I need the backlog feature and an option for ext users to submit requests in a software project

[Anamika]

Hi, 

I work on platform request management and have to collaborate with many teams. I get change requests from different stakeholders and I manage them in the product backlog. I also use the sprint feature so it is easier for the stakeholders to know what is getting prioritised and when and the status of each item in each sprint and quarter. Both these are available in a software project. 

Here's what I'm looking for: I don't want all the stakholders who request for changes to have edit/create story/epic/task. It becomes really messy when people do that. I want to give them one form through which all requests can be submitted. The form can automatically create a story/epic upon submission and should get created in my product backlog.

Once I'm notified, I can groom the story and take the next steps.

To summarise, I want backlog feature, sprint feature as well as an option for external users to submit requests through a form.

Would you please give me a solution for this? 

[Trudy Claspill]

Hello @Anamika 

Welcome to the Atlassian community.

Currently Jira Software does not support submission of issues through "forms" - it doesn't have a Forms feature. Forms can be used with Jira Work Management (aka Business) projects and with Jira Service Management projects (which would require a JSM product subscription).

Do you happen to have JSM?

Are you willing to make these stakeholders licensed users of Jira Software? You could allow them to have only the permission to view the data and create (but not otherwise edit) new issues, but they would need to be licensed users.

You could allow the creation of issues via email submissions, but that isn't a "form". The email handler would just take the email subject as the issue summary, and the email content as the issue description.

You could use a Jira Work Management project for intake, use the form feature with that, and then move or clone the issues into your Jira Software project.

There is also the Issue Collector concept, but that is also not a true "form".

There may be third party apps that could assist with form intake also.

Do any of these ideas sound appealing to you?

[Anamika]

Hi Trudy,

Thank you for your answer. Unfortunately, I have tried everything you mentioned and they don't solve my problem :( 

Service management has forms feature , but it does not have sprints+backlog feature which are available on a software project. 

I want all these three features in one place which is not the case at the moment to help with my use case. Making all of them licensed users and them being able to create stories directly would be my last resort. I was hoping to find some other solution where I can have all these three in one place. 

Thank you anyways. :)

[Trudy Claspill]

It is true that JSM itself does not offer a Scrum board feature, but you can include the JSM issues in a Sprint board that is based on a saved filter that includes the JSM issues. However, if your users are only JSM customers they would not be able to view the Scrum board without being licensed Jira users.

Alternately, you could use JSM as the intake and clone the issues to a JSW project. If you make the JSW project accessible to Public, then the customers could see it without being licensed Jira users, I think. I have not actually tried that with a user that is granted Customer access. But, of course, that would also make the contents of that project visible to anybody on the internet.

There are third party apps that would support you sharing the JSW project content with the customers without granting them JSW licenses, such as External Share for Jira.

I thought I had read somewhere about an Early Access Program for using Forms with JSW, but I cannot now find the reference. You could ask your Jira admins to contact Atlassian Support directly to find out if there really is such an EAP to which you could get enrolled.

[Anamika]

Hi Trudy,  cloning does not clone attachments/screenshots, so I can't use that option either.

Yes, looks like going with an app is the only option. There's one called smart forms for jira which I can add to my software project. But I was hoping to find some other solution that do that. 

Thank you anyways. :)

[Trudy Claspill]

Actually, if you use an Automation Rule to execute the Clone Issue action then you can copy the attachments from the source issue.

[Anamika]

Thank you Trudy. This helps.