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

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

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

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

This integration provides the following capabilities:

Use case

BMC Helix ITSM to Jira

Jira to BMC Helix ITSM

Create tickets

Creates an issue in Jira for an incident created in BMC Helix ITSM

Creates an incident in BMC Helix ITSM for an issue created in Jira

Synchronize updates

Synchronizes updates from the incident with the issue

Synchronizes updates from the issue with the incident

Synchronize comments

(with and without attachments)

Adds a comment to the issue from an activity note in the incident

Adds an activity note to the incident from a comment in the issue

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:

Required versions	BMC Helix ITSM version 20.08 and later
Authentication and permissions	Administrator access to BMC Helix Innovation Studio, BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker, and BMC Helix ITSM to run this integration Administrator access to the Jira account and the Jira API token Write access for Jira users to create and update an issue
MuleSoft Anypoint platform subscription	A valid MuleSoft Anypoint platform license Important: BMC provides pre-build integration templates for the MuleSoft platform, targeting common integration use cases for BMC products. To obtain a MuleSoft platform license, contact MuleSoft support.

Task 1: To configure the integration

Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio.
On Workspace, click Multi-Cloud Broker.
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.
Click Settings .
Select Start Here > Quick Configuration Guide.
The Quick Configuration Guide page is displayed.
On the Step 1: Choose configuration tab, perform the following steps:
1. From the Choose configuration list, select Helix iPaaS (powered by MuleSoft).
2. Under DevOps integration, select Between ITSM Incident and Jira Issue.

On the Step 2: Perform configurations tab, perform the following steps:

Add an operating organization, if you have not already done so.
Add Atlassian as the vendor organization, if you have not already done so.

To add vendor metadata for Service Cloud, click Map vendors, and perform the following steps:

On the Map Vendors page, click Map Vendor.

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.
(Optional) Instance Name	If you are using multiple instances of Jira, enter the instance name that you are using to identify it.
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.
InstanceURL	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, update only the mappings in the Remedy to Vendor Sync Fields and Vendor to Remedy Sync Fields sections. Do not update any other sections.
Display Field Mapping	By default, the basic Jira fields are mapped in this section. To map additional fields to be displayed in the BMC Helix ITSM UI, add the relevant mappings by clicking .
Enable Local ITSM Communication	To use BMC Helix Integration Service as the underlying integration platform, disable this toggle key. By default, this toggle key is enabled.
Integration Platform	Select MuleSoft.

Click Save.

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

Task 2: To download and deploy the integration template project

Download the Sync BMC Helix ITSM incident and Jira issue 2022-03-01 file.
Log in to MuleSoft Anypoint Platform and select Runtime Manager.
On the Applications tab, click Deploy application.

To select the .jar file that you downloaded, and enter project details, on the Runtime tab of the Deploy Application page, select the following values:

Field name	Action
Application Name	Enter a unique name for your application.
Deployment Target	Select the space for deploying the application; for example, CloudHub.
Application File	Select Choose File > Upload file, and select the Integration template .jar file.
Runtime tab
Runtime version	Select the MuleSoft runtime version used to develop the application.
Worker size	Select a core size for your application. The core size defines resource allocation for your application and impacts performance. For more information about worker size, see Cloudhub workers .
Workers	Select the number of dedicated instances of Mule for the application. Deploying your application with more than one worker balances incoming load across allocated worker nodes. It also provides a backup if any of the worker nodes is not responding.

To add the template configuration values, on the Properties tab of the Deploy Application page, add the following values:

Key	Action
Kafka properties (Mandatory only if you are using Kafka)
kafka.use	To enable the Kafka queuing mechanism for incoming Webhook requests for fault tolerance, set the value to true. By default this value is set to false.
kafka.bootstrap.server	Enter the Kafka server URL in the following format: `<hostname>:<port>` Important: If the Kafka messaging system is disabled, enter localhost:9092 in this key.
MuleSoft API Webhook properties
api.integrations.name	Enter the name of the API that is created in BMC Helix iPaaS, powered by MuleSoft to receive BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker webhook requests. Use the following syntax to enter the API name: `BHIP_<APIName>` For example, BHIP_CreateIncident.
api.integrations.profile.username	Enter the user name for the Basic type of authentication to configure the webhook.
api.integrations.profile.password	Enter the password for the user name that you provided.
Jira properties
vendor.connector.url	Enter the Jira instance URL in the following format: `[http/https]://[host name and port]`
vendor.connector.username	Enter the user name to enable access to Jira.
vendor.connector.password	Enter the Jira API token that you created earlier.
vendor.connector.protocol	Enter HTTP or HTTPS.
vendor.property.webhook.name	Enter the webhook name that you want to use to create and update the issues.
vendor.property.webhook.create.jql	Enter the JQL query to specify the Jira issues for which BMC Helix ITSM incidents should be created; for example, enter project in (MC) AND summary ~ 'MCB Issue%'.
vendor.property.webhook.update.jql	Enter the JQL query to specify the Jira issues for which BMC Helix ITSM incidents should be updated; for example, enter project in (MC) AND labels is not EMPTY.
vendor.property.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.
BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker properties
mcb.connector.protocol	Enter HTTP or HTTPS.
mcb.connector.url	Enter the BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker host URL to which Jira issues should be synchronized.
mcb.connector.username	Enter the user name that enables users to interact with BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker.
mcb.connector.password	Enter the password for the user name that you provided.
mcb.property.vendor	Enter the name of the vendor with which you are integrating BMC Helix ITSM; for example, enter Jira.
BMC Helix ITSM properties
itsm.property.company.name	Enter the company name for which the integration template needs to be run; for example, Apex Global.
itsm.property.first.name	Enter the first name of the BMC Helix ITSM customer.
itsm.property.last.name	Enter the last name of the BMC Helix ITSM customer.
itsm.property.incident.type	Enter any of the following incident types that you want to create for a corresponding Jira issue: User Service Restoration User Service Request Infrastructure Restoration Infrastructure Event Security Incident By default, this value is set to User Service Restoration.
itsm.property.assigned.group	Enter the name of the support group to which you want to assign the incidents.
itsm.property.assigned.support.organization	Enter the name of the support organization to which you want to assign the incidents.
itsm.property.assigned.support.company	Enter the name of the support company to which you want to assign the incidents.
itsm.property.assigned.company	Enter the name of the company for which you want to create the incidents.

