Jira Connector - How Jira Align handles integrated work items when their issue type is changed in Jira

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Summary

Sometimes, a work item's issue type is changed in Jira - for example, a Story is converted to an Epic (or vice-versa). When that Jira work item is integrated with Jira Align, a common question is "What happens to the work item in Jira Align?"

This article explains how Jira Align's Jira Connector handles this scenario.

Solution

If the issue type on an item synced between Jira and Jira Align is changed on the Jira side, the connector will automatically identify that change on the next sync. The following events will occur during the next sync:

  1. The original work item in Jira Align will be automatically deleted. Example, if an Epic is changed to a Story in Jira, the linked Feature on the Jira Align side will be deleted.

  2. A new work item of the matching type will be automatically created in Jira Align with the information pulled from Jira

  3. The web link on the Jira work item will be updated to point to the new issue in Jira Align

There are some considerations to keep in mind, such as child items. If a Feature (Jira Epic) is changed to a Story and the original Feature has child Stories linked to it, those relationships will be severed during the conversion process. Since the original Feature is deleted, the child Stories will become orphaned and will need to be assigned to a new parent Feature.

Updated on March 14, 2025

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