Where are the ProForma features in Jira Cloud?

[Mykenna Cepek]

We're upgrading from Jira Data Center to Jira Cloud during Q1 of 2025. We're currently using ProForma in our Data Center instance, and using many of the features.

My testing in Jira Cloud indicates a substantial loss of features in the native Forms support compared to ProForma Data Center. This is going to be a problem for us, as teams using ProForma in Data Center successfully now will have both refactoring and functionality gaps as we migrate to Cloud.

Am I missing something? Do other current Jira Cloud users see all the ProForma features in their native Forms? For example, Jira Cloud doesn't have Form sections, custom field validation, and Form fields which are not mapped to issue fields.

We are not using JSM, I'm talking about native Forms functionality Jira Cloud (since there is no ProForma app for Jira Cloud).

Reviewing this feature parity documentation suggests very little difference. Not true at all! Just compare the screenshots between Data Center + ProForma and Jira Cloud native below.

Forms in Jira Data Center with ProForma:

Native Forms in Jira Cloud:

Is there really this massive of a feature gap? Why is the documentation so wrong? Am I missing something?

[Trudy Claspill · Accepted solution]

Hello @Mykenna Cepek 

The feature parity document you referenced is specific to Jira Service Management, as noted in the breadcrumbs at the top of the page and in the page URL.

Until recently there was no native support for Forms within Jira Software projects in Jira Cloud. There was a Forms feature available for Jira Business/Work Management projects in Jira Cloud. That functionality has been made available within the Jira Software projects in Cloud now. This Forms functionality did not match what was available in JSM Forms.

There is an article about the addition of Forms support in Jira Cloud Software projects here:

https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Jira-articles/A-new-way-to-manage-intake-in-Jira/ba-p/2856309

Per a comment on that post from Nov. 6, it was an intentional decision by Atlassian to not port the forms functionality from JSM to Jira Software projects, but instead use the Forms functionality available for Business/Work Management projects.

If you want more richly featured forms, you may have to consider a different forms app for Jira Cloud.

https://marketplace.atlassian.com/search?query=forms+for+jira&product=jira&hosting=cloud

[Walter Buggenhout · Accepted solution]

Hi @Mykenna Cepek,

The documentation is not wrong, but comparing Forms in Jira to ProForma is not a good comparison. Atlassian acquired ProForma a couple of years ago and integrated the app natively into JSM. And indeed, if you compare that with the forms you see in Data Center from the former app, the similarities are much bigger and that's also what the documentation is about.

Unfortunately, these forms have never been available in other Jira products on cloud. The Forms you refer to are still fairly new and came along originally with Jira Work Management. They are quite basic, as you say, and are better to compare with the issue collector, if you want to refer to a similar concept in the on prem platform.

So yes, if you have integrated ProForma heavily into your Jira look and feel, that will be a challenge ... On the bright side, though ... there's tons of features in cloud that don't exist on prem and most likely never will (like timelines, list views, all the AI stuff, ...).

Hope this helps! 

[Olha Yevdokymova_SaaSJet]

Hi @Mykenna Cepek 

I understand your concern about the feature gap between ProForma on Jira Data Center and the native Forms functionality in Jira Cloud. Migrating with significant functionality differences can indeed disrupt workflows.

If you're looking for a robust alternative that replicates and even expands on ProForma’s capabilities, I’d recommend trying Smart Forms for Jira. It’s a Jira Cloud add-on developed by my team designed to offer advanced form functionality, and it aligns closely with what you’re used to. Here’s how it can help bridge the gap:

Why Smart Forms for Jira?

1. Form Creation and Flexibility:

   • Build dynamic forms with conditional logic.
   • Support for form fields not directly tied to Jira issue fields, offering greater flexibility for data collection.
   • Pre-fill form options from existing Jira data for consistency.

2. Issue Management Features:

   • Create New Issues: Automatically generate new issues from form submissions, mapping responses to specific issue fields.
   • Auto-Add Forms to Issue Types: Attach specific forms to selected issue types automatically for faster workflows.
   • Update Existing Issue Fields: Seamlessly transfer form responses into Jira issue fields to avoid manual updates.

3. Enhanced Collaboration:

   • Embed on Confluence: Share forms directly in Confluence pages to collect feedback from non-Jira users.
   • External Sharing: Share forms via link or QR code with users outside Jira, allowing external stakeholders to participate.

4. Improved User Experience:

   • Notifications After Submission: Customize confirmation messages or emails for users after they submit a form.
   • Track form responses and analyze data directly in Jira, enabling actionable insights without additional tools.

You can explore more details here. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

Best of luck with your migration! 😊

[Mykenna Cepek]

I knew that Atlassian bought ProForma, and intended to incorporate it into their ecosystem. And that's why our org invested in using ProForma at the time because Atlassian made it sound like the best going-forward option (why invest in a different app?). Even the current feature parity doc (which I linked above) doesn't make the massive feature gap clear.

