Configuring Jira integration

Before users can work with Jira issues from Helix ALM, an administrative user or another user with high-level security permissions needs to configure a connection to a Jira instance. You also need to select the Jira projects, issue types, and fields available when users create issues from the Helix ALM project.

To configure Jira integration, the Configure Jira Integration command in the Administration category must be enabled for your security group. See Editing security groups. If you do not have permission to modify security groups, contact an administrative user to make the change. After enabling the command, log out of the project and log in again to apply the changes. All users must be logged out the project before you can configure the integration.

1. Choose Tools > Administration > Jira Integration.

The Jira Integration dialog box opens.

2. Select Enable Jira integration.

If you no longer want to use the integration, clear this option. Users will no longer have access to work with Jira issues from Helix ALM. Jira information is no longer displayed in Helix ALM, but is still stored in the project database in case you enable the integration again.

3. Enter the Jira instance location. This must be a URL that starts with http:// or https://.

If you are changing the Jira instance location, see Changing the Jira instance location.

4. Enter the Default Jira username and password (for on-premise installations) or API token (for cloud installations) for the instance.

These are the default credentials used to log in to Jira from Helix ALM if you do not require users to specify a username and password. Issues created from Helix ALM show the default user instead of a specific user in the Jira issue history.

Some teams create a Jira user specifically for the Helix ALM integration instead of using an existing administrative user. This may be helpful if you do not require users to specify their Jira credentials because it gives you more control over the Jira information these users can see and work with.

5. Select Require users to provide login credentials if you want users to log in to Jira from Helix ALM with their username and password instead of automatically logging them in with the default credentials.

If this option is selected, users need to enter their Jira credentials in user options. See Setting Jira integration user options. If users do not enter credentials in user options, they are prompted to enter them the first time they perform a Jira action from Helix ALM. The default Jira username and password is required even if this option is selected.

If this option is not selected, the default Jira username and password for the instance are used to automatically log in users to Jira. Issues created from Helix ALM show the default user instead of a specific user in the Jira issue history.

6. Click Test to test the connection to the Jira instance.

Errors are displayed if the test fails. Correct any errors and test the connection again.

If the connection fails and you are prompted to use a trusted certificate, see Troubleshooting certificate issues for help.

7. Click the Fields tab to configure the Jira projects, issue types, and fields available when creating Jira issues from Helix ALM. See Configuring fields for creating Jira issues.

You must configure fields before saving the connection settings.

8. Click Save to save the changes.

After enabling the integration, the See Jira Issues and Perform Jira Actions security commands are automatically enabled for all item types in all security groups in the Helix ALM project. To limit access to Jira actions, you can disable these commands in the Issues, Requirements, Requirement Documents, Test Cases, and Manual Test Runs categories as needed. The Has Jira Issues and Jira Issues fields are also visible to all groups. To hide these fields, change the field privilege to Hidden in the Jira Fields category for each item type in the Field Security category in the Edit Security Group dialog box. See Editing security groups.

When you test the connection to a Jira instance from Helix ALM, you may be prompted that the connection failed and the certificate returned from Jira is not trusted. This commonly occurs if you have an on-premise Jira Server installation.

When installing the server, you must generate an SSL certificate to run Jira over HTTPS. If the certificate is not generated by a certificate authority, is expired, or uses an unsecured algorithm, the networking layer rejects the request between Helix ALM and Jira and you are prompted about the certificate.

  • If the certificate displayed in the dialog box is correct for your installation, click Trust. Helix ALM accepts the Jira connection request and remembers the certificate.
  • If the certificate information is incorrect or you are unsure, click Do Not Trust to prevent possible man-in-the-middle attacks. Ask your Jira administrator for help with generating a valid certificate and then configure the Jira connection again.
  • If errors persist after clicking Trust or if you click Do Not Trust, you must make changes before Helix ALM can connect to Jira. See the knowledgebase for information.