Link key result(s) to Jira Cloud issues

With the 15Five <> Jira integration, you can link your key result(s) to Jira issues. Linking key results with Jira issues allows key results to be automatically updated in 15Five as progress is made in Jira. Once the Jira integration is enabled for your company by an account admin, there will be a 'Link to' option when creating an objective or adding key results to an existing objective. 

In this article, you will learn how to...

There is also a Frequency Asked Questions section at the bottom of this article.

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Tip

Check out our "Use cases for Jira Cloud integration" Help Center article for tips and tricks on how to make the most out of this integration.

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Note

People do not need to log into Jira with their own credentials for the 15Five <> Jira integration to work in their account. As long as the integration is enabled for your company, the option to link key results to Jira issues will exist.


Link a key result to Jira

These steps assume that the objective with key result(s) you want to link to Jira already exists. If you haven't yet created the objective, check out our "Create an objective" Help Center article.

1. Go to the Objectives Dashboard and open the objective that needs a key result linked to Jira.

2. Open the objective's editing page by clicking the settings gear and selecting 'Edit objective' from the dropdown menu.
EditObjective.png3. Scroll down to the key result you want to link to Jira and click the Link to... button to its right. Select Jira Cloud from the dropdown menu.
LinktoJira.png

4. After clicking Jira Cloud, a window will pop up. From there, search for the Jira Cloud issue/epic/story/etc that should become the key result and click on it.
LinkJiratoKR.png

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    Tip

    Not familiar with JQL search? Check out Atlassian's blog post "JQL: the most flexible way to search Jira." 💪🏾

    5. Select whether you would like the issues to be continually linked (i.e. as issues are added or removed from the query, they will be automatically reflected in this key result).
    Screen_Shot_2021-04-19_at_3.05.18_PM.png

    6. Next, decide how you would like the key result to be measured in the How will you measure this key result? field. Options are 'Issue progress' or 'Total number of issues'.
    Screen_Shot_2021-04-19_at_3.03.08_PM.png

    If you select Issue progress, 15Five will automatically fill in the current value for the key result, based on how many issues match the status chosen, at the top of each hour. Selecting this option also expands an additional option: Update key result when issues are in which status? This allows the person to decide at what point the key result should be "complete". These statuses are based on the stages that exist in your company's Jira Cloud account.

    If you select Total number of issues, 15Five will automatically (at the top of each hour) fill in the current value for the key result based on how many Jira issues match the search. For example, if the search yields 7 results, the starting value is auto-filled to 7 and the target value can be edited to be any number. Maybe the goal is just to reduce the number of issues to 3. Then the target value could be set to 3. If you checked the option for 'Continuously link issues that match search' in step #5, as Jira issues are added or removed from the search that is linked, the current key result value will update. So if week #3 rolls around and there are now 8 issues that match the search, the current value will show 8.

    7. Link the Jira issue(s) and let 15Five and Jira do the rest.
    Screen_Shot_2021-04-19_at_3.06.11_PM.png


    Edit key results after initial linking

    Objectives and key results can be edited anytime after creation. When editing a key result that is linked to Jira, there are two options: Edit or Unlink issues.

    Screen_Shot_2021-04-19_at_3.24.25_PM.png

    Existing objectives can be edited to include new, linked key results. Simply edit the objective and create a new, linked key result by clicking 'Add another key result'. Of course, delete any prior key results that are now covered/duplicated.


    Convert a key result to a child objective

    If the objective owner or key result owner tries to convert a linked key result to a child objective, the below alert will appear. You can still convert—the alert is simply a warning.

    Screen_Shot_2021-04-19_at_3.07.16_PM.png


    Frequently Asked Questions

    Q: I set up the Jira integration, but it's no longer working? Why is that, and what can I do?
    A: If you experience an error from your Jira integration, one of your account admins should remove the integration and set it up again for it to work. Reason being, Jira recently changed how they handle refresh tokens. If, when the integration was initially set up, no one linked a key results to a Jira issue within 90 days, the integration authorization became stale and must, therefore, be reset.

    Q: To set up the integration, does the person need to be both a 15Five account administrator and a Jira administrator?
    A: Yes.

    Q: Can we limit the integration to only be on for certain groups?
    A: No— this integration is all or nothing, meaning that it can only be turned on/off company-wide. Whether people use it or not is their choice.

    Q: Can I update my key result's current value manually through 15Five? Or can I update my current value in 15Five and have it update Jira?
    A: When a key result is linked to a Jira issue, all updates/progress/current value must be made in Jira. *Think person talking to Jira and Jira talking to 15Five.*

    Q: Can I edit a key result that is linked to Jira?
    A: When selecting the edit button, an alert will appear. The alert says, "Any changes made may affect current key result values."

    Q: What happens to the Jira link when a key result is converted to a child objective?
    A: Link will be removed when a key result is converted to a child objective. A warning modal will appear before the person confirms they want to convert.

    Q: When does 15Five sync with Jira cloud?
    A: Every hour at the top of the hour. There is also an option to manually sync on the Jira Cloud Integration page.

    Q: What does "Max number of tickets returned" mean?
    A: The error is displayed when your JQL when your search returns greater than 200 results. We ask the person to narrow down their search. If this becomes too big of an issue, we can revisit the limit.

    Q: Why do I have only a couple of options under "Update key result when issues in which status?"
    A: If you have multiple Jira tickets that show up under the "search results" after defining your "JQL Search", then the options you see will be based on the status options that those linked tickets have in common. If they only have "Closed" and "In Progress" in common, then you will only see those two statuses as options for when we update that key result in 15Five. 

    Q: Why can't I edit a key result that's linked to Jira?
    A: It's possible that your integration is no longer connected. Please reach out to one of your account admins and have them open up the Jira Cloud integration page in 15Five to see if it's still connected. If not, they may have to re-set it up.

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