Jira Integration

Overview

The Jira integration enables you to send requirements, acceptance criteria, and tasks from Glossa directly into Jira as issues. This eliminates manual ticket creation and ensures your discovery work flows directly into your delivery backlog.

Jira integration is highly configurable—you can map Glossa projects to specific Jira projects, customize field mappings, choose what to send (requirements, ACs, tasks, or combinations), and control whether updates sync automatically or remain one-time sends.

How It Works

After connecting Jira to Glossa, you configure settings for each Glossa project:

Map the Glossa project to a specific Jira project
Configure Jira issue types and field mappings (Glossa fields → Jira fields)
Choose what to send (requirements, ACs, and/or tasks)
Decide whether to enable automatic overnight updates

Once configured, you manually send requirements to Jira using the "Send to Jira" button. After the initial send, requirements can optionally receive automatic overnight updates if you've enabled that setting.

Key benefits:

Eliminate manual Jira ticket creation
Maintain full traceability from discovery to delivery
Reduce copy-paste errors and data entry time
Keep Jira backlog synchronized with requirements

Setting Up Jira Integration

Step 1: Enable the Integration

Navigate to Integrations in the main navigation
Click on the Downstream tab
Click Connect next to Jira

Step 2: Authorize Access (OAuth)

You'll be redirected to Atlassian's authorization page where you'll:

Sign in to your Atlassian account (if not already signed in)
Select your Jira site
Review the permissions Glossa is requesting
Click Accept to authorize the connection

After authorization, you'll be redirected back to Glossa.

Note: Only one Jira instance can be connected at a time. All Glossa projects will use this same Jira connection.

Step 3: Configure Project Settings

After connecting Jira, you need to configure settings for each Jira project.

Go to Integrations -> Downstream -> Manage next to Jira
You'll see the configuration interface with multiple sections

Configuring Jira Settings Per Project

Each Jira project can have its own integration configuration. The configuration interface has several key sections:

1. Select Jira Project

Choose which Jira project to configure settings for:

Dropdown shows all Jira projects you have access to
Each Glossa project can only map to one Jira project
Multiple Glossa projects can map to the same Jira project

2. Select Issue Type

Choose which Jira issue type should be used when creating requirements, acceptance criteria, and/or tasks.

Story
Task
Bug
Epic
Custom issue types (if available in your Jira)

3. Choose Tables to Sync

Select what you want to send from Glossa to Jira:

Options:

Requirements only - Send requirements as Jira issues
Acceptance Criteria only - Send ACs as Jira issues
Tasks only- Send implementation tasks as Jira issues

Combinations: If you select more than one table to sync, the table furthest to the right will be the "main" table to sync. You can see which table is the "main" table in the Summary sidebar on the left, under the Mapping field.

For example:

Requirements and Acceptance Criteria - send ACs as Jira issues, with fields from requirements available to map onto the AC issue in Jira
Acceptance Criteria and Tasks - send Tasks as Jira issues, with fields from acceptance criteria available to map onto the Task issue in Jira
Requirements, Acceptance Criteria, and Tasks - send Tasks as Jira issues, with fields from requirements and acceptance criteria available to map onto the Task issue in Jira

Most organizations choose to only sync the Requirement table.

4. Map Fields

Map Glossa fields to Jira fields:

Standard mappings:

Glossa Title → Jira Summary
Glossa Description → Jira Description

Glossa has different fields for each type of acceptance criteria that you can map to fields in Jira, including to custom fields.

5. Enable/Disable Automatic Updates

Choose whether to override Jira overnight.

Enabled: Requirements that have already been sent to Jira will automatically sync updates overnight

Changes to requirement title, description, priority, etc. push to Jira
Happens automatically every night
Keeps Jira tickets in sync with Glossa

Disabled: Requirements are sent once and never updated

Initial send only
Subsequent changes in Glossa don't sync to Jira
Jira becomes the source of truth after initial send

6. Save Configuration

After configuring all settings:

Review your mappings
Click Save Configuration

7. Link Glossa Project to Jira Project

Go to the Projects tab in Glossa
In the Jira column, click Map
Select the Jira project, and click Save Mapping

Sending Requirements to Jira

After configuration, you can send requirements to Jira.

Manual Send (Initial)

To send requirements to Jira for the first time:

Option 1: Send individual requirements

Open a requirement in Glossa
Click the Send to Jira button (in the top right three dots menu)
The requirement is created as a Jira issue
The requirement status in Glossa changes to Sent to Jira

Option 2: Bulk send

Go to the Categories tab and click View Details for a specific category
Select multiple requirements (checkbox selection)
Click Send All to Jira
All selected requirements are sent
Status updates to Sent to Jira for all

What gets created in Jira:

New issue(s) based on your configuration
Issue fields populated from Glossa field mappings
ACs included (if configured)
Tasks created (if configured)

Automatic Overnight Updates

If you've enabled automatic updates in the project configuration:

What happens:

Every night, Glossa checks all requirements with status "Sent to Jira"
If any have been modified since last sync, updates are pushed to Jira
Changes to title, description, priority, ACs, etc. are synced
Happens automatically without user action

What doesn't sync:

New requirements (must be manually sent initially)
Requirements that haven't been sent to Jira yet
Comments or attachments added in Jira (one-way sync only)

When to disable automatic updates: If your team actively works in Jira and makes changes there, you may want to disable automatic updates to prevent Glossa from overwriting Jira changes.

