Does the owner of an external entity in dependencies have to be a Jira Align user?

[Louise Boulton]

When adding an external entity in Jira Align dependencies, the owner name field appears to be free text but I noticed that the value I entered did not save. The value for the team name did, however. So I wanted to know if the owner has to exist in Jira Align as a user, and if not then what else might be the cause of this value not saving. Thanks.

[Allan Maxwell]

Yes, it does appear that the owner of an "external entity" will need to be a Jira Align user.  Typically, you will create one or more Jira Align accounts for someone to provide updates on behalf of the external entity. 

[Steve Sauser]

@Louise Boulton Thank you for your question.  

Short answer is simple - Yes, the owner does need to be an existing Jira Align user. 

Longer answer:

• External Dependencies should be managed by the internal team, these are basically dependencies that are for entities (vendors, partners, and basically any party who does not have access to Jira Align). 
  • This could include Teams or Programs who are within your company who are not yet onboarded to Jira Align.  
• The contract of the Dependency is between the Team/Program in Jira Align and the Entity (vendor, partner, etc...) who is external to Jira Align.  The Owner is in charge of that relationship and responsible for the interaction between the external party and the Team/Program in Jira Align.  

Please let me know if you need more detail on this question. 

Thank you!