This looks like a sales and marketing play, to "encourage" organizations to use JSM. That's not an option for some orgs. This org happens to use another major industry product for internal tickets and more, and it's never going away. At the Enterprise level, you can't convince an org to "spend double" for ticket support software. I also don't believe there are technical reasons why ProForma features couldn't be more integrated into Jira proper. This appears to be about money, not customer happiness.

The article @Trudy Claspill shared is dated 30-Oct-2024, well after we made our decision to go with ProForma, and well after other "ProForma features in our products" messaging. Despite being an Atlassian fangirl, I continue to be frustrated that I can't opt-in to be notified of key updates (articles) like that with cold water. I don't have time to read everything, and helping our org's Jira/Confluence support staff isn't even in my job description. I do it because I like the products. ProTip: keyword-based notification opt-ins - it's a real thing. It would address the information firehose problem folks like me have been frustrated about for years.

Well, it is what it is. I get to go back to our early adopter teams and break the news. They were excited about forms and loving what they could do in ProForma in Jira Data Center. Not a great way to say "Welcome to Jira Cloud!". Another Forms App for Jira is not an option, for cost and additional migration complexity reasons. The value proposition of ProForma initially was that it would migrate smoothly and be native in Jira. Apparently not. Disappointing.

[Mykenna Cepek]

If you got this far, please cast a vote for JRACLOUD-85492.

[Michiel Schuijer]

Hi, I totally understand and sympathise with you as I did the same thing in a previous company I worked in a couple of years ago: I also read on Atlassian fora that Atlassian bought ProForma, and intended to incorporate it into their ecosystem. And that's why our org invested in using ProForma at the time because Atlassian made it sound like the best going-forward option.

Fast-forward to me working at another company already using Jira Cloud, and finding out ProForma wasn't officially supported, making me very disappointed and a little mad :( Eventually, though, on some forum I found a workaround: ask Atlassian Support to enable ProForma Forms, since underwater it is available and works just fine already for JSW!

So, in Jira Cloud Software projects, visit https://<your-company>.atlassian.net/jira/software/c/projects/<project-key>/settings/forms will allow you to create and manage Advanced Forms for the JSW project already, but the menu "Advanced Forms" will only show when Atlassian Support enables that for an organisation. Only the people who found this out and made the request to support got it, like my current and a previous org I worked at, because I made the request.

Obviously, I voted for that Jira Cloud suggestion you shared, but we all know how those get handled most of the time.

I still have a sliver of hope Atlassian will make 'advanced forms' available for JSW, but I'm aware and afraid of the growing commercial strategy/opportunities they are applying and leaving faithful customers behind...

[Mykenna Cepek]

@Michiel Schuijer - thanks for your note. I think you are saying that, as a Jira Cloud admin, I can ask Atlassian Support to enable Advanced Forms to enable all (more?) of the ProForma functionality for Forms in Jira Cloud (JSW)?

I find the JSW acronym confusing. What does it abbreviate?

[Trudy Claspill]

On the topic of acronyms:

Previously there were three products that could be licensed in Cloud:

JSM = Jira Service Management

JWM = Jira Work Management

JSW = Jira Software

If you licensed JSM you had only Service Management projects available.

If you licensed JWM you had only Jira Business/Work Management projects available (similar to but with less/slightly different functionality than Jira Software projects).

If you licensed JSW you had Jira Software and Jira Business/Work Management projects available.

At Atlassian's Team24 conference they announced that they would stop licensing JWM as a separate product. Now there are just two products available:

Jira = JSW + JWM

Jira Service Management = JSM

Some folks still use the JSW acronym to refer to the unified Jira product.

[Mykenna Cepek]

Super helpful, @Trudy Claspill, thank you!

It sounds like there is still a need to differentiate JSM from JSW.

And I still am not sure what the "W" is for in JSW!    :-)

[Trudy Claspill]

It sounds like there is still a need to differentiate JSM from JSW.

Yes, those are two separately licensed products. They can co-exist on a single site/instance.

JSW = Jira SoftWare

JSM = Jira Service Management

[Michiel Schuijer]

Thanks for answering about the acronyms, @Trudy Claspill ;)

Don't forget, there is now also JPD -> Jira Product Discovery!

I am glad Jira Work Management was merged/dropped, and that we 'just have Jira' now, though Atlassian hasn't cleared that up all too obvious (imho) and has not updated all documentation around this, so you'll likely encounter it for the coming year(s) in documentation and help sections still.

About your other question, @Mykenna Cepek,

as a Jira Cloud admin, I can ask Atlassian Support to enable Advanced Forms to enable all (more?) of the ProForma functionality for Forms in Jira Cloud (JSW)? 

Correct, that was the procedure and hopefully is still allowed for you and other customers, especially ones that migrate from Jira DC with ProForma.