Click Deploy Application.
While the application is being deployed, the log updates are displayed. After the application is successfully deployed, a green circle is displayed next to the template name.

(Optional) Task 3: To verify and update field mappings defined for the template

After you deploy the application in MuleSoft Anypoint Platform, export the project.
Log in to MuleSoft Anypoint Studio and import the project.
Select projectName > src/main/resources > config.
Double-click the mule-mappings.yaml file, update the <app>Field value to modify the mapping for the field, and then save the file.
Select the project name and then select File > Export.
On the Select dialog box, select Mule > Anypoint Studio Project to Mule Deployable Archive (includes Studio metadata), and click Next.
On the Export Mule Project dialog box, click the ellipses (...) and select the location and name for the file.
Select the following options:
- Attach project sources
- Include project modules and dependencies
Click Finish.
Deploy the application on the MuleSoft Anypoint platform.

Task 4: To enable the integration

To enable the integrations, you need to run the webhook creation scripts from your MuleSoft Anypoint Platform. These scripts automatically create the required webhooks for the integration.

Log in to the MuleSoft Anypoint Platform and select Runtime Manager.
On the Applications tab, click the project name.
On the application details page, click Schedules.

From the following list, select an appropriate schedule and click Run Now:

Important

At a time, run all the Jira schedules to create all the webhooks together or run one Jira schedule to create one webhook.
At a time, run all the BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker schedules to create all the webhooks together or run one BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker schedule to create one webhook.

Schedule	Actions performed
Schedules for create operations from BMC Helix ITSM to Jira
MCB-Create-Integration-Create-VendorTicket_Manual Trigger	Creates an issue in Jira when an incident is created in BMC Helix ITSM
MCB-Create-Integration-Tag-VendorTicket_Manual Trigger	Tags a Jira issue with the corresponding incident number
MCB-Create-Integration-Create-VendorWorklog_Manual Trigger	Creates a comment in a Jira issue when an activity note is created in the corresponding incident
MCB-Create-Integration-Update-VendorTicket_Manual Trigger	Updates a Jira issue when the corresponding incident is updated
Schedules for pause operations from BMC Helix ITSM to Jira
MCB-Pause-Integration-Create-VendorTicket_Manual Trigger	Pauses creation of a Jira issue when an incident is created in BMC Helix ITSM
MCB-Pause-Integration-Tag-VendorTicket_Manual Trigger	Pauses tagging of a Jira issue with the corresponding incident number
MCB-Pause-Integration-Create-VendorWorklog_Manual Trigger	Pauses creation of a comment in a Jira issue from an activity note in the corresponding incident
MCB-Pause-Integration-Update-VendorTicket_Manual Trigger	Pauses updation of a Jira issue when an incident is update
Schedules for resume operations from BMC Helix ITSM to Jira
MCB-Resume-Integration-Create-VendorTicket_Manual Trigger	Resumes creation of a Jira issue when an incident is created in BMC Helix ITSM
MCB-Resume-Integration-Tag-VendorTicket_Manual Trigger	Resumes tagging of a Jira issue with the corresponding incident number
MCB-Resume-Integration-Create-VendorWorklog_Manual Trigger	Resumes creation of a comment in a Jira issue from an activity note in the corresponding incident
MCB-Resume-Integration-Update-VendorTicket_Manual Trigger	Resumes updation of a Jira issue when the corresponding incident is updated
Schedules for create operations from Jira to BMC Helix ITSM
Jira-Create-Integration-Create-Issue_Manual Trigger	Creates a BMC Helix ITSM incident when an issue is created in Jira
Jira-Create-Integration-Update-Issue-And-Comment-Create_Manual Trigger	Performs the following actions: Updates an incident when the corresponding issue is updated Creates an activity note in an incident when a comment is added to the corresponding issue
Schedules for purge operations from Jira to BMC Helix ITSM
Jira-Purge-Integration-Create-Issue_Manual Trigger	Removes the webhook that creates an incident when an issue is created in Jira
Jira-Purge-Integration-Update-Issue-And-Comment-Create_Manual Trigger	Removes the webhook that updates an incident and adds an activity note to it from a Jira issue

After you run the integration, when an incident is created or updated in BMC Helix ITSM, the corresponding Jira issue is also created or updated, and the converse is true. Any updates made to the BMC Helix ITSM incident are synced with the Jira issue, and the converse is true.

(Optional) Task 5: 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 MuleSoft.