Jira

Guide on the Ketryx integration with Jira

1. Introduction

Ketryx provides a uniquely deep integration with Atlassian Jira Cloud,

• configuring it to align your Jira setup with standards such as ISO 13485, IEC 62304, and ISO 14971,

• synchronizing data between Ketryx and Jira to maintain proper electronic records,

• enhancing the Jira user interface with widgets for visualizing traceability and approvals, and

• enforcing workflows based on electronic signatures.

This guide provides answers to common questions around this integration.

2. Setting up the integration

To install the Ketryx app in Jira Cloud, you need to have administrative privileges on the Jira organization and the Manage connections permission in Ketryx (which, by default, is only assigned to organization owners). Then you can do the following:

1. Log into Ketryx

2. In Jira, install the Ketryx Connector for Jira app from the Atlassian Marketplace

3. Complete the installation process of the Jira app by pressing Get started and Complete installation in Ketryx

4. In Ketryx, confirm the connection by pressing Connect Jira organization

Once the connection between your Ketryx organization and your Jira instance is established, you can create Ketryx projects that are connected to individual Jira projects.

Note that each Jira instance can only be connected to one Ketryx organization, and each Jira project can only be connected to one Ketryx project (and vice-versa).

3. Frequently Asked Questions

3.1. Q: Do I have to use the provided Ketryx scheme for work types?

Ketryx maintains four predefined work type schemes for common use cases, based on the full schema with all the Ketryx item types. If this does not fit your use exactly, you can either copy a Ketryx work type schema and tweak it, or use a completely custom work type scheme. When using a custom work type scheme, you will usually want to configure a custom mapping from Jira work types to Ketryx items, using the advanced setting Issue mapping.

3.2. Q: Why does Ketryx introduce custom relation fields rather than using Jira's native links?

There are two main reasons for this:

1. Native links can go from any work item to any other work item, so you can't restrict the target of a particular relation. For instance, a has parent relation might point to any other item, while the Parent requirements fields can be restricted to only contain other Requirements as options.

2. You can edit native links even when a ticket is otherwise read-only, i.e. even when the work item is already Resolved or Closed.

That being said, Ketryx also recognizes native Jira links as long as they match the Ketryx relation names. These names can also be configured using the advanced setting Relation names. If you prefer to work with Jira links, you can use these, and potentially remove certain relation fields using the advanced setting Item fields.

3.3. Q: How can I rename fields in the Ketryx schema?

To rename fields, you can use the advanced setting Field names in the Ketryx organization configuration.

Note that fields with custom names are created as custom fields in Jira, rather than using the fields provided by the Ketryx Jira app. Previous field values might have to be migrated from the previous field to the new field in Jira. This is why it is recommended to define the desired field names before starting to work with those fields in Jira.

When switching from one custom name to another custom name (not for the initial switch from the default name to a custom name), you can also use the advanced setting Superseded field names to effectively rename the existing field rather than creating a new one, to avoid having to migrate field values from one to the other.