Update linked items between Jira and Adobe Workfront

Last update: October 15, 2024

Topics:
Workfront Integrations and Apps

CREATED FOR:

User

When you link Jira issues to Adobe Workfront tasks or issues, your users can update items in one application and the counterpart of that item also updates for the users working in the second application.

For more information about linking items between Workfront and Jira, see Link items between Adobe Workfront and Jira.

As you are setting up Workfront for Jira, as a Jira system administrator, you can configure certain fields from one application to synchronize with fields from linked items in the other application.

For more information about synchronizing fields between linked Jira and Workfront items, see Configure Adobe Workfront for Jira.

Access requirements

You must have the following:

Adobe Workfront plan	New: Any or Current: Pro or higher
Adobe Workfront license	New: Standard or Current: Plan
Jira access	System administrator access Important: We recommend that you create separate system administrator accounts in Jira and Workfront to dedicate to this integration, rather than using existing ones that might be attached to users.
Access level configurations	You must be a Workfront administrator.

For more detail about the information in this table, see Access requirements in Workfront documentation.

Prerequisites

Before you can link items between Workfront and Jira, you must:

Install Workfront for Jira.

For instructions on installing Workfront for Jira, see Install Adobe Workfront for Jira.
Configure Workfront for Jira.

For instructions on configuring Workfront for Jira, see Configure Adobe Workfront for Jira.
Link items between Workfront and Jira.

For instructions, see Link items between Adobe Workfront and Jira.

Update linked items in Workfront

If you work primarily in Workfront, you can update your work items in Workfront and their counterparts in Jira also update. This update happens through the integration of Workfront for Jira which does not require you to have a Jira license.

As long as your Workfront administrator has configured Workfront for Jira to synchronize the fields between linked items, certain fields that you update in Workfront also update for the linked Jira issue. For more information about updating items in Workfront, see Edit issues and Edit tasks.

The following list shows which Workfront fields synchronize with Jira fields on linked items:

Updated Workfront field	Synchronized Jira field/ update
Issue or Task name	Issue name A comment about the Name change is added to the Workfront tab of the Jira issue.
Issue or Task Description	Issue Description A comment about the updated Description is added to the Workfront tab of the Jira issue.
Uploaded Documents Note: Documents which are linked to Workfront items from an external server are not transferred to Jira issues. Only documents uploaded directly to Workfront items are also updated to the linked Jira issues.	Attachments A comment about the uploaded attachments is added to the Workfront tab of the Jira issue.
Planned Completion Date	Due Date A comment about the Due Date having changed is added to the Workfront tab of the Jira issue. Note: You must enable Due Date for your Jira issues to be able to see this field updated in Jira.
Custom Forms and Custom Fields	Display in the Workfront right panel of the Jira issue. Only the Custom Fields that have an actual value display in the panel. Note: Custom Form sections are displayed with the access level of the Workfront administrator.
Issue or Task Priority	Displays in the Workfront right panel of the Jira issue. It does not update the issue Priority field in Jira.
Log time	A comment about the logged time is added in the Workfront tab of the Jira issue. This includes the name of the user who logs the time, as well as the user for whom the time is logged, in case they are different. No time is logged in the Work log tab in Jira.
Comments	The comment is added to the Workfront tab of the Jira issue. It is not added to the Comments tab of the Jira issue Note: When you link two existing items manually, the comments that were added to the Workfront item before linking it to Jira do not synchronize to the Jira issue. Jira comments do synchronize to Workfront.

Update linked items in Jira

If you work primarily in Jira, you can update your work items in Jira and their counterparts in Workfront also update. You do not have to have a Workfront license for the Workfront items linked to your Jira issues to receive the updates you are making in Jira.

On condition that your Workfront administrator has configured Workfront for Jira to synchronize the fields between linked items, certain fields which you update in Jira also update for the linked Workfront item.

