The Update From JIRA function is the process of updating tasks that are in Microsoft Project with the latest information from JIRA. The Connector allows you to configure a variety of ways of updating information from JIRA. Most of the configuration of this process is done under the Customize option where you can select the fields you want to include for the exchange as well as a number of options on how the data is processed.

Note: The Update From JIRA process will NOT create any new issues in Microsoft Project. The only way to get new issues from JIRA to Microsoft Project is to use the Import process.

Update From JIRA

The Update From JIRA process allows you to retrieve information from JIRA and update your Microsoft Project plan. To use this function, select the tasks from the project plan you wish to update. You can select any number of tasks that you want to have updated or you can select to have all tasks updated.

Note: Any task marked with JIRAIGNORE as the issue ID will be excluded and skipped by this process.

• Do not include tasks marked as 100% complete: If Microsoft Project indicates that the task is 100% complete, it will be skipped during the processing of updating the issue in JIRA.

• Automatically append new sub-tasks under their parent task: If this option is enabled, The Connector will add / append new sub-tasks that are found for a tasks that is being updated under its appropriate parent task. If this option is disabled, NO new issues will ever be added by this process. This allows you to control whether or not you want new tasks to be automatically added to your project plan.

Right-Clicking on an issue will give you the menu shown above.

• Goto Issue: This will open the JIRA issue in a browser window.

• Compare With JIRA: This option will compare the values that are currently in Microsoft Project with the values that are currently in JIRA.

• Issue Editor: This will open the selected task in the issue editor so you can make any necessary changes to the issue before sending to JIRA.

• Customize View: Selecting this option will open a dialog where you can select the fields you wish to include in your view. You can select from any of the available standard fields and custom fields that are configured.

The Navigation Bar

The right side offers some information / navigational options.

• JIRA: The options here are the same that are described above when right clicking on an issue.

• Search: The search option allows you to specify an issue ID. Enter the value into the field and click the Find Issue. The Connector will select that issue in your list of issues on the left side of the screen.

• Statistics: The Statistics panel will show you some overall statistics on the issues you are about to update from JIRA. It will give you a total count and the number of new issues that will be created.

• Included Fields: This section gives you a quick glance at the fields you have selected for inclusion during the process. If the field is not selected and not included in this list, it will be ignored during any update process and the original values will be left intact.

When you are ready to update the information from JIRA, click the Continue > button in the lower right corner. The Connector will begin updating your selected tasks from JIRA and updating the values in Microsoft Project. You will be presented with a list of each of the issues as they are updated and any corresponding error messages.

Once the process has completed, you will see a summary of the total number of issues that have been successfully updated and failed along with the detail of the process below.

NOTE: If you have the Stop on first failure option enabled, this process will halt as soon as the first error occurs. If this option is not enabled, the error will be logged and the process will continue to the next task.

Update From JIRA Customize

The Connector allows you to customize the way data is exchanged when it is updated from JIRA. You can configure these settings by clicking on the Customize button on the Update From JIRA toolbar or by using the Customize button on the Update From JIRA dialog.

General Settings

Update all tasks: All of the tasks in the Microsoft Project plan will be updated

Update only selected tasks: Only the tasks that are selected in Microsoft Project will be included

Stop on first failure: If this option is checked, The Connector will stop processing after the first error occurs. If this is unchecked, the error will be logged and the processing will continue.

• Do not include tasks marked as 100% complete: If Microsoft Project indicates that the task is 100% complete, it will be skipped during the processing of updating the issue in JIRA.

• Automatically append new sub-tasks under their parent task: If this option is enabled, The Connector will add / append new sub-tasks that are found for a tasks that is being updated under its appropriate parent task. If this option is disabled, NO new issues will ever be added by this process. This allows you to control whether or not you want new tasks to be automatically added to your project plan.

The Duration and Work Mappings allow you to configure how The Connector calculates and updates the work log, estimates and time spent values for each task. These settings are shared for the JIRA profile and will be the same for the Send To JIRA, Update From JIRA and Sync All processes.

Standard Fields

The second tab of the customization dialog will allow you to control which fields will be included in the exchange. It is possible to have The Connector only update a subset of fields when running this process. This gives you much greater control over how you needs this function to work. Next to each of the fields, you can see the Text location that the field is mapped to. Note that you must have the field mapped in your project to be able to select it for inclusion.

Custom Fields

The Custom Fields tab allows you to select which of the custom fields you wish to include during the Update From JIRA process. You can toggle each field on or off to suit your specific requirements. Next to each of the fields, you can see the Text location that the field is mapped to. Note that you must have the field mapped in your project to be able to select it for inclusion.

Advanced

Prompt if resource needs to be created: If this option is checked, The Connector will prompt you that a new resource has been found that is not currently in your project plan. You will have the ability to control whether or not the resource has been created. If this option is not checked, the resource will simply be automatically created for you.

Force resource change on update: This option forces The Connector to delete and then reassign the resource when updating a task.

Use status mappings: The Use Status Mappings option allows you to have The Connector look at the current status of the JIRA issue and update the percentage complete based on the status, and not based on the worklog information. For example, you can say that if an issue is of status "In Progress" it should update as 50% complete in Microsoft Project and if an issue has a status of "Resolved" it should update as 95% complete in Microsoft Project. Click here for more information.