Workflow, Automation, and ScriptRunner: What’s the Difference?

Table of Contents

• Jira Workflow
  • What is a Jira workflow and why do we use it?
• Automation in Jira
• ScriptRunner
  • How to install ScriptRunner?
• When to Use Which Tool?
• Company-Managed Projects and Team-Managed Projects in JIRA
  • Jira Company Managed Project
  • Jira Team Managed Project
  • Key Differences Between Company-Managed and Team-Managed Projects
• Company vs Team Managed Projects in JIRA: What to Know
  • Company-Managed Projects
  • Team-Managed Projects
• Conclusion
• Need Help with ScriptRunner or Jira? We’re Here for You!

If you work with JIRA, you’ve probably come across terms like JIRA Workflow, JIRA Automation, or ScriptRunner. These might sound a bit technical, but in reality, they’re just different ways to make your work in JIRA easier and more efficient.

Jira, on its own, is a great tool for managing tasks, projects, or software development. But if we want to simplify and streamline our work, that’s where various add-ons and extensions come into play, turning Jira into an even more powerful and smarter assistant.

In this article, we’ll take a look at which tools can make your work in Jira easier, whether it’s about automation, customizing workflows, or just having more control with less effort.

With these tools, you can simplify routine tasks, speed up collaboration, and most importantly reduce the risk of mistakes or missed steps - for example, if you want a task to include a German translation, which you define using a custom field, you can set it so that the task cannot be moved to the ‘Done’ status until this field is set to ‘Yes’.

While JIRA Workflow and Automation are built-in features of JIRA, ScriptRunner is an external add-on that needs to be installed separately and comes with a cost, although a free version with limited features is also available.

ScriptRunner for JIRA is a very powerful tool that lets you do things that regular automation or standard workflows can’t handle.

The trade-off for this flexibility is that you’ll need at least some basic knowledge of Groovy scripting.

Tool	Function	Built into JIRA?	Complexity
Workflow	Manages the task flow (step by step)	✅ Yes	Low
Automation	Triggers simple actions automatically	✅ Yes	Low/Medium
ScriptRunner	Handles advanced scripts and complex logic	❌ No (requires installation)	High (for admins)

Jira Workflow

What is a Jira workflow and why do we use it?

A Jira workflow is a process that defines how tasks (issues) move through different statuses — from creation to completion. Each task has a clearly defined path, for example: To Do → In Progress → In Review → Done.

Workflows help us better manage development, approvals, and issue resolution. They provide clarity, consistency, and allow automation of certain steps. This way, everyone on the team knows exactly what stage a task is in and what needs to be done next.

Simply put, a workflow is the path a task follows from creation to completion. For example:

A workflow helps you manage who is working on what and what should happen at each stage. You can customize it based on your team’s needs.

Automation in Jira

JIRA Automation allows you to create rules that say, “When something happens, automatically trigger another action.” Each rule in Automation has three parts:

• Trigger – It asks what triggers the rule – for example, the transition of a task to another status
• Condition – It asks whether the condition has been met
• Action – Asking what should happen
  Let’s create an example where an email is sent as a notification if the condition is not met, specifically if the ‘Translation to’ field does not have “German” selected as the translation.
• Trigger: → Issue transitioned → To: “Ready for Approval”
• Condition: → Field “Translated to” → Does not equal → Yes
• Action: → Send email

ScriptRunner

ScriptRunner is a tool that you can add to JIRA to help with automation and customization of processes that JIRA doesn’t do by default. It’s like an extra feature that you can attach to JIRA to make it easier to manage tasks.

ScriptRunner is a great option. The downside is that it requires at least basic programming knowledge (usually in the Groovy language) to fully take advantage of its capabilities. Therefore, it’s more suitable for advanced users and administrators who want to fine-tune JIRA to meet their specific needs.

How to install ScriptRunner?

ScriptRunner is not included in the basic JIRA installation, so you’ll need to install it as an external plugin. The installation process is simple:

1. Go to JIRA Settings.
2. Select the Apps option.

3. Click Find new apps section.
4. Search for ScriptRunner.
5. Click Install.

When to Use Which Tool?

• If you need to organize teamwork and processes, workflow is the ideal tool. It helps make sure that every step in a project or task is carried out in an organized way, following the right steps and rules. It’s great for keeping things moving smoothly and making sure nothing gets missed.

• If you have repetitive tasks that need to be done quickly and automatically, focus on automation. It saves time and makes things more efficient, handling the boring, repetitive tasks for you so you can focus on more important work.

• If you have specific needs or want more flexibility, ScriptRunner is the best choice. It lets you create custom scripts for unique tasks or processes, giving you full control over how things are automated and integrated. This tool is perfect for situations where you need something more advanced and tailored to your exact requirements.

Company-Managed Projects and Team-Managed Projects in JIRA

In JIRA, the capabilities for using Workflow, Automation, and ScriptRunner depend on the project type (Company Managed or Team Managed).

Company-Managed Projects are more centralized and structured. This means that all teams within the company must follow the same steps when working on tasks, and the processes are the same for everyone — using the same rules, workflows, and templates.

These projects are usually managed by administrators or people in higher-level positions within the organization.

