How to set up document management in Jira Data Center?

[Daniel Martin]

I recently transitioned an infrastructure team to Jira Data Center to manage their work.  Today, our Configuration Management lead asked if it is possible to do document management in Jira.  This would include version updates and discovery of specific documents.  

Is there a way to do document management in Jira Data Center? 

If not, can it be done in Confluence or another Atlassian product?

[Trudy Claspill · Accepted solution]

Hello @Daniel Martin 

Jira is not a document management tool. It is a work management tool.

Confluence is a wiki collaboration tool. It would be better suited to your needs than Jira, but it really depends on the actual requirement. Are you trying to manage document files or can the information be displayed in a wiki? What does "discovery of specific documents" mean?

Confluence keeps version history for wiki pages and it keeps version history for uploaded attachments (i.e. document files). What functionality do you need related to version updates?

You can find information on the Confluence product here: 

https://www.atlassian.com/software/confluence

[Daniel Martin]

The Configuration Management team currently uses document files and keeps every...single...version...of their documents in a share drive that grow but is never reviewed.  99.9% of the time they only need the most current version of a document, but want to retain every...single...old...archived...version, for...just in case. 

I'd like to convince them to avoid using documents and to move to Confluence as a wiki document, but they are used to version controls and checking documents in/out for editing.  I will need to solidly demonstrate Confluence keeping version history for wiki and document uploads to convince them to change this pattern.  Any advice for demonstrating version history?

The "discovery" requirement was to be able to find any specific document quickly/easily.  This is currently done in a spreadsheet, so anything is an improvement. 

I asked about Jira for this function after finding several YouTube videos about document management in Jira and seeing the products below:

Jira Document Management Workflow

https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Marketplace-Apps-Integrations/How-to-organize-Jira-Document-Management-Workflow/ba-p/2133376

Documents for Jira (in the Atlassian Marketplace)

https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1211062/documents-for-jira?tab=overview&hosting=cloud

[Trudy Claspill]

I have not used either of those apps before. I have always used Sharepoint or a SCM system for document file version control, or used Confluence wiki pages rather than files for documentation.

As for demonstrating version history in Confluence, I would say set up a trial version, create and edit pages so you can look at the Page History

Do the same for file attachments.

Keep in mind that if you want to use either Jira or Confluence for keeping versions of files you may need to look at how much storage space you need.

Also note that the first app you linked is available only for Jira Cloud. The second one is available for both Jira Data Center and Jira Cloud.

[Craig Nodwell · Accepted solution]

Agree with @Trudy Claspill Confluence is the way to go for document management.  Jira is not the way.

[Daniel Martin]

Thanks Craig!  This program is new to Atlassian products and often their processes fall oddly somewhere between Jira and Confluence.  My challenge is properly implementing Jira and Confluence while also conducting an organizational culture change for business processes, and moving the teams from waterfall to Agile.  Fun.

[Craig Nodwell]

:) that's what's been paying my bills for a long time now.  Many clients I do an full out Jira / Confluence integration via the app links and scriptrunner where docs get generated based on workflow or ui action with data values pulled from the ticket.  I do the same type of thing for monthly project(s) report generation out of Jira and into Confluence.  Also, just ran (the coolness of scriptrunner only on the Jira side right now) a groovy script in the scriptrunner console that read a csv file and generated a little over 700 pages in confluence.   Yes current client is probably around the same state of Agility as your program...
So going through a lot of this right now (again) myself.
Not pluggin scriptrunner here I just find it an indispensable add-on for Atlassian product expansion and automations.

[Laura Campbell _Elements_]

Agree that Confluence is the way to go for documents.

If you need more control/approvals for updating documents, Comala will allow you do more than what's natively offered, but the version history for pages and attachements that comes with Confluence is already good.