Import data directly from Asana into business projects
Moving your work from Asana to Jira just got easier. Using the Asana importer, you can directly import projects from Asana into Jira. This can help save the effort of manually moving data and ensure the project information is relevant and accurate.
If you’re looking to import your work into Jira Service Management, you can do so using a CSV file. Learn how to use the CSV importer
Structure of your Asana project in Jira
When you use the Asana importer to import your project, it directly pulls information from your Asana account and creates a similar project structure and hierarchy in Jira.
Here’s how your Asana project data will be structured in your new business project:
Sections from Asana, such as To do, Doing, Done, etc., will be imported to Jira as one of the following:
Epic
Category
Tasks from Asana will be imported to Jira as work items.
Subtasks from Asana will be imported as subtasks. To maintain a similar hierarchy as Asana, each subtask will be linked to its parent subtask within a work item.
Once your Asana project is imported, you can customize the hierarchy to your needs.
Asana standard fields and custom fields supported in Jira
Both Asana and Jira have two types of fields:
Standard or system fields: These fields are “built-in” or part of the software by default.
Custom fields: These fields are customizable based on the user’s needs.
During import, the Asana importer maps the standard/system and custom fields from an Asana project to the new business project.
You need to be an organization, site, or Jira administrator to use the new import experience.
In addition to administrators, users with permission to create team-managed projects can create and import data into team-managed business projects but won’t be able to move users. Instead, user fields in the new project will be unassigned and user tags in comments will appear as plain text.
Standard or system fields
Asana standard fields are mapped to Jira system fields in the following manner:
Asana standard field | Jira system field |
|---|---|
Task name | Summary |
Section header | Status |
Assignee | Assignee |
Created by | Reporter |
Description | Description |
Due on | Due date |
Start date | Start date |
Collaborators | Watchers |
Tags | Labels |
Stories | Comment |
Project | Project |
Likes | Voters |
Subtasks | Subtasks |
Asana fields that aren’t a part of the standard list will be created as custom fields in Jira.
Custom fields
Here’s how custom fields will be mapped in Jira:
Asana field | Jira custom field |
|---|---|
Single-select | Dropdown |
Multi-select | Multi-select |
Text (short form) | Text |
Text (long form) | Paragraph |
Date (Only date values) | Date |
Date (including time values) | Timestamp |
People | Multi-user picker |
Number | Number |
Percent | Number |
Currency | Number |
Formula | Number |
Since custom fields are a premium feature in Asana, only standard fields will be imported from a free Asana account. You can create custom fields in your business project after your import is complete.
Import data using the Asana importer
You need to be an organization, site, or Jira administrator to use the new import experience.
In addition to administrators, users with permission to create team-managed projects can create and import data into team-managed business projects but won’t be able to move users. Instead, user fields in the new project will be unassigned and user tags in comments will appear as plain text.
To directly import your data using the Asana importer:
From the navigation bar, select Projects > Create project > Import data on the sidebar.
You can also navigate to the page through your settings. Select Settings (⛭) > System > External System Import on the sidebar.
Select Asana from the list of apps.
Select Allow in the OAuth screen to provide access to your Asana account.
Select the Asana workspace and the Asana project from where you’d like to move your data. Select Next.
Customize the name of your business project, and select Next.
The Key will automatically be selected for you. You can customize it if needed. You can also modify the Project name and Key later in the Project settings.
The Review details screen will summarize how your Asana data will be imported in three sections:
Project hierarchy: View how the Asana project structure will be replicated in Jira.
Field mapping: View and customize how your Asana standard and custom fields are mapped in Jira.
Import attachments: You can choose to import or not import attachments into your new project.
Import all members: Select if you’d like to import members from your Asana account. If you choose not to import members, all user fields will be unassigned, user mentions in comments will be imported as plain text, and commenter names will change to Anonymous.
Product admins can only move existing users from the site into the project. To add new users, contact an organization admin to invite them before proceeding with the import.
Select Import when you’re ready to start importing your data.
The importer will automatically start moving the data from Asana in the background, and the progress bar will indicate the status of your import. You can continue to work on other things and return to the project page to see the progress of your import.
Once the data is imported, your Asana tasks will show on the board view as work items in your new project. Learn more about the board view
If your import fails or is partially complete, you should be able to download an error log at the end of the import. Use the troubleshooting guide to fix errors and try importing your project again.
Contact support if you’re facing any issues with your import.
Customize fields in your business project
You need to be an organization, site, or Jira administrator to use the new import experience.
In addition to administrators, users with permission to create team-managed projects can create and import data into team-managed business projects but won’t be able to move users. Instead, user fields in the new project will be unassigned and user tags in comments will appear as plain text.
You can customize how the Asana fields are imported in your business project during the import.
The Review details screen will summarize how your data will be mapped to the new business project. Select Field mapping. This screen will show how your Asana data is automatically mapped.
Here you can:
Alter how your Asana data is mapped.
Use the toggle buttons to choose not to include specific fields in your import.
To customize your fields:
Select the dropdown of the field you want to edit.
You can either select an existing field from the options provided or select a custom field that best suits the format of your field. If you select a custom field, it’ll take the same name as your Asana field.
Once you’ve customized your fields, select Back to Review details to head back to the Review details screen. Your changes will be saved.
Few notes on customizable fields
The Summary and status are required fields in Jira. They can’t be modified or excluded from an import.
Although Assignee, Due date, and Start date fields can be omitted from your import, we suggest including them for a better Jira experience.
When the assignee field is excluded from an import, assignee information will not be displayed in work items, comments, and tags.
When Due date and/or Start date fields are excluded from an import, users won’t be able to view work items in Timeline view.
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