Team-Managed Projects offer more flexibility and customization for individual teams. Teams can tailor workflows, fields, templates, and other settings to fit their specific needs. This type of project is easier to use and doesn’t require as much administrative work as a company-managed project.

Jira Company Managed Project

Workflow:

• You have full control over the workflow.
• You can use post-functions, conditions, and validators to customize workflows according to your needs.

Automation:

• Automation allows you to create complex rules for managing transitions between states, sending notifications, creating or assigning issues, etc.

ScriptRunner:

• You can use scripts to modify workflows, automate actions, perform validations, and create post-functions, or for executing more complex operations on issues.

Jira Team Managed Project

Workflow:

• Team Managed projects have simpler workflows.
• You cannot customize workflows as much in detail, but you can adjust phases and transitions within the project.

Automation:

• You can use Jira Automation, which is included in most plans and is intended for both basic and advanced automation.

ScriptRunner:

• ScriptRunner is not available in Team Managed projects. This tool is specific to Company Managed projects.

Key Differences Between Company-Managed and Team-Managed Projects

• Company Managed Project: You have full control over workflows, and can fully utilize Automation and ScriptRunner.
• Team Managed Project: Offers simpler workflows and the ability to use Automation, but does not include ScriptRunner for advanced scripting.

Feature	Team-Managed Projects	Company-Managed Projects
Workflow	Simple, flexible, team sets its own processes	Standardized, managed by administrators for the entire organization
Automation	Easy setup, focused on simple tasks	Advanced, centralized, suitable for multiple teams and the organization
ScriptRunner	Limited options, not typically available	Advanced scripting, allows complex customization

Company vs Team Managed Projects in JIRA: What to Know

• In JIRA, directly creating a workflow with such a restriction and applying it to a Team-Managed Project (TMP) is limited because TMP projects have isolated workflows and do not offer the same level of customization as Company-Managed Projects (CMP).

• Therefore, below we provide the recommended approach for setting up rules for each project to best meet our needs. For CMP, we recommend utilizing full flexibility in creating workflows, while for TMP, it is best to use automation, which provides the necessary functionality without the need for advanced workflow customization.

In the following steps, we will show how to set up the workflow and automation for the Translation done field, which must be filled out before a task can be moved to the Done status.

Company-Managed Projects

Setting Up Rules in Workflow Using Validators:

Opening the Workflow:

1. Go to Jira Settings > Issues > Workflows.

2. Locate the workflow you want to edit and click Edit.

Adding a Validator to the Transition:

1. Click on the transition (e.g., from In Progress to Done).

2. Go to the Validators tab.
3. Click Add Validator.

Configuring the Validator:

1. Choose the type of validation:
   • Field Required Validator: Checks whether the field “Main Question” is filled.

2. If you need to add more validators, you can add additional ones. For example, add a validator to check if the Subquestion field is filled in.
3. The Validator will prevent the transition if the conditions are not met.

Publishing the Workflow:

1. Click Publish Draft to save your changes.

Team-Managed Projects

Steps to Set Up a Automation Rules in the Team-Managed Projects:

1. Open Automation
   1. Go to the project settings: Project Settings > Automation.
   2. Click Create Rule to create a new rule.

2. Define the Rule
   • Trigger: Change in Task Status
     1. Click Add Trigger.
     2. Select Issue Transitioned.
     3. Configure:
        • From Status: (e.g., any preceding status, such as In Progress).
        • To Status: Done.

Condition 1: Check the Question “Translation done”

1. Click Add a condition.

2. Select Issue fields condition.
3. Configure:
   • Field: Question “Translation done”.
   • Condition: is one of.
   • Value: No.

Action: Return the Task if Conditions Are Not Met

1. Click Add an action.

2. Select Transition Issue.
3. Configure:
   • Transition Issue to Destination status: (e.g., In Progress).

4. Add another Add an action:
   • Select Comment on issue.
   • Write the comment: “The task cannot be moved to Done because the translation is not completed.”

3. Save the Rule
   1. Click Turn on Rule.
   2. Add a Rule name
   3. The rule will now be active for all tasks in the project.

Conclusion

We really enjoy using workflows for their easy setup, as they help our team clearly define steps and keep track of how tasks are progressing. Additionally, we use automation, which greatly simplifies our work. Automation ensures that all conditions of the task are met before we move it to the Done state or any other important step that requires prior conditions to be fulfilled. This way, we can be sure that nothing is overlooked, and everything runs smoothly and without errors.

Setting up and installing ScriptRunner is fairly easy, and if you’re unsure how to do it, there’s a simple step-by-step guide above to help you install it directly through JIRA. However, once it’s installed, working with it does require some basic programming knowledge (usually in the Groovy language). That said, it gives you the power to customize JIRA in great detail to fit your specific needs.

Need Help with ScriptRunner or Jira? We’re Here for You!

If you need support with ScriptRunner or optimizing your Jira workflows, feel free to reach out to us. We’ve been helping companies digitize internal processes for many years, with a strong focus on the medical device industry. Our solutions address critical areas such as traceability, testing, and regulatory compliance with standards like ISO 13485, IEC 62304, FDA 21 CFR 820.30, and 21 CFR Part 11 for electronic signatures.