Jira and Microsoft Teams are both popular tools used by many organizations for project management and team collaboration. With Jira being a dedicated project management platform and Microsoft Teams providing a chat-centered workspace, there is understandable interest in whether these two systems can work together. Integrating Jira and Microsoft Teams offers the potential to unify project tracking and team communication in one interface.
In short, yes – Jira does offer integrations for Microsoft Teams. Jira integrations for Microsoft Teams provide functionality like creating Jira issues from Teams channels, viewing Jira boards inside Teams, and receiving Jira notifications in Teams. There are both free and paid integration options available.
What is Jira?
Jira is a project management software tool developed by Atlassian. Key features of Jira include:
- Issue Tracking – Jira provides an issue tracker that allows teams to report and track bugs, tasks, feature requests, etc.
- Agile Project Management – Jira supports agile methodologies like Scrum and Kanban with tools for sprints, backlogs, boards, reports, etc.
- Customizable Workflows – Jira provides the ability to build custom workflows to match each team’s development process.
- Project Reporting – Jira has extensive reporting functionality to provide insights into productivy, velocity, burndown charts, and more.
- Integration Capabilities – Jira offers hundreds of integrations with tools like GitHub, Jenkins, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and more.
With its flexibility and robust feature set focused on software project management, Jira has become a very widely adopted tool, especially among technology teams. It helps streamline issue tracking, agile project processes, and team collaboration around building software.
What is Microsoft Teams?
Microsoft Teams is a communication and collaboration platform that brings together chat, file collaboration, and workflow capabilities. Key features of Microsoft Teams include:
- Chat – Microsoft Teams provides persistent chat rooms organized into teams and channels for sending messages, links, emojis, GIFs, and more.
- Video Meetings – Teams has built-in support for video conferencing calls and screen sharing.
- File Sharing – Team channels provide a place for uploading and collaborating on files like documents, spreadsheets, presentations, etc.
- SharePoint Integration – Teams integrates tightly with SharePoint for intranet sites, document management, and workflows.
- Extensibility – Teams offers an app store with hundreds of app integrations like Jira, GitHub, Adobe Sign, Polly, and more.
As a chat-based digital workspace, Microsoft Teams aims to enhance productivity by integrating the collaboration capabilities that workers rely on. It brings conversations, content, and apps together in one place.
Key Benefits of Integrating Jira and Microsoft Teams
Allowing Jira and Microsoft Teams to work together provides some useful benefits:
- Unified Platform – Workers can access both Jira project data and Microsoft Teams conversations/files in one place, with tighter coupling between the two systems.
- Visibility Into Project Status – Chat messages in Microsoft Teams centered around a project can be linked to the Jira tickets/board for that project, providing helpful context.
- Quick Access to Issues – Being able to create and view Jira tickets right within Microsoft Teams streamlines work and reduces context switching.
- Enhanced Notifications – Jira alerts and notifications (like mentions, issue assignments, etc.) can be delivered right into Microsoft Teams channels.
- Tighter Collaboration – Integration enables conversations in Microsoft Teams channels to be connected to work happening in Jira tickets/projects.
Bringing Jira and Microsoft Teams together allows for uninterrupted workflow, avoiding the need to constantly switch between separate apps to track projects, discuss work, and collaborate. Teams serving as a central hub with Jira integration enables tighter alignment.
Key Integrations Available
Jira integrations for Microsoft Teams come in a few different options:
Jira App for Microsoft Teams (Free)
Atlassian provides an official Jira app for Microsoft Teams that can be installed for free directly from the Microsoft Teams app store.
Key features of the Jira Microsoft Teams app include:
- View Jira boards and sprints within Microsoft Teams
- Search for and browse Jira issues
- Create Jira issues and sub-tasks from within Teams
- Start Jira standups from chat
- Get notifications when mentioned on Jira issues
- Add polls, reminders, and follow-ups to Jira issues
This free Jira app provides helpful everyday integrations between the two tools, enabling basic bi-directional interaction for tracking issues and views into Jira projects from Microsoft Teams.
Jira Core for Microsoft Teams (Free)
Microsoft’s own Jira Core integration for Teams delivers similar functionality to Atlassian’s app. Key features include:
- surface Jira sprints and boards inside Teams channels
- search for and view Jira issues
- create Jira issues from Teams messages
- receive mentions from Jira issues inside Teams
As a Microsoft first-party integration, Jira Core for Teams follows Microsoft’s design approach and philosophy for integrating third-party apps. This can make usage feel a bit more native from Teams.
