Problem Definition

Whenever an Edit Issue Action operates on an Issue, whether it actually changes the Issue or not doesn't match with what the Audit Log says.
To Edit means to Change or to Modify.

Steps to See current Behavior

1. Create an Automation Rule with an Edit Issue Action that is Manually Triggered.
2. Have the Edit Issue Action set the Description Field on an Issue to the string 'waffles'.
3. Run the Automation Rule on a test Issue with an empty (null) Description twice.
4. Check the Automation Rule's Audit Log.

Expected Results

The first time, it should change the Description from null to 'waffles' and show in the Automation Rule Audit Log as:

Edit issue
Issues edited successfully
ABC-123

The second time, it does not change the Description, since it is already 'waffles' and show in the Automation Rule Audit Log as something like:

Edit issue
Values identical: Issue not edited

Actual Results

The first time, it changes the Description from null to 'waffles' and shows in the Automation Rule Audit Log as:

Edit issue
Issues edited successfully
ABC-123

The second time, the Description remains the same - which is expected - but the Automation Rule Audit Log shows as:

Edit issue
Issues edited successfully
ABC-123

This clashes with the Issue's History which does not show that it was changed, because it wasn't from Jira's perspective.

Workaround

Add a Conditional Log Audit Action to record the fact the the Issue's Custom Field was not changed.
Something like:

Condition: If: Advanced Compare:

• CustomField = NewValue
  • Log Audit: "Values are identical; Issue not changed"