6 ways to create Jira ticket from Slack

2.2. Convert any Slack file (attachments) into a Jira ticket

It is also common use case where you will have to include an attachment that you’ve received from a customer / team member to an already existing or new Jira ticket.

Troopr facilitates the action to add attachments as a new issue in 2 simple steps:

1. Go to the message containing the attachment, hover over the message and click on "More actions" in the top right menu. Select “Task It” from the message actions menu.
2. The attachment gets automatically added to the new ticket creation form and  you can now fill in additional details to get the ticket created.

You could also add the attachment to an already created Jira ticket by using the "Comment It" action in place of the "Task It" action. Follow the same steps as above to complete the action in Slack.

2.3. Troopr app home - Your Personalized Jira Dashboard in Slack

“Troopr Home” is your personalized, persistent Jira Dashboard in Slack that appears when you click on "Troopr Assistant" in Slack. It comes with easy clickable triggers for common Jira actions.

You can trigger ticket creation using the “+ Issue” button. This opens the dynamic ticket creation form that populates necessary form fields based on the corresponding configuration in Jira. You can set defaults to project and issue type that Troopr will remember and make subsequent ticket creation faster and easier without ever leaving Slack.

2.4. Quick command

Creating a Jira ticket in Slack is fastest with this quick command “/t create [summary] +[fieldName]:[fieldValue]”.

For example:  “/t create Compress HTML file @Alex” creates a ticket and assigns it to Alex, with the summary “Compress HTML file”

“/t create Compress HTML file @Alex +Project:WR +issue type:Bug +Priority:1” creates a new ticket using WR project, bug issue type, highest priority and assigns it to Alex.

Can't remember all the required fields? Never worry. We have got you covered.

“/t create'' allows you to create a ticket with summary and prompts you to fill in the missing fields (including summary, priority, assignee, issue type or any custom field made required in the corresponding Jira configuration) by opening the dynamic ticket creation form.

These commands are supported in all types of Slack channels including in DM channels and Group DM channels in Slack. These commands come in handy when taking meeting notes or having team conversations, and users would be able to quickly capture action items in a fraction of time and elaborate on the details later.

Also you can set up ticket creation defaults (set the Project, Board, Issue type and save the settings for the channel). These fields are pre populated during issue creation and automatically prompts users for the other missing required fields.

For more details read this documentation on Slack commands for Jira.

What if your team members want their own custom commands. Troopr has support for custom command creation that allows you to do exactly that.

Let's say you frequently create bugs in the “DEV” project with high priority. You can create a command called hbug and configure it accordingly and use it like any of the prebuilt commands.

/t hbug issue-summary

Troopr administrators can create and customize commands for the entire team. Read more about custom Slack commands for Jira here.

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2.5. Troopr launcher

This one is similar to the first method of creating ticket from "+ Issue" button in App Home, except you can open the launcher message with all the buttons anywhere in Slack.

This method allows you users to open "Troopr launcher" in any Slack channel and create tickets as needed. This process involves just 2 steps

1. Open "Troopr launcher" by typing /t in any Slack channel
2. Click on the “+ Issue” button to open the dynamic ticket creation form. Fill the necessary details and submit to create the ticket.

2.6. Shortcut menu

Shortcuts are a great way to get your work done faster. Troopr Jira bot comes with some options including ticket creation and more on the shortcut menu. You can navigate to the shortcut menu by clicking on the lightning button next to the message bar. This comes handy when users are at a meeting or taking notes and want to quickly convert those into Jira tickets.

Just like the other methods, issue creation is quite straightforward and involves 2 steps

1. Users could navigate to the shortcut menu on the message bar on any Slack channel
2. Selecting the "Create" action opens the dynamic ticket creation form. Fill the necessary details and submit to create the ticket.

The shortcut menu is available in any Slack channel and brings in improved accessibility to the action for most team members.