Tracking Sent Requirements

Requirement Status Change

When a requirement is sent to Jira:

Status automatically changes to Sent to Jira
This status is visible in the Requirements table
You can filter requirements by this status

Filtering Sent Requirements

To see which requirements have been sent:

Go to Requirements tab
Filter by Status → Sent to Jira
View all requirements currently in Jira

To see which requirements haven't been sent:

Filter by Status → NOT "Sent to Jira"
Shows requirements still pending Jira sync

Managing Jira Integration

Viewing Project Configurations

To see which Glossa projects are configured for Jira:

Go to Projects
Review the Jira column to see which projects are mapped to Jira projects

Editing Project Configuration

To change Jira settings for a project:

Go to Integrations → Downstream → Jira → Manage
Select the Jira project
Update field mappings, issue types, or automatic update settings
Click Save Configuration

Note: Changing configuration doesn't affect requirements already sent to Jira—only future sends use the new settings.

Disconnecting Jira

To disconnect your Jira account:

Go to Integrations → Downstream → Jira → Manage
Click Disconnect

Important: Disconnecting Jira does not:

Delete issues already created in Jira
Change requirement statuses in Glossa
Remove project configurations

It only prevents future sends and automatic updates.

Reconnecting Jira

If your Jira connection fails or you need to reconnect:

Go to Go to Integrations → Downstream → Jira → Manage
Click Disconnect (if currently connected)
Click Connect
Follow the OAuth authorization flow again

Best Practices

Configure Before Sending

Before sending any requirements to Jira:

Set up all field mappings
Choose appropriate issue types
Test with 1-2 requirements first
Verify mappings work as expected
Then send in bulk

Be Strategic About Automatic Updates

Enable automatic updates when:

You're in active discovery/planning phases
Requirements are still evolving
You want Glossa to remain the source of truth

Disable automatic updates when:

Work has begun in Jira
Teams are actively updating Jira tickets
You want Jira to be the source of truth
Requirements are stable

Send in Phases

Rather than sending all requirements at once:

Send requirements for upcoming sprints
Send in batches aligned with your release planning
Keep unsent requirements in Glossa until they're ready for development

This prevents Jira backlog bloat and keeps focus on ready work.

Use Status to Track Progress

Leverage the "Sent to Jira" status:

Filter to see what's already in Jira vs. still in discovery
Use as a gate for "ready for development"
Track delivery handoff from discovery team to dev team

Include Requirement IDs

Map Glossa Requirement IDs (slugs) to a custom Jira field:

Enables traceability between systems
Easy to find corresponding requirements
Useful for reporting and auditing

Common Workflows

Workflow 1: Discovery to Delivery Handoff

Conduct discovery in Glossa (meetings, docs, emails)
Review and refine requirements
Resolve contradictions
Generate acceptance criteria
Configure Jira integration
Send requirements to Jira in sprint-sized batches
Dev team works in Jira
Disable automatic updates once work begins

Workflow 2: Continuous Sync

Ongoing discovery and requirements gathering in Glossa
Enable automatic Jira updates
Send new requirements as they're finalized
Glossa pushes updates overnight automatically
Jira backlog stays current with latest requirements
Use for projects with long discovery phases

Troubleshooting

"Send to Jira" Button Not Working

Possible causes:

Jira integration not configured for this project
No Jira project mapped
Missing required field mappings
Connection to Jira lost

Solutions:

Verify project is configured (Integrations → Jira)
Check that project is mapped to a Jira project
Verify all required fields are mapped
Test Jira connection status
Try reconnecting Jira integration

Requirements Not Updating in Jira Overnight

Possible causes:

Automatic updates disabled in project configuration
No changes made to sent requirements since last sync
Jira connection failed

Solutions:

Check project configuration—ensure automatic updates enabled
Verify requirements have actually been modified
Check Jira connection status
Try manually triggering a send to test connection

Field Mappings Not Working as Expected

Possible causes:

Jira fields are required but Glossa fields are empty
Custom fields not properly configured in Jira
Field type mismatch (e.g., mapping text to a dropdown)

Solutions:

Verify required Jira fields have corresponding Glossa data
Check custom field configuration in Jira admin
Ensure field types are compatible
Review mapping configuration
Test with a single requirement first

Multiple ACs Concatenating Incorrectly

When multiple ACs of the same type map to one Jira field:

They concatenate automatically
May appear as one long block of text

Workarounds:

Use Jira fields that support rich text formatting
Send ACs as separate subtasks instead of in description
Use different AC type mappings to different fields
Manually format in Jira after send if needed

Can't Find Jira Project in Dropdown

Possible causes:

You don't have permission to that Jira project
Project was recently created (refresh integration)
Connected to wrong Jira instance

Solutions:

Verify you have access to the Jira project
Disconnect and reconnect Jira integration
Check you're connected to the correct Jira instance
Contact Jira admin to grant project access

Limitations

One Jira instance only: Can only connect to one Jira instance/account
One-way sync: Changes in Jira do not sync back to Glossa
No link back to Jira: Requirements don't show direct links to Jira issues
Manual initial send required: New requirements must be manually sent—overnight sync only updates already-sent requirements
Field mapping complexity: Highly customizable Jira setups may require careful mapping configuration
Concatenation of multiples: Multiple ACs/tasks of same type concatenate into single field
No partial updates: Can't selectively update specific fields—whole requirement syncs