The following list shows which Jira fields synchronize with Workfront fields on linked items:

Updated Jira Field	Synchronized Workfront Field/ Update
Issue Status	Issue or Task Status Issue status in Jira syncs with the following statuses, or statuses that equate with the following statuses, in Workfront: New (NEW) In Progress (INP) Closed/Complete (CLS/CPL) Note: The Jira status syncs with the first Workfront status that equates with the appropriate status. For more information about statuses of items in Workfront, see Create or edit a status.
Issue Attachments	Issue or Task Documents A comment about uploading a new document in Jira is added to the Updates tab of the Workfront issue or task.
Due Date	A comment about the change of the Due Date in Jira is added to the Updates tab of the Workfront issue or task. Note: No dates change on the Workfront issue or task.
Log time in the Workfront right panel or from the More menu on the Jira issue	Hours In addition to adding the hours logged in Jira to the linked Workfront item, a comment about logging time is added to the Updates tab of the Workfront item. For more information about logging time on linked Jira issues, including updating the Jira user who is logging the time in Workfront, see Log time for Linked Jira and Workfront items.
Comments	Comments are added to the Updates tab of the Workfront issue or task if the Comments setting in the SYNCHRONIZE FROM JIRA TO WORKFRONT section of the Setup tab to Always. For information about configuring Workfront settings in Jira, see Configuring Workfront for Jira. For information about commenting on items from linked Jira issues, see Comment from a linked Jira issue.

Log time from linked Jira issues

The time that you record for a Jira item in Jira will also transfer to the linked Workfront item, regardless of where in Jira you log the time.
When you log time in Jira in the Workfront panel, the time is recorded only in Workfront.
The time you record in Workfront does not affect the time of the linked issue in Jira.

NOTE

If the time is added to a Jira item linked to a Workfront task, the Hour Type for the time in Workfront is Task Time. If the time is added to a Jira item linked to a Workfront issue, the Hour Type for the time in Workfront is Issue Time.

A comment is added to the Workfront tab in Jira and to the Updates tab of the item in Workfront to record logging the time.
The time is also displayed in the Hours tab of the Workfront item.

Log time for Linked Jira and Workfront items
Log time from Jira to a Workfront item

Log time for Linked Jira and Workfront items

You can log time from a Jira issue linked to a Workfront item, and the time is recorded both on the Jira issue as well as the Workfront item.

IMPORTANT

If the user logging the time in Jira does not exist in Workfront, the integration creates a new active user in Workfront if the Automatically create a user in Workfrontif the Jira user does not have a Workfrontaccount* is set to Always. This user does not occupy a Workfront license. You can assign active users to work items in Workfront, but you cannot include them in updates. For information about configuring the automatic creation of Workfront users from Jira, see Configuring Workfront for Jira.

To log time for an item in Jira and have it recorded both in Jira and Workfront:

Log into Jira.
Go to the Jira issue which is linked to the Workfront item.
Expand the More menu and click Log work.
In the Time Spent field, specify the amount of time spent working on this issue. You must specify the time using the following time periods:
- Weeks (w)
- Days (d)
- Hours (h)
Continue adding information to your time entry, including a Work Description, then click Log.
The time is added to the Work log tab of the Jira item, as well as to the Workfront item linked to it.
The work description of the time entry is recorded as a note on the hour entry in Workfront.

Log time from Jira to a Workfront item

You can log time just to the linked Workfront item from the Jira issue without recording this time to the Jira issue.

Log into Jira.
Navigate to a Jira issue which is linked to a Workfront item.

The details of the Workfront item should display in the Workfront right panel of the issue.
Click the Log Time icon.
Specify the amount of Hours and Minutes you want to log for the issue.
Click Log Time.

The time is added to the Workfront item.

This time is not added to the Work Log tab of the Jira issue.

Comment from a linked Jira issue

When you comment on a Jira item from the Workfront right panel in Jira, the comment is also added to the Updates tab of the linked item in Workfront.

To comment from Jira to a Workfront item:

Log into Jira.
Navigate to a Jira issue which is linked to a Workfront item.

The details of the Workfront item should display in the Workfront right panel of the issue.
Click the Comments icon in the Workfront panel or on the Comments tab.
Start typing a comment, then click Send.

The comment is added to the following:
- The Workfront tab of the Jira issue.
- The Comments tab of the Jira issue.
- The Updates tab of the linked item in Workfront.

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