3. Integrating Jira and Slack with Troopr

Integrating Jira with Slack is a simple process and can be done in under a minute. The native Jira bot for Slack covers some basic ability to deliver notifications from Jira to Slack. You can get started with that if you are exploring the possibilities. If your team is looking for a robust integration for Jira Cloud or Jira Server / DataCenter, we have got you covered. You can get started by installing Troopr and then connecting your Jira instance to Slack. We have shared the detailed step-by-step integration process in another blog. Read here.

Once you have integrated Jira with Slack, Troopr sets out to automatically map user accounts on Jira platform to corresponding accounts in Slack workspace based on confidence in user profile match. Mapped users can start browsing their tickets in Slack and receive @mention notifications in Slack from the connected Jira projects.

Troopr prompts to verify your Jira account before you can create Jira tickets or take any action on Jira ticket. Once you are done with the verification, you are all set to create Jira tickets from Slack. Beyond ticket creation, there are a bunch of other Jira actions you can automate in Slack. More on this in the next section. Now let's get into details on automating ticket creation workflow in Slack.

4. Continuous automatic 2 way syncing in Slack thread

Troopr  supports 2 way real-time issue syncing in Slack. Conversations in an active thread in Slack will becomes comments in Jira for the linked issue. Any update to the issue in Jira will also show up in the thread, always and in real-time.

5. Support for advanced Jira configurations

• Support for custom fields
• Support for required fields
• Automatic discovery of custom field meta data
• Editing/altering any custom fields
• Respecting workflow permissions
  

Support for custom fields

Any custom fields configured on Jira can be made available on the Troopr’s  issue creation form. Custom fields can be populated via 3 ways.

1. The custom field that is changed into a required field in Jira will be available in issue creation automatically
2. Custom fields can be populated by specifying the key value pairs in the quick create commands mentioned earlier in the section
3. Also, custom fields can be populated/updated on the created issue by using edit any field option
   

Support for required fields

Troopr issue creation form supports any number of required fields. Troopr automatically shows all the fields in the issue creation form.

When issues are created with quick commands, for example “/t create <issue summary> @Chris” Troopr automatically populates issue summary and assignee in the issue creation form and then prompts the user to enter value for the other required fields.

The same behavior of maintaining context during issue creation happens when converting a Slack message to Jira issue with the “Task It” message action. Troopr auto- populates the available information in the creation form and prompts the user to fill in the required fields.

Automatic discovery of custom field meta data

Troopr identifies and renders the custom fields based on their data types. If a new custom field is of date type, Troopr shows a helpful date picker. If the field is a “list of values” Troopr inspects the metadata to identify the permitted values and helpfully pre-populates them in the dropdown in the issue creation form and allows users to easily select from it.

Editing/altering any custom fields

There are no restrictions in updating any custom field in Slack. Troopr supports editing abny custom field of any type using “edit any field” option available in every issue card in edit mode. Any action to a Jira issue that you take in the Jira web application, you can now do it in Slack with Troopr at fraction of the time.

Respecting workflow permissions

Jira has distinct privileges and permissions for the users with respect to what they can see and what they can do. Troopr dynamically understands and respects every user privilege and ensures that the users in Slack are only permitted to take the actions that they are permitted to take inside of Jira.

Jira supports different permissions on site level, project level and issue level. Troopr dynamically identifies and respects all the permissions when enabling users to create issue or take any other actions.

Some Jira actions are not allowed for some users at some levels, either site, project or issue. For example, a user may be restricted from accessing a project or an issue or performing an issue transition. Troopr respects all these permissions and workflow configurations and ensures consistency of behavior in Slack.

