Jira can automatically update a Zendesk ticket linked to a Jira issue when the status of the issue changes in a Jira workflow.
This functionality requires the Jira Cloud integration, also known as v4. See Setting up Zendesk for Jira Cloud integration. The integration does not currently support on-premise Jira installations.
A Jira workflow is the set of statuses and transitions that an issue goes through during its lifecycle. See in the Atlassian docs for details. You can configure a workflow to automatically update a linked ticket after a Jira issue moves from one status to another in the workflow.
For example, after an engineer changes the Jira workflow status of an issue from "in progress" to "done" (or whatever you name your workflow statuses), Jira can automatically add an internal note to the linked Zendesk ticket notifying the agent. The agent can then notify the customer.
Jira can also give the agent an automatic heads-up that a developer is now working on an issue by adding an internal note to the ticket after the engineer changes the workflow status of the issue from "to do" to "in progress."
Understanding how the ticket updates work
Zendesk tickets are updated from Jira workflows using post functions. Post functions are a Jira workflow feature used to carry out additional processing after a workflow transition is executed. For example, a post function can update the issue's fields after a transition.
Post functions are added to workflow transitions, not statuses. They run after the transition is complete. Some post functions are essential and can't be deleted from a transition or reordered. However, you can insert optional post functions between them.
The Zendesk integration adds "Notify Zendesk Ticket" to the list of optional post functions in Jira.
For more information, see Post functions in the Atlassian docs.
Configuring a workflow to update tickets
- In Jira, click the Admin (cog) icon on the left side panel, and select Issues.
- On the Issues page, select Workflows from the left sidebar.
- Locate the workflow used by engineers to address issues linked to Zendesk tickets and click Edit on the right side of the workflow.
Note: Jira doesn't let you edit a live workflow. You must edit it in draft mode. - In the Transitions column, click the name of the transition you want to use to trigger ticket updates.
- Click the Post Functions tab, and then click the Add Post Function link on the right side.
- Select the Notify Zendesk Support post function from the list and click Add.
- Configure the ticket update settings, then click Add.
You can change the ticket status, add an internal or public comment, or add tags.
Note: Deleting tags is not supported.
- Click Publish Draft, then click Publish.
It's a good idea to save a backup copy when prompted.
Important: Your changes won't take effect until you publish the draft.
Changing the ticket update settings
You can change the settings at any time.
- In Jira, click the Admin (cog) icon on the left side panel, and select Issues
- On the Issues page, select Workflows from the left sidebar.
- Click Edit on the right side of the workflow containing the transition you want to edit.
- Select the transition and click the Post Functions tab.
- Click the Edit (pencil) icon on the right side of the post function that updates the ticket.
Note: You can also delete the post function by clicking the delete (X) icon.
- Make your changes then click Update.
- Click Publish Draft, then click Publish.
Supported comment placeholders
You can enter dynamic content placeholders in the comment field of a post function. For example, you can enter the following placeholder in the comment field of a Done transition function:
Issue {{issue.key}} has been resolved.
Issue QA-4 has been resolved.For more information, see Using placeholders.
The Zendesk Jira add-on supports issue-specific, transition-specific, and user-specific placeholders. The placeholders are listed in the tables below.
| Placeholder | Description |
|---|---|
| issue.id | Internal id number of the issue |
| issue.key | Issue key. Example: QA-4 |
| issue.fields.summary | Issue summary |
| issue.fields.description | Issue description |
| issue.fields.issuetype.name | Issue type |
| issue.fields.issuetype.description | Issue type description |
| issue.fields.creator.name | User name of the person who created the issue |
| issue.fields.creator.emailAddress | Email address of the person who created the issue |
| issue.fields.creator.displayName | Display name of the person who created the issue |
| issue.fields.creator.timeZone | Time zone of the creator |
| issue.fields.reporter.name | Name of the person who reported the issue |
| issue.fields.reporter.emailAddress | Email address of the person who reported the issue |
| issue.fields.reporter.displayName | Display name of the person who reported the issue |
| issue.fields.reporter.timeZone | Time zone of the reporter |
| issue.fields.assignee.name | User name of the person assigned to the issue |
| issue.fields.assignee.emailAddress | Email address of the person assigned to the issue |
| issue.fields.assignee.displayName | Display name of the person assigned to the issue |
| issue.fields.assignee.timeZone | Time zone of the assignee |
| issue.fields.user.name | Username of the user |
| issue.fields.user.emailAddress | Email address of the user |
| issue.fields.user.displayName | Display name of the user |
| issue.fields.user.timeZone | Time zone of the user |
| issue.fields.created | Date and time the issue was created |
| issue.fields.updated | Date and time the issue was updated |
| issue.fields.priority.name | Issue priority name |
| issue.fields.project.name | Issue project name |
| issue.fields.project.key | Issue project key. For example: QA |
| issue.fields.lastViewed | Date and time the issue was last viewed |
| issue.fields.fixVersions.name | Name of the fix version/s* |
| issue.fields.fixVersions.description | Description of the fix version/s* |
| issue.fields.fixVersions.releaseDate | Release date of the fix version/s* |
| issue.fields.versions.name | Name of the affected version/s* |
| issue.fields.versions.description | Description of the affected version/s* |
| issue.fields.versions.releaseDate | Release date of the affected version/s* |
| issue.fields.components.name | Name of the component/s* |
| issue.fields.components.description | Description of the component/s* |
| issue.fields.duedate | Due date |
| issue.fields.timespent | Time spent |
| issue.fields.timeoriginalestimate | The original estimated time required to resolve the issue |
| issue.fields.resolution.name | A record of the issue's resolution |
| issue.fields.resolution.description | A complete description of the resolution |
| issue.fields.resolutiondate | Date of issue resolution |
| issue.fields.watches.watchcount | The number of people watching the issue |
| issue.fields.labels | The label the issue relates to |
| issue.fields.environment | The hardware or software environment the issue relates to |
| issue.fields.votes.votes | The number of votes an issue has |
| issue.last_comment | Last comment on the issue |
*A comma-separated list if multiple items are selected.
