Integrated solutions, methods for bulk issue creation, API, and migration from other task management tools
Jira is a popular task and project management tool. It is often used in software engineering and by remote teams in general. Jira is very flexible. Among other things, it allows you to create new tasks using one of the nine methods.
Create New Issues in the GUI
The most obvious way is to create a new task — called an issue in Jira — by logging in to its user interface and hitting a “Create” button on the top.
But not only. You can create new issues from inside an existing issue. This works for the so-called linked issues. We explained it in one of our previous blog posts.
Create New Issues Using API
Many teams integrate Jira with their existing tools. Jira offers a few out-of-the-box connectors but you can also integrate it with your in-house or very specific niche tool using Jira API.
When you want to create an issue, you need to make a call to this URL:
You will need to enter the following data using a programming language of your choice:
{
“fields”: {
“project”:
{
“key”: “Your Project”
},
“summary”: “Title of the issue “,
“description”: “Create a new Jira issue using the REST API”,
“issuetype”: {
“name”: “Task”
}
}
}
The format on this input is standard for any language.
Create Jira Issues From Email
You can instruct Jira to convert incoming email messages into issues with an issue type that you need, assign them to the assignees specified in the message, add watchers, and perform a few other actions.
For this, you need to configure a so-called mail handler. A few default mail handlers are already available in Jira for adding new issues or comments to existing issues. Keep in mind that you need a separate email handler for every Jira project.
You will also need to create a new email account for Jira using your email provider and then add this email into the mail handler configuration. The detailed instructions can be found here.
After that, you can create new issues by sending a message to your Jira email user.
Create Jira Issues Using Slack
If your remote team uses the popular instant messenger Slack, you can integrate it with Jira and create tickets out of it.
First, you need to install the Jira Cloud app for Slack from the marketplace or by adding it directly from the Slack GUI using the feature for adding apps.
Then, you have 3 opportunities to create new Jira issues in Slack.
From A Message
Go to any message, click on the three dots (“More actions”), and select “Create issue from Jira Cloud”. The message is automatically converted into the issue description, and a few other fields need to be filled in or specified by using dropdown menus.
From A Channel by At-Mentioning Jira
The Jira bot needs to be a user in the channel.
In the channel, type @Jira, then “create”, type of issue to create, and a short description. This will populate an input mask for your future issue, like in the previous case.
From A Channel by At-Mentioning Jira
Without the Jira bot, you still can create Jira issues from a direct chat, public, or private channel. You just need to start typing /jira . It will do the same magic as described above.
Import From a CSV
When a project starts, you may have quite a few tasks to enter into Jira as a result of brainstorming, stakeholder meetings, and requirements gathering. With Jira, you can convert your notes into tickets quickly. For this, simply prepare them in Excel, export as a CSV, and then import into Jira.
You will need administrator level permissions. In your Jira workspace, navigate to the import wizard following the path:
Administration > System > Import & Export > External System Import -> CSV -> CSV File import -> CSV Source File
You’d be prompted to pick up a CSV file from your computer.
Indeed, the file must contain certain fields that are essential for creating issues. The detailed instructions can be found here.
Synchronize From GitHub
Previously, Jira and GitHub could be synchronized easily but Jira decided to retire this feature.
However, you still can import tickets from GitHub since you can get them exported in a CSV or JSON format.
For GitHub, you can even use a Chrome extension for exporting issues. In the aforementioned wizard, you will need to select JSON instead of CSV for JSON and CSV for importing CSV.
If you do not have Chrome, you can export GitHub issues using a command line tool of your choice with the following command:
hub issue -s all -d 2019-08-20 -o updated –include-pulls -f “%U|%t|%S|%cI|%uI|%L%n” > issues.csv
Alternatively, GitHub API can also be used for getting issues in a JSON format.
Synchronize or Migrate From Any Tool
Teams often switch from one tool to another. Similarly to synchronizing with GitHub, you can migrate your existing tickets from your old tool into Jira using CSV or JSON import or API.
Enhancing Jira Issues With Video
As a part of the issue description, you can add a link to a shared video that explains the problem, task, or bug. You can create such a video using dadan: a tool for screen and video recording. Dadan allows you to annotate your video on the go by writing on the recording while you record or enhancing it afterwards.
By the way, dadan can be integrated with Jira!
