how to convert excel sheet to jira items

[ardian.krivca]

I have an existing "initiative" (i.e. initiative-123). I need to convert an excel sheet (over 500 rows) into this initiative (not sure if I want child issues or subtasks), I am no jira expert.

how do I convert all these excel records and upload them under my initative-123? I came across this link Import data from a CSV file | Atlassian Support but does it apply to uploading to an initiative or does it not matter?

Thank you 

[Alex Ortiz]

@ardian.krivca 

You have a couple options here.

First, you can do what @Yash Raj recommended which is prepare a CSV file with the appropriate linking and then do the bulk import.  Please keep in mind that you'll need to be a site admin to import.  If this is tricky, I have a second option for you.

Import all the issues (I'm pretty sure they need to be Epics, but not sure since I don't know how you have your Issue hierarchy set up).  When you are preparing your csv (excel) file, make sure you add a label so that you can quickly look up your 500 issues after you import them.  Once they are all imported, search for your label and it should return your 500 issues.  From there, go to bulk edit and edit the issues. You are going to want to add a parent link to the issues which will be the key for your initiative.  

I have a video briefly explaining this.  You'll want to start at around the 36 minute mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51-LxSMioOE&t=4s. Hope it helps! 

[ardian.krivca]

1. Just watched your video, I feel like a celebrity :) 

2. very good point about adding a label, I will try to add that in my upload.

Thank you

[Alex Ortiz]

Happy to help.  Did you subscribe??  

[ardian.krivca]

Happy to help.  Did you subscribe?? 

I certainly will :) 

I think I will do this from a slightly different approach. Here is my layout , the way I want to import the data...

• initiative  (initiative-123)  already exists
  • EPIC  (EPIC-123)   already exists
    • Task <-----there is where i want to import all my excel data (tasks?). 

Initiative-123 & EPIC-123 already exist in JIRA. Can I import my data under my EPIC-123? If so, how do I mention in excel to roll these up under EPIC-123? This is the part that is confusing me.

[Brant Schroeder]

@ardian.krivca when you do the import set the epic link in the csv import to the epic issue Id.

[Soppdew]

I can tell you that the process can be a bit tricky if you're not familiar with Jira. From what I’ve learned, the CSV import feature works for adding records to an initiative, whether you’re using child issues or subtasks – it doesn't specifically care about the hierarchy as long as the fields are mapped correctly. What helped me was first testing with a small sample file to make sure everything imports as expected. That way, I could tweak the format before going all in. If you're looking to improve your Excel skills for better organizing this stuff, https://excel.tv/best-excel-courses/ has some great courses that’ll teach you how to work with data like a pro! That helped me streamline a lot of my processes.

[John Funk]

Hi @ardian.krivca  - Did you ever get this accomplished? 

[Yash Raj]

Hi @ardian.krivca 

have you exported Jira issue to excel ? 

so if you want to import the data from excel to Jira " initiative-123" then you need to mention

the same reference number to all the epics or tasks to get associated with " initiative-123".

Make sure you have the saved the file as CSV and use it to import

[ardian.krivca]

have you exported Jira issue to excel ? 

No, these are new issues I am creating in excel. I want to take these issues and import into jira.

For example, here is a sample of what I am trying to do. Notice I have 5 issues that I want them to be EPIC's that roll up under the initative-123. Is this how I would do it?

[Alex Ortiz]

You are close.

You need to define a unique epic name.  I usually call it the same thing as the summary of the epic.

From there, I would recommend you add a labels column and name it something like import_date_of_import.

Once imported, all you need to do is bulk update and update the parent-link to = the initiative-123

[ardian.krivca]

if you dont mind, can you please show me a example?