| Placeholder | Description |
|---|---|
| transition.to_status | The status an issue has transitioned to. For example: Done |
| transition.from_status | The status an issue has transitioned from. For example: In Progress |
| transition.transitionName | The transition name that occurred |
| transition.workflowName | The workflow name |
| Placeholder | Description |
|---|---|
| user.key | Username of the person who caused the transition. This applies for Jira Server users only. |
| user.displayName | The user's display name. This applies for Jira Cloud users only. |
34 Comments
Is there any way to automate the posting of JIRA comments as internal notes on Zendesk tickets? I've added the workflow rules in JIRA to post onto the ticket anytime the ticket changes status, but I'd like any developer comments to automatically show on Zendesk tickets, without devs needing to remember to click the "notify Zendesk" button in JIRA.
+1 for Barry Finder's suggestion.
+1
Having the option for comments from Jira to flow directly through to Zendesk as per the old integration would be useful.
+1 for Barry Finder's suggestion.
Posting directly the comments from Jira was the way that the v2 integration worked. It would be great to add in or outline how we could enable what Barry is suggesting.
+1 for Barry Finder's suggestion.
Our Support Team relies upon the internal comments provided by the devs as part of their ticket resolution. We feel that this was a real heavy loss of functionality in the migration from v2 to v3. Now there are many more steps to notify the other side when an internal comment is made.
@Barry, @Steve, @James, @Katie, @Michael and @Kurt.
While the V3 app doesn't allow for any out of the box automatic comment syncing our product team is reviewing this functionality and whether automatic syncing is something that can be added. I can't promise anything but it is something we are looking into.
I would also recommend adding your comments and votes to the product feedback thread that was created for this request: https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/205060357-Jira-Comment-Synchronization
Hi Matthew,
Thanks for the followup here, we've actually managed to get the team used to the workflow without comments syncing directly with a 'Return to Support' button in the JIRA which triggers an update to Zendesk to tell the agent to go and check out the ticket in JIRA to get the latest update. It does help to keep tickets clearer without the confusion which can be caused by a lot of developer 'discussion' in a associated JIRA ticket.
One thing that we are struggling with a little however is the lack of the possibility to link to a component when creating a JIRA issue from Zendesk despite it being available on the screen if used directly within JIRA. Is that something there are any plans to add?
Is anyone experiencing issues on using the JIRA Post-Function "Notify Zendesk"? It no longer pops up the screen that allow you to modify ticket status or add a comment to the Zendesk ticket as shown above.
I don't know if recent Atlassian updates to JIRA Cloud are responsible, or what. I was told that we were not the only customer affected by this, but I haven't seen that anyone else is having this issue. I see people are having issues with the integration with JIRA On-Premise but not JIRA Cloud (On-Demand).
Hi Mary Jo!
Thanks for your post and I'm sorry for the delayed response - I have created a ticket for you so I can assist you further, so you can expect an email from me shortly.
Hi Laura,
I am having the same issue as Mary Jo. Maybe you can link me to that ticket.
Cheers,
André
Hi André! Thanks for letting me know - I have started a ticket for you as well!
Cool, thanks.
Hi, the functionality described here no longer works.
The editing, adding comments (6. Configure the update settings, Then click Add.) is impossible since 20 September 2015 (approximately).
This is very disabling. These notifications are sent to our customers.
Work on solving the problem? or is it a feature that will be abandoned?
thx
it works again! since today or yesterday ..
Hi Mael! Glad to hear it seems to have resolved! Let us know if you need anything else. :)
Hi,
is it possible to use placeholders of jira for tags? It seems it works only for comments.
Is it possible to use placeholder "resolution" (like fixed, won´t fix, etc)?
@Daniel sorry not possible, placeholders will only work in the comment box
@Jeremy, thanks for the response.
It would be nice to define the notification with more parameters, e.g. bei "Fix version" is set or "resolution" by selected state. May be nice improvements for the interface ;)
How do users of the Jira integration report on the number of requests in Zendesk that are linked to a specific issue in Jira? It seems that some sort of weighting of requests would be a commonly sought feature, but I am unable to figure out how to accomplish it short of manually adding a Jira issue key into a custom field in Zendesk.
Mat,
Unfortunately it's not a feature that we currently support. It is however something that we're considering for future versions. I'll make a note of your request and will let you know if we will implement this feature.
+1 For Mat's suggestion
It would be incredibly helpful for us to be able to use these placeholders ourselves for triggers/macros, etc. Basically, the information displayed in the Jira sidebar app is helpful, but we'd like to be able to USE it -- in reports, views, searches, triggers, etc.
Thanks
Hi guys,
I am not seeing the current screens shown above.
When I get to step 6 "Configure the ticket update settings, then click Add." I see a black screen:
I clicked Add on this screen to test and the workflow comes up as:
Super keen to get this integration working so any assistance would be appreciated!
@Brenden I will create a support ticket for you to further troubleshoot
How do I add custom Jira fields to the Note/Comment sent to the Zendesk?
@Lars the integration does not support custom field placeholders, only the placeholders as documented in this article. I will pass on your feedback to JIRA product team
What is the placeholder for the last comment on the issue? That would strike me as one of the most useful placeholders.
Hey Craig! You can find all of our other placeholders here: Zendesk placeholders reference.
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