Auto KRs (KRs with issue-based progress)

This page is about OKR for Jira Cloud. Using Data Center? Click here.

In this documentation, we explore the practical use of Auto KRs and guide you through the creation process, offering insights into how they can enhance your workflow within the Jira environment.

Why Use Auto KRs?

Automatic KRs are particularly beneficial for those who regularly link Jira issues to OKRs. In auto KRs, the connected issues are not merely for reference but form the basis for calculating KR progress. This way, the progress depends on the issues' status, and updates occur automatically with minimal user intervention needed to ensure accurate status settings.

Auto KRs are ideal for Jira-based tasks such as bugs, new features, and test cases.

Contents

How to Create an Auto KR

When creating a new OKR or adding a KR to an existing objective, select the Automatically option.
Click Link issues to establish connections between your Key Result (KR) and relevant Jira issues.
You have two options:
Manual linking – Search for an issue name or apply filters to narrow down available issues based on criteria such as project, issue type, or other relevant parameters. Utilize Jira Query Language (JQL) for more granular and specific searches.
Automated linking – Here, you can set up automation rules to link related issues to OKR automatically when certain conditions are met. Define filters based on Project, Issue Type, Parent, and more. Alternatively, use JQL for automated linking based on your criteria.
Create issues seamlessly within the app by clicking the Create issue button.

If you’re not familiar with JQL, check out the Atlassian documentation.

After configuring your linking preferences, confirm your choices by clicking Link issues.
The number of linked issues will appear in the Linked issues section. Click on the number to see all the linked issues and further edit them depending on your needs.

Don’t forget to save your configuration.

Using Auto KRs

All Auto KRs are marked with a "sync" symbol, visible on the OKR Overview and individual pages.

In the Status changes section of the Auto KR, you will see both your own status changes and automatic progress updates made by the OKRobot bot.

In the Activity tab, you'll find all activities related to KR's issues. A new activity will be added whenever an issue is connected, disconnected, or its status is changed.

In the Linked issues section, you will find all the issues linked to the KR and you have the option to edit them. You'll also see when the KR was last synced with Jira and can manually trigger a refresh (in case you made changes and want to see the results immediately).

Converting Auto KRs into manual KRs

Click the three-dots menu next to the Update button and select Convert to manual KR.
You will be informed about what will happen after you change the KR type. Confirm the conversion by clicking Convert.
Your KR is now manual, which means:
- Connected issues will remain connected but won’t have an impact on the progress.
- There won’t be any automatic progress updates.
- Your start/desired value won’t change unless you change it manually.

Converting manual KRs into Auto KRs

Click the three-dots menu next to the Update button and select Convert to auto KR.
You will be informed about what will happen after you change the KR type. Confirm the conversion by clicking Convert.
Your KR is now automatic, which means:
- Progress is calculated based on connected issues, along with the start and desired values.
- Progress updates occur automatically following any status change in connected issues (synced every 5 minutes; manually trigger refresh by clicking Trigger refresh in the Linked issues menu).
- If issues are linked and if you have used JQL to link them, they are integrated into the JQL used for syncing matching issues. Modify the query to cover additional issues by clicking Edit linked issues button in the Linked issues section.
- If you didn’t have any linked issues, you need to link issues to see any progress. You can do that by clicking Edit linked issues button in the Linked issues section.