than only the responders, author, and watchers of this thread.

[Trudy Claspill]

Are you trying to change the rank of the subtasks only with respect to the other subtasks under the same parent? I have been able to do that successfully.

Or are you trying to change the rank of a subtask relative to an entirely separate story? This I have not been able to do.

[Kinsey]

They have an assignee selected and are trying to re-order the subtasks assigned to that one person. They have target dates set (start and end) but even without those they move the rank and it just pops back to where it was.

[Trudy Claspill]

Are you working with a Classic project or a Next Gen project?

With a Classic project you can go to Board Settings > General and look at the filter for the board. It should have an ORDER BY clause associated with it. Usually the ORDER BY clause uses Rank, but it is possible to make a board that uses some other field to order the issues. It is the ORDER BY clause that will dictate if issues can be drag-and-dropped into a different order. If the issues are not ordered by Rank, then they will not be able to be re-ordered through drag-and-drop.

In my Classic project in the Backlog screen, with no Assignee filter selected, I can change the rank on sub-task but only relative to the other subtasks in the same parent story. If I try to change the rank of a subtask by making it a higher or lower priority than some other issue (an entirely different story than its parent, or another subtask that has a different parent) then the subtask bounces back to its original spot.

I was successfully in changing subtask rank only when the position involved moving past subtasks that have the same parent issue. If I try to move the subtask past anything else, the change reverts.

If your user has applied an Assignee filter, than they may be trying to move the subtask past one of those other issues that isn't displayed at the moment because it has a different assignee.

[John Funk]

Hi Kinsey,

Do you have an order by on our filter that says something other than Order by Rank?

[Kinsey]

I don’t see anything in plan that says anything about ordering by rank.

[John Funk]

It would be in the filter used by the plan or the filter for the board used by the plan.