Jira ↔ Jama Connect Bidirectional Sync – Status and Comments

Published Date: June 17, 2025

Validated: Yes

Audience: Everyone

Products and Versions Covered:

• Jama Connect Interchange™ 

Summary

Teams using Jama Connect and Jira often require seamless bidirectional synchronization of the Status and Comments fields to ensure consistency between Requirements Management (Jama Connect) and Development/Issue tracking (Jira).

Typical Scenarios:

• Comments on user stories and issues in Jira need to be visible in Jama Connect immediately, and vice versa.

• Status updates in either tool must instantly reflect in the other system to maintain project alignment.

Key Recommendations:

• Use exact matching or Single-Select Rules for Status field mapping.

• Clearly communicate bidirectional comment sync behavior to all users to prevent confusion or unintended duplication.

Set up bidirectional synchronization carefully using Jama Connect Interchange (JCI) with clear governance in place.

Resolution

Prerequisites:

• Active JCI connectors (green status indicators) for Jama Connect and Jira.

• Admin-level permissions in both Jama Connect and Jira.

• JCI integration is already established between Jira and Jama Connect.

Step-by-Step Implementation

1. Configure Status Field Mapping

• Confirm or create matching Status picklist fields in Jama Connect and Jira.

• In JCI, edit your integration’s Field Mapping group:
  Integrations → [Your Integration] → Field Mappings

• Add or edit Status mapping row:

• Optional: Set Single-Select Rules if Status values differ:
  Example: Jira "Done" ↔ Jama "Completed"

    2. Configure Comments Field for Bidirectional Sync

• Navigate to integration settings:
  Integrations → [Your Integration] → Settings → Comments Synchronization

• Set synchronization direction to Bidirectional (Jira ↔ Jama Connect)

• Save your settings

Expected Behavior:

Examples:

• Jira comment edited → Jama receives:
  [Edited Comment] JIRA [User]: Original comment '...' edited to 'new text...'

• Jama comment deleted → Jira receives:
  [Deleted Comment] JAMA [User]: Comment deleted: 'original comment text'

Validation Checklist

Status Sync:

• Change status in Jira → confirm sync to Jama Connect

• Change status in Jama Connect → confirm sync to Jira

Comments Sync:

• Add comments in both systems → verify sync

• Edit comments → verify edit annotations sync correctly

• Delete comments → verify "deleted" annotations appear correctly in the other system

Common Issues & Troubleshooting

User Communication Recommendations

Recommended Practice:

• Add new comments to provide clarity, updates, or corrections

Discouraged Practice:

• Avoid editing or deleting synced comments; if necessary, clearly state corrections in new comment entries

Suggested Comment Prefixes to Identify Sources:

• Jira-originated comments in Jama Connect: JIRA [User]: Comment text

• Jama-originated comments in Jira: JAMA [User]: Comment text

Additional Resources

• Success Programs
• Success Catalog
• Datasheets
• Request a Solution Offering or Training from the Success Catalog

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