Atlassian Access for Jira and Confluence (Paid)
Atlassian Access provides a premium level of integration between its products like Jira and Confluence with Microsoft Teams.
Atlassian Access offers tighter unification and additional functionality like:
- Unified navigation/interface between Atlassian and Microsoft apps
- Ability to embed Jira and Confluence content directly within Teams
- Advanced permissions mirroring between Atlassian tools and Microsoft Teams
- Universal search across platforms
- Life cycle management from Teams into Jiraissues
This is a paid integration targeted at larger organizations running Atlassian tools like Jira at scale within their Microsoft stack. It provides much deeper interoperability for a true no-switching workflow.
Atlassian Access requires a per-user-per-month subscription fee.
Setting Up Jira and Microsoft Teams Integration
Integrating Jira with Microsoft Teams primarily involves installing the desired Jira integration from the Microsoft Teams app store.
Here are the general steps to set up Jira integration with Microsoft Teams:
- From Microsoft Teams, visit the Apps section and search for ‘Jira’
- Browse available Jira integrations (Atlassian, Jira Core, etc)
- Select the desired Jira integration and click ‘Add’
- Accept requested permissions to enable integration functionality
- Sign in using your Jira cloud credentials to connect your Jira instance
- Follow prompts to finish enabling the integration
The Jira integration will then be available from Microsoft Teams, providing functionality to create issues, view boards/sprints, receive notifications, and more depending on integration.
If using Atlassian Access, further configuration is required including:
- Installing Atlassian Access apps
- Connecting Atlassian and Microsoft identites
- Setting up team mappings
- Configuring permissions
Detailed guides are available from Atlassian and Microsoft for configuring more advanced integration.
Regularly reviewing integrations and associated permissions is recommended to ensure proper access controls and prevent unused apps from accumulating.
Using Jira and Microsoft Teams Together
Once Jira and Microsoft Teams are integrated, new cross-platform ways of working become available:
- Communicate about issues in related Teams channels – Discussion about a project can organically happen in Microsoft Teams chat channels, while still linking back to associated Jira tickets and boards.
- Turn Teams messages into tracked issues – Issues and action items can be captured from Teams conversations by creating a Jira ticket with details and context automatically included.
- @mention colleagues from Jira issues in Teams – Integrations allow @mentioning someone from a Jira issue into Microsoft Teams to notify and link them to relevant discussions.
- Quickly work on issues from Teams – Issues can be opened, prioritized, commented on, and closed directly in Microsoft Teams without switching apps.
- Centralize dashboards and reporting – Teams channels can embed Jira dashboards, sprint reports, and burndown charts, making project status readily accessible.
These cross-platform workflows allow using Microsoft Teams for always-on collaboration while retaining Jira for structured project management.
Key Tips for Getting the Most from Jira and Teams Integration
Here are some tips to maximize the value of integrating Jira into Microsoft Teams:
- Use Teams channels purposefully to discuss work related to specific projects, sprints, or cross-functional workstreams.
- Optimize notifications and mentions to avoid overwhelming team members across both platforms.
- Cross link related conversations, files, and issues across tools to strengthen context.
- Take advantage of integration functionality from both within Teams and Jira for flexible workflows.
- Review usage and feedback from teams frequently and tweak approaches to improve integration effectiveness.
- Evaluate additional capabilities like Atlassian Access as integration use matures.
Approaching integration thoughtfully and iteratively can help transform ways of working and avoid tool overload.
Limitations to Consider
While Jira integration brings many benefits to Microsoft Teams, some key limitations exist as well:
- Integration quality depends on specific app/developer.
- Advanced features may require purchase of premium plans or licenses.
- Large volumes of integrated notifications and mentions can overwhelm users.
- Switching between apps is still required for some actions.
- Complex permissions management across integrated tools.
- User adoption and change management requires investment.
Understanding these limitations can set reasonable expectations for the integration capabilities and user experience.
Conclusion
In summary, Jira does provide integration capabilities with Microsoft Teams via official apps available in the Teams app store. Key options include Atlassian’s Jira app, Microsoft’s Jira Core app, and Atlassian Access.
These integrations aim to unify project management and team collaboration between the two platforms. Capabilities vary but generally involve issue tracking, boards/reporting, notifications, and instant access between Jira and Microsoft Teams.
Setting up Jira and Teams integration primarily entails installing the desired apps and connecting credentials/permissions. Thoughtful change management and governance is key to driving adoption and realizing benefits. Limitations exist, but there are major productivity gains to be unlocked by bringing Jira and Microsoft Teams together. Integrating the two leading platforms provides teams with the flexible collaboration needed to execute projects successfully using modern work tools.