How to integrate Azure AD with Jira Cloud to improve collaboration? A step-by-step guide.

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Do you need help with inefficient team collaboration and user management across Jira and Azure AD directories?

If so, you're not alone.

Many organizations face challenges syncing user data between these platforms, especially as teams grow and projects become more complex. My team also struggled with those issues as we grew in numbers, but we managed to handle the chaos. So, as a longtime Atlassian community writer, I want to share good news.

You can address this problem by integrating Jira with Azure AD. This move can help your team become more productive and collaborate better, improving your work organization and security.

Below are three examples of use cases that integrating Azure AD data with Jira can help solve.

• More detailed user profiles: A project manager in a large company wants to assign tasks based on specific skill sets. By integrating Azure AD with Jira, the manager can view detailed user profiles directly in Jira, including job titles and departments. This helps match tasks to the right team members quickly.

• Reduced admin burden: A Jira admin is overwhelmed with the manual task of updating user information in Jira. The integration enables automatic synchronization of user data from Azure AD to Jira, reducing the admin's workload.

• Flexible automation: A team leader wants to set up an automated approval process where an assignee's manager must approve certain issues or equipment requests. They can do that by configuring the Azure AD-Jira integration to handle automated workflows. This solution reduces delays and ensures the correct manager is notified while improving transparency with clear records of all approval actions.

My team uses Azure AD Attributes Sync for Jira for all of that, and I’ll show you how you can do the same.

Step 1: Install the Azure AD Attributes Sync for Jira 

1. Go to the Atlassian Marketplace.

2. Type Azure AD Attributes Sync for Jira in the search bar.

3. Click on the app and follow the instructions to install it.

Step 2: Connect Azure Active Directory to Azure AD Attributes Sync for Jira

Once you installed the app:

1. In Jira, go to Jira settings > Apps.

2. Choose Configuration under Azure AD Attributes Sync.

3. Click Add directory.

4. Type in the directory name, provide the primary domain or tenant ID, and click the Generate authentication link button.

5. Follow the link to authorize the app in the Azure Active Directory. If you are not an Azure AD admin, deliver the link to the proper person. 

6. To finish the authorization process, accept Azure AD permissions. Once you establish the connection, you can update the permissions according to your needs.

Step 3: Choose Azure AD attributes to display in Jira

Now that you have an active directory: 

1. In Jira, go to the Project settings > Apps > Azure AD Attributes.

2. Click Add Configuration.

3. Configure all the information you want to display on the issue view or Request Details View.

Result:

The settings you’ve created are visible in your entire Jira project. You can edit the attributes at any time.

By following these steps, we improved team collaboration and simplified user management in Jira. It made our job much easier! 

How about you? Do you have any tips or best practices for synchronizing and organizing large data sets?

Share your experiences and insights in the comments below. Your knowledge could be invaluable to others dealing with similar issues 💡. 

[Shawn Doyle - ReleaseTEAM]

Thank you @Katarzyna Kornaga _Deviniti_! Very well thought out and precise write-up.