Use function, retry until valid

[deanhystad]

finally will run every time the try/except block is evaluated. You only want to return a value if JIRA._get_user_id() is successful.

def searchUser(userstring):
    while True:
        try:
            return JIRA._get_user_id(userstring)
        except:
            userstring = input("Please enter a valid user: ")
 
 
teamlead = "Teamleader_DisplayName"
teamlead = searchUser(teamlead)
 
departmentlead = "Departmentlead_DisplayName"
departmentlead = searchUser(departmentlead)

Methods that start with an underscore indicate that the method is not meant for public use. The package authors are warning you thatJIRA._get_user_id() can change at any time and it is unwise for you to use this method in your code.