Synchronizing incidents with Jira issues via BMC Helix iPaaS, powered by Jitterbit

As an administrator, you can integrate BMC Helix ITSM with Jira to synchronize BMC Helix ITSM incidents and Jira issues.

BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker, along with BMC Helix iPaaS, powered by Jitterbit provides an out-of-the-box integration template to integrate BMC Helix ITSM and Jira. You configure the integration in BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker and deploy the integration template to your BMC Helix iPaaS, powered by Jitterbit environment.

The following image gives an overview of the capabilities that this integration supports:

This integration provides the following capabilities:

The following image is an example of the Jira issue details displayed in the corresponding BMC Helix ITSM incident:

BMC Helix ITSM to Jira data flow

The following image gives an overview of the data flow for creating or updating a Jira issue from a BMC Helix ITSM incident:

Jira to BMC Helix ITSM data flow

The following image gives an overview of the data flow for creating or updating a BMC Helix ITSM incident from a Jira issue:

Before you begin

You require the following items to successfully set up and use this integration: 

Task 1: To configure the integration

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio.
2. On Workspace, click Multi-Cloud Broker.

3. To launch BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker, click Visit Deployed Application.
   

   Tip

   You can access BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker directly by entering the URL https://hostName:portNumber/helix/index.html#/com.bmc.dsm.mcsm/login and logging in as a tenant administrator.

4. Click Settings .
5. Select Start Here > Quick Configuration Guide.
   The Quick Configuration Guide page is displayed.

6. In the Step 1: Choose configuration tab, perform the following steps:

   Important

   In Choose configuration, Helix iPaaS (powered by Jitterbit) is displayed by default. Do not change this value.

   1. Under DevOps integration, select Between ITSM Incident and Jira Issue.
      
      
   2. Click Next.
7. In the Step 2: Perform configurations tab, perform the following steps:
   1. Add an operating organization, if you have not already done so.
   2. Add Atlassian as the vendor organization, if you have not already done so.
   3. To add the vendor metadata, click Map vendors and perform the following steps:
      1. On the Map Vendors page, click Map Vendor.

      2. Complete the fields as described in the following table:

         Field	Action
         Description	Enter a description for the vendor metadata configuration.
         Ticketing Technology Provider	From the list, select JIRA.
         Instance Name	If you are using multiple instances of Jira, enter the name of the Jira instance that you are using for this integration.
         Add Mapping	After you select the ticketing technology provider, click Add Mapping. BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker displays the default values in the Instance URL field, and the Vendor Field Mapping and Display Field Mapping sections.
         (Optional) Instance URL	Update the Jira server name and port in the default URL. The default value of this variable is https://[jira server name]:[port]/browse/{key}.
         Vendor Field Mapping	To perform a direct data synchronization between BMC Helix ITSM and Jira, only update the mappings in the Remedy to Vendor Sync Fields and Vendor to Remedy Sync Fields sections. You must not update any other sections.
         Display Field Mapping	By default, the basic Jira fields are mapped in this section. If you want to map additional fields to display in the BMC Helix ITSM UI, add the relevant mappings by clicking .
         Enable Local ITSM Communication	By default, this toggle key is enabled.  If you want to use BMC Helix Integration Service as the underlying integration platform, disable this toggle key.
         Integration Platform	Select Jitterbit.

      3. Click Save.

   4. To fetch incidents from BMC Helix ITSM, click Define filter criteria to fetch records from ITSM to Helix Multi-Cloud Broker for incident, and perform the following steps:

      1. To select the filter criteria, click Advanced filter.
         
         

      2. Select the filters from the available fields, and click Next.
         The query filter expression is displayed. By default, the AND qualifier is applied when you select multiple filter criteria.

      3. To change the qualifier for your filters, update the query, and then click Save. 

         Important

         Make sure that you enter a valid query with available fields and values.

         

      4. Click Close. 
         When an incident matches the operation and filter that you have selected, the system fetches that incident to BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker.

8. In the Configure JIRA integration section, refer the configuration steps listed and select the check boxes as you complete each step.
9. Click Save.

Task 2: To download and import the integration template project file

1. Download the Sync BMC Helix ITSM incident and Atlassian Jira issue Update 2024-04-01  file.
   This file contains the  BMC Helix iPaaS Cloud Studio project Sync BMC Helix ITSM incident and Atlassian Jira issue.

   Important

   Your ability to access product pages on the EPD website is determined by the license your company purchased.

2. As a developer, log in to BMC Helix iPaaS and navigate to Cloud Studio.
3. Select your organization.
4. On the projects page, click Import.

5. Click Browse and then select the Sync BMC Helix ITSM incident and Atlassian Jira issue.json file you downloaded.
   The Project Name and Organization fields are populated automatically. The default project name is displayed. You can change the project name.

