Integrating Jira with Confluence for Project Status Updates

[Fahad Sarwar]

We are currently using the free plan of Jira, and I need to set up an automatic integration between Jira and Confluence. The goal is to display the project status for the our project on a Confluence page and ensure its updated in real-time from Jira. This page should be accessible to stakeholders without needing manual updates.

Specifically, I need help with the following:

1. How do I create a "Plan on a Page" for our project in Confluence, summarizing key milestones, goals, and timelines?
2. How do I set up Jira-Confluence integration for project status updates, given that we are on a free plan?
3. What are the limitations of Jira and Confluence integration on the free plan, and how can we work around them if necessary?
4. How can I configure permissions so that stakeholder can view the Confluence page without needing access to Jira?

I need immediate assistance as we are planning to showcase the integration next week. Any advice, step-by-step guidance, or links to relevant documentation would be greatly appreciated!

[Christian Peper]

For the integration, this link may help:

• https://www.atlassian.com/software/confluence/resources/guides/extend-functionality/confluence-jira

Permissions are tickier, assuming you are Jira Admin! If not, there is no way without help from an admin.

You create user groups in Jira. A group per team. A group for stakeholders. A group for Project Admins.

You grant teams Edit rights in their Jira projects. 

You grant stakeholders View rights in the Confluence on the page that's for them. Or create a top-level page "Stakeholder Overview", grant the stakeholder group View rights and create sub pages for each report. That way they all have visibility into the status.

You can create a service account in Jira that you will use for the integration, called "integration SA". There you can create tokens, etc.

[Christian Peper]

Well, I'm not sure about the free plan's restrictions, but I think the essence of your problem can be solved relatively easily.

Important to know is that all and everything in Jira can be reported through proper filters, queries that select the tickets you're interested in. So first, decide _what_ you want displayed. Then create filters for them. This will just be a list of tickets. For instance, filters that I _always_ created for _every project_:

* all tickets

* all open tickets

* all closed tickets

* all epics

* all bugs

You can add your flavors as needed, depending on the organization of your projects/company.

I set up Jira Dashboards to report on a project or across projects, using these filters.

In Confluence, I can create tables/charts based off of the filters and augmented, when needed, with extra filter rules. E.g. filter by labels, components, releases, priority, etc.

You cannot create a page in Confluence that lists all open tickets in an Epic _without_ buying an add-in. This can get very expensive, but Mgmt usually insists at their own expense. :D 

For an example project, using the filters above, I create a Project Status Report that auto-updates off of the filters.

I am obsessive about using labels to add context/subjects to everything for having these is a god-send when you need to filter out something for someone. I use wiki-garden in Confluence to weed out less often used labels and combine them, or replace them and catch spelling errors/differences.

* Overall status: pie chart by status (shows works done as well not done)

* Epic Overview: all open epics by priority incl dates

* Work Ahead: all open tickets by relevant fields (prio, date, team)

* Project stats: report over all tickets by labels (list where the work is done)

Confluence is mostly just tables and charts, Jira Dashboards have a broader range is graphics.

In my dashboards, I use the following widgets:

* pie chart by status

* pie chart by components

* issue stats (shows data based on the status of tickets, such as how big the backlog is or isn't)

* average age chart based on all open tickets

* 2D table with X is the status and Y is the assignee (who does the work)

* created vs resolved (shows if the team is able to handle the workload)

* wait before completed (how long it takes for tickets to be resolved)

* time to complete work (how long the teams are working on tickets)

It is a lot to take in, I know. Work on your filters first, start with those above, and just plug&play them into Confluence and Jira Dashboards. Then refine from here. Don't buy reporting plugins yet, that's a rabbit hole.

Avoid building custom dashboards for Mgmt Team! It's a never ending story, you'll never get it right. There is always one more thing. Bring them the data, export stats into some bucket/storage account and let them create their own dashboards with BI tools of their choosing.

[Brian Kirwa]

Hi @Fahad Sarwar I can give you some ideas that could help with setting up the Jira and Confluence integration, even if you're on the free plan

1. To create a "Plan on a Page" in Confluence, a good way to start is by using one of Confluence's built-in templates. You could try a Project Plan Template that lets you outline key milestones, goals, and timelines. Another option is to use tables or lists to keep things organized. To get the project status directly from Jira, you can use the Jira Issues Macro, which allows you to display live updates from Jira directly on the Confluence page. This way, every time something changes in Jira, it’s automatically updated on the page.

For example, let’s say you’re tracking major project milestones in Jira. You can create Jira issues for each milestone and then embed those issues into your Confluence page using the Jira macro. When a Jira issue is updated (e.g., the milestone is completed), the change will appear automatically on the Confluence page.

2. Even on the free plan, you can connect Jira and Confluence pretty easily. The key feature here is the Jira Issues Macro. It allows you to pull live data from Jira into Confluence. All you need to do is copy the link to the relevant Jira issue or filter, and in Confluence, use the `/jira` command or go to Insert > Jira Issue/Filter and paste the link.

For example, if you're managing a project in Jira and want to show the status of tasks or milestones in Confluence, you can create a filter in Jira (e.g., tasks in progress) and display it on the Confluence page using the macro. This way, the Confluence page will always reflect the latest updates from Jira.

3. While the free plan gives you a lot of functionality, there are a few limitations. On the free plan, Jira and Confluence have separate permissions, so stakeholders may need access to both tools if they want to interact with the content. However, if they only need to view the Confluence page, that’s a bit easier to manage.

The free version has fewer automation features, so setting up complex workflows between Jira and Confluence may not be possible. However, you can still get live updates from Jira on your Confluence page through the Jira macro.

If full automation isn’t available, you can still manually set up a dynamic page that displays real-time project statuses using the macros, which will save you from having to manually update the page.

4. If your stakeholders only need to view the Confluence page (and not Jira), you can set up view-only permissions in Confluence. You can share the Confluence page with specific people or even make it publicly accessible if needed. That way, they can see the latest updates without needing access to Jira.

For example, you could create a Confluence page that pulls in the relevant project data from Jira and then share the page link with your stakeholders. They’ll be able to check the project status without needing to interact with Jira directly- Not the best though