6. Benefits of issue creation with Troopr

Troopr Jira bot issue creation process is beneficial than the traditional one for the following reasons

• Today most of the discussions are taking place in Slack and there is always a time where you will have to create a ticket based on a message from your colleague. Troopr promptly allows you to convert these messages into Jira tickets without ever leaving Slack
• When you are writing a couple of lines on the tool (Slack) that you spend most time during a meeting - these line of messages can be converted into a Jira ticket instantly with Troopr
• This brings in more visibility as the other team members get to see that the issue is created
• Troopr eases out issue creation for any Jira configuration by supporting advanced capabilities around custom fields, automatic discovery of metadata values and fields as discussed in the previous section Try Troopr ticket creation functionality

7. Go beyond issue creation in Slack

In addition to issue creation, Troopr Jira bot also facilitates you to do the following

• Act on Jira tickets in Slack
• Convert any Slack message into a Jira comment
• Bring issues to team’s attention
• Get notifications on issues you care about
• Stay updated with project progress
• Automate Scrum ceremonies in Slack
  

Act to Jira tickets in Slack

The Jira bot enables users to take actions on Jira issues from Slack. Users could add comments to the issues, change the issue status, change assignee, change priority, change any default and custom fields directly from Slack

Convert any Slack message into a Jira comment

Have you been in a place where you will have to copy a Slack message and navigate to Jira, search for the issue, load the webpage and paste the copy as comment on the issue. Troopr’s Jira bot simplifies this process and allows users to convert any Slack message into a Jira comment via “Add comment” option that comes with the action button on every single message.

Bring issues to team’s attention

Troopr’s Jira bot enables users to initiate discussions on issues with the team by just mentioning the Jira key or associated keywords on individual or group DM. These commands find and unfurl Jira issues in Slack and keep it open for discussion. And allows the associated team members to take actions (answer/comment/update) on the Jira tickets from Slack.

Get notification on the issues you care about

Troopr’s Jira bot keeps users notified of Jira events based on some categories. Users receive notifications on their individual DM’s in Slack on the issues they have been assigned or mentioned. The associated team also receives notifications on Group DM’s in Slack for any changes to the Jira issues, say priority changed, assignee changed, issue edited, sprint started/closed, and more. All the related Jira events happening in the same delivery cycle are grouped and delivered as “one notification”. Correspondingly the related notifications are grouped into “one paginated notification message” - thus ensuring these notifications  are not disruptive.

Stay updated with project progress

Troopr’s Jira Slack integration enables users to quickly review and track progress of the projects at a glance with scheduled personalized briefing, burndown chart, velocity chart, workload distribution chart, tasks that are due and need attention, completed stories and more.

Additionally, users can configure to deliver reports to stakeholders on their individual slack DM, even if they do not hold access to Jira account - keeping everyone on the same page.

Automate Scrum ceremonies in Slack

The Jira bot automates daily scrum via asynchronous standups in Slack. The reports are compiled and delivered to the stakeholders/project managers DMs in Slack. Also allows to run cross-team standups in a shared slack channel, involving the stakeholders outside the Slack workspace - in different workspace to be part of the meeting.

The Jira bot also automates most other common Scrum ceremonies, say planning poker, retrospective, and backlog grooming in Slack - In beta development.

8. Your security is our top priority

Troopr’s Slack integration for Jira adopts industry’s best practices and standards to protect your data and information from data loss, misuse and unauthorized accesses.

At Troopr, we ensure that we do not store any data that goes from Jira to Slack and vice-versa. We connect the platforms via publicly available REST APIs and do not intend to store any of the data that passes from Slack through our servers to Jira and vice versa. Every command executed by Troopr user in Slack will make a fresh API call to Jira to get the data even if the same / similar command was executed recently. When a user specifically chooses delayed delivery of notifications, we cache notification metadata but only until it is delivered to the user/channel. At Troopr, we ensure that we only transmit data from Slack to Jira and vice versa and do not permanently store data in any scenario.

9. Get started

Troopr is trusted by 3000+ modern agile teams worldwide. Enterprise grade security verified at multiple large enterprise wide deployments is a standard feature. Troopr is fully compatible with all features available for Jira Cloud, Server and Data Center.

Troopr Slack integration for Jira is actively developed in 2022 with new updates released every week. Troopr team provides 24/7/365 support via chat and email: hello@troopr.io.

Troopr is designed to fit teams of any size and is free to try. You can get started by installing Troopr Jira Slack integration plugin from either the Slack app directory or Atlassian marketplace.