Some Backstory

Structure initially came about as a solution to enable nested hierarchies of issues in JIRA (addressing JRA-4446, one of the highest-voted issues in Atlassian's public JIRA) and as such was designed to overcome the strict two-level issue > subtask relationship that JIRA comes packaged with.

JRA-4446

This is probably why at first glance Structure doesn't seem to be particularly geared towards working with subtasks. After all, those are the very entities that it was created to do away with. On closer inspection, however, we find that Structure does quite a lot specifically to cater for subtasks and make them feel appreciated.

There is a dedicated Sub-Tasks Synchronizer that pulls subtasks into a structure and positions them under their parent issues. The same functionality is included in the JIRA Agile (Greenhopper) Synchronizer and is fundamental to Structure's integration with JIRA Agile.

In fact, given Structure's general affinity with JIRA Agile, you might be surprised to find that there is no dedicated button for creating subtasks inline (subtasks are lowest-level issues in the Agile hierarchy). Nonetheless, there is a simple way to achieve inline subtask creation.

How To Do It

Your structure will need to have either a Sub-Tasks Synchronizer or a JIRA Agile Synchronizer with the 'Auto-add Subtasks' option enabled. I'll explain why in a moment.

Highlight the issue to which you want to add a subtask. Press '.' to open the JIRA operations dialog and start typing Create Sub-Task. Select the command with that name when it appears in the operations dialog. This will invoke the Create Subtask dialog.

Using the JIRA operations dialog on issues in Structure is a doddle

Create the subtask as normal and watch as the magic unfolds.

When the create subtask dialog disappears and the dust settles, you'll have anything from a fraction to one or two whole seconds to catch a glimpse of the Sub-Task Synchronizer at work. If you manage not to blink, you'll see the sub-task appear in a subtly animated yellow flash.

Pictured: subtly animated yellow flash, or animated subtle yellow flash?

How It Works

Because JIRA's Create Subtask dialog is not native to Structure, there is no mechanism to place the subtasks it creates directly into the structure board in the right place. Enter the Sub-Task Synchronizer stage left, grinning maniacally.

Its background process detects the creation of a subtask under an issue contained in the structure it is responsible for. It then leaps into action, pulling the newly-created subtask into the structure in exactly the right position.

That's all there is to it - now you know how to create your Agile tasks inline, you can dazzle your team with Structure-taming brilliance.