Migrate a team-managed project to existing company-managed project??

Emily Brol

We are rolling an existing team-managed project into an existing company-managed project for visibility and I am having issues I cannot find answers to on other articles/questions. I have created a test CM project that mirrors the project i would like to migrate my tasks to. I also clone the TM tasks before moving them. I've tried several different methods to move/migrate tasks outlined below.

Bulk Move:

Status -> successful

Custom Fields -> all but 1 do not even give me an option to map to the custom field with the same naming/casing in the test CM project. I am planning to move hundreds of issues so manually updating 20 custom fields for hundreds of issues after moving them is not practical.

Export/Import:

Status -> moves everything to backlog. Even if i manually change the status name to match status options in the new project before importing.

Custom Fields -> some give me mapping options some don't. For the ones with no mapping option they are 1. a date field. 2. a short text field. 3. a dropdown menu picker field. Other instances of these field types migrate fine.

 

Is there a better way to do this? Not having/minimizing manual update steps post change is my top priority.

Eric Sibomana

Hi Emily, 

Here are some potential solutions

1. Prepare the Company-Managed Project

Before migration, ensure that your company-managed project is set up correctly:

• Create all necessary custom fields in the company-managed project
• Set up the correct issue type scheme
• Configure the appropriate workflow scheme
• Ensure the screen schemes are properly set up

2. Use Bulk Change with Advanced Options

Try using the Bulk Change feature with more advanced options:

• Use JQL to select all issues from the team-managed project
• In the Bulk Change wizard, select "Edit Issues"
• Map as many fields as possible, including custom fields
• For fields that can't be mapped, consider using the "Change Value" option to set a default value

3. Two-Step Migration Process

Consider a two-step migration process:

1. First, use Bulk Move to transfer the issues, which should preserve the status
2. Then, use Bulk Edit to update the custom fields that weren't transferred

4. Utilize Jira's REST API

For more complex migrations, you might need to use Jira's REST API:

• Export issues from the team-managed project using the API
• Transform the data as needed
• Import the transformed data into the company-managed project

5. Third-Party Migration Tools

Consider using third-party Jira apps specifically designed for project migrations. These tools often provide more flexibility in mapping fields and statuses.

Additional Considerations

• Backup: Always create a full backup of your Jira instance before attempting any large-scale migration
• Test Run: Perform a test migration with a subset of issues to identify and resolve problems before the full migration
• Custom Field Compatibility: Ensure that custom fields in the team-managed project have compatible counterparts in the company-managed project
• Workflow Differences: Be aware that workflows in team-managed projects are simpler and may not directly map to company-managed workflows

Remember, there's no perfect one-size-fits-all solution for this type of migration. You may need to combine multiple approaches and potentially accept some manual work for certain aspects of the migration. I would like to hear which final approach will work for you.