6. From the Environment list, select the environment to which you want to import this integration template, and click Import.
   The project opens after the integration template is imported. 
7. To open the project file at a later time, select the environment where the integration templates are available, select the project name, and click View/Edit.

Task 3: To update the project variables for the integration template

1. Next to the Environment name, click the ellipsis ... and select Project Variables.
   
2. Update the project variables as described in the following tables:

   • BMC Helix iPaaS variables:
     

     Project variable	Action
     BHIP_API_NAME	Enter a name for the webhook API created in the BMC Helix iPaaS API Manager to receive BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker or Jira requests. The default value of this variable is set to BMCHelixITSMIncidentAndJiraIssue.
     BHIP_API_User_Roles	Enter comma-separated values of the organization roles assigned for the BMC Helix iPaaS API; for example: Admin, User. Only a user with these roles can access the APIs. Important: If you do not specify any value, all the organization roles get access to the new API.
     BHIP_MCB_API_Profile_User_Name	The integration template creates the API in the BMC Helix iPaaS API Manager API to handle requests from BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker. Enter a user name to create and access the BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker API security profile.
     BHIP_MCB_API_Profile_User_Password	Enter a password for the BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker security profile.
     BHIP_Vendor_API_Profile_Type	The security profile type defines the authentication type used by the Jira webhook API to access the BMC Helix iPaaS API, and is added in the BMC Helix iPaaS API Manager.  Enter on of the following values:  BASIC ANONYMOUS APIKEY The default value is APIKEY. Important: For profile types supported by the application, the integration template automatically creates the security profiles when you enable the integration.
     BHIP_Vendor_API_Profile_User_Name	The integration template creates an API in the BMC Helix iPaaS API Manager to handle requests from Jira. The API is created and accessed by using security profile credentials which the integration template includes in the webhook created in Jira. Jira uses the credentials to communicate with the API.  Enter a user name for the Jira API security profile. Important:  Provide a value for this variable, only if you select the BASIC option in BHIP_Vendor_API_Profile_Type.
     BHIP_Vendor_API_Profile_User_Password	Enter a password for the Jira API security profile. Important: Provide a value for this variable, only if you select the BASIC option in BHIP_Vendor_API_Profile_Type.
     BHIP_Vendor_API_Profile_ApiKey_Name	Change the default value of this variable, if required. The default value is apiKey.
     BHIP_Host	Enter the BMC Helix iPaaS instance URL where you want to run this project. Important: Make sure that you do not enter any leading and trailing spaces in the URL.
     BHIP_User_Name	Enter the login ID to access the BMC Helix iPaaS instance. Important: The BMC Helix iPaaS login credentials are required to create the API in BMC Helix iPaaS by using RestAPI. The credentials are required because BMC Helix iPaaS does not provide the login status of a user.
     BHIP_User_Password	Enter the password for the login ID.
     Enable_BMC_Helix_To_Vendor_Integration	Perform any of the following actions: To enable the creation of Jira issues from BMC Helix ITSM incidents, and synchronization of updates and comments, enter true. To disable creation of Jira issues from BMC Helix ITSM incidents, and synchronization of updates and comments, enter false.
     Enable_Vendor_To_BMC_Helix_Integration	Perform any of the following actions: To enable the creation of BMC Helix ITSM incidents from Jira issues, and synchronization of updates and comments, enter true. To disable creation of BMC Helix ITSM incidents from Jira issues, and synchronization of updates and comments, enter false.

• • Jira project variables:

    Project variable	Action
    Jira_Host_URL	Enter the host URL of the Jira instance in the following format: [http/https]://[hostname]:[port] Important: Make sure that you do not enter any leading and trailing spaces.
    JIRA_INSTANCE_TYPE	Select one of the following instance types from the list: Jira Cloud: Connect to Jira Software Cloud. Jira on-premises: Connect to Jira Server or Jira Data Center.
    Jira_User_Name	Enter the user name to access Jira.
    Jira_User_Password	Enter the Jira API Token as the password for the user name that you have entered.
    Jira_JQL_Query	Enter a JQL query in "" to specify the Jira issues for which BMC Helix ITSM incidents should be created. For example, specify "Priority=High" so that the Jira issues with High priority are brokered to BMC Helix ITSM. Important: Enter a value for this variable only if you are implementing the Jira to BMC Helix ITSM use case. Do not include a project condition in this variable.
    Jira_Query_Project_Keys	Enter the Jira project key from which you want to filter Jira issues to broker to BMC Helix ITSM. You can add multiple project keys by specifying comma separated values. For example, JiraProject1, JiraProject2.  Important: While adding a value in this variable, make sure that you include the project key specified in the Jira_Create_Issue_Project_Key variable. This enables the synchronization of incidents that are brokered from BMC Helix ITSM to Jira.
    Jira_Create_Issue_Project_Key	Enter the Jira project key under which you want to create a Jira issue from a BMC Helix ITSM incident; for example, if you specify MCB as the project key, when an incident is created in BMC Helix ITSM, a corresponding Jira issue is created under the Jira project with the specified key. Important: You can also specify the Jira project key by mapping a BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker field that contains the project key with the key field in the target application. To do this action, in the MCB Incident to Jira Issue workflow, update a transformation by deleting the existing mapping in the key field and then mapping it with the BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker field in the project element. Refer to the following image and perform the steps in the given sequence to map the fields:

  • BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker project variables:

    Project variable	Action
    MCB_Host	Enter the BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker host URL to which Jira issues should be synchronized in the following format: [http/https]://[hostname]:[port] Important: Make sure that you do not enter any leading and trailing spaces in the URL.
    MCB_User_Name	Enter the login ID to access BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker.
    MCB_User_Password	Enter the password for the provided login ID.
    MCB_Vendor_Name	Enter the value in the following format for multiple instances of Jira,: JIRA.<Instance name> The instance name in the format is the name that you entered in the Instance Name field while configuring vendor metadata.
    MCB_Field_ID_For_Jira_Issue_Type	Enter the BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker field ID that contains the value for determining the Jira issue type during BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker to Jira operations. The default value of this field is 1000003890 that is mapped with the Resolution Category Tier 3 field in the incident record. If you use any other field from the incident record to contain the Jira issue type, enter the ID of that field in this variable. Important: If this variable is blank, by default, a Jira story is created.
    MCB_Assigned_Group	Enter the name of the support group to which you want to assign the incident.
    MCB_Assigned_Support_Organization	Enter the name of the support organization to which you want to assign the incident.
    MCB_Assigned_Support_Company	Enter the name of the support company to which you want to assign the incident.
    MCB_Assigned_Company	Enter the name of the company for which you want to create the incident.
    MCB_Assigned_Company_Id	Enter the ID of the company for which you want to create the incident.
    MCB_Assigned_Business_Unit	Enter the name of the business unit to which you want to assign the incident.

    The following variables are inputs from BMC Helix ITSM. Either enter values for these variables or map appropriate Jira fields if the data is available:

    Project variable	Action
    ITSM_Company_Name	Enter the company name for which the integration template needs to be run; for example, Apex Global.
    ITSM_Customer_First_name	Enter the first name of the BMC Helix ITSM customer.
    ITSM_Customer_Last_Name	Enter the last name of the BMC Helix ITSM customer.
    ITSM_Incident_Type	Enter any of the following incident types that you want to create for the corresponding Jira issue: User Service Restoration User Service Request Infrastructure Restoration Infrastructure Event Security Incident By default, this variable is set to User Service Restoration.

Task 4: Manually select the Jira project for your integration

After you enable the integration, you need to manually select the Jira project for your integration in the workflow.

To select the Jira project for the Jira activities:

1. Log in to BMC Helix iPaaS and navigate to the Cloud Studio.
2. From the Environment list, select the environment where your integration template is available.
3. Select the project name, and click View/Edit.
4. Select the Components tab, and search for the following endpoints:
   1. Jira create
   2. Jira update
5. Select the activity brick, click the ellipses (...), and select View/Edit.
   
6. On Step 1 of the activity page, click Refresh.
7. Then select the name of the Jira project from the list and click Next.
8. Click Next on Step 2 and Finished on Step 3. 
   Repeat this process for both, the create and update activities for the Jira connector. 

Task 5: To deploy and enable the project

After you enable the integration, when an issue is created in Jira, a corresponding incident is created in BMC Helix ITSM, and the converse is true. Any updates made to the Jira issue are synced with the BMC Helix ITSM incident, and the converse is true. Comments added to the Jira issue are synced with the BMC Helix ITSM incident, and the converse is true. 

(Optional) Task 6: To set the time for API debug mode

By default, the debug mode is set to 2 hours after you run the integration. Debug logs are updated for the time set for the debug mode. To increase the debug mode for a longer period of time, perform the following steps:

1. In BMC Helix iPaaS, select API Manager > My APIs.

2. Open any of the following APIs:

   • BMC_Helix_ITSM_Incident_And_Jira_Issue_MCB_To_Vendor—This API creates a Jira issue from a BMC Helix ITSM incident.
   • BMC_Helix_ITSM_Incident_And_Jira_Issue_Vendor_To_MCB—This API creates a BMC Helix ITSM incident from a Jira issue.

3. Select Enable Debug Mode Until: and set it for the required date and time.

4. Save and publish the API.

(Optional) Task 7: To map a custom field between BMC Helix ITSM and Jira

You can map custom fields between BMC Helix ITSM and Jira. To learn about the steps to map the custom fields, see Mapping custom fields for integrations by using BMC Helix iPaaS, powered by Jitterbit.