Managing Jira Audits, Requests and Tasks

Overview

Functionalities of using Jira to manage ZenGRC audits, tasks and requests include the following:

• An audit can be connected to any Jira project within the connected Jira instance.
• The audit and imported requests are automatically created in Jira and linked together.
• All audit and request updates are transferred in real time between Jira and ZenGRC.
• ZenGRC tasks can be linked to any Jira issue.
• Assignees to a request do not need to exist in ZenGRC. As long as they are Jira users, they can be assigned to a request.
• For users in the linked Jira project, ZenGRC seamlessly opens the application for direct access.
  
  

Accessing Jira from an Audit

The majority of information for a Jira audit can be directly accessed and updated within ZenGRC. However, there may be times when you want to open Jira.

The quickest way to open an audit in Jira is directly from the Audits page prior to accessing the individual audit. To do this, complete the following steps:

1. Click Audits in the left-hand navigation.
2. Scroll to desired audit.
3. Click Open in Jira.
   
   
   
   

If the individual audit summary page is already open from the Audits home page, access Jira by completing the following:

1. Click Actions | Open in Jira.
   
   

To open Jira and export information, complete the following:

1. Click Actions | Export from Jira.
   
   

Working with Requests

Once requests are imported into a Jira-connected audit in ZenGRC, they are also created in Jira. Updates in Jira are reflected in ZenGRC requests and vice versa.

Editing a Jira Request

Requests imported into Jira audits can be edited in both ZenGRC and Jira. But in ZenGRC, the only way to access them is through Audits.

To open and edit a request, complete the following steps:

1. Click Audits and open the desired Jira audit.
2. Click Requests (in JIRA).
3. Find the request and click View.
   
   
   
   
4. On the resulting page, only two fields can be edited. 
   1. Click the dropdown arrow beside Status to make another selection.
   2. Start typing in the Comments text field to prompt an Add button.
      
      
      
      
5. Click Edit to open a page where the majority of fields can be edited while remaining in the ZenGRC application.
   
   
   
   

6. Click Open in Jira to open Jira in a new browser tab or window.
   
   

   TIP

   Jira only opens for users who have a Jira profile.

Linking a ZenGRC Task to Jira

A task must already exist in ZenGRC prior to linking to Jira. However, a new Jira issue can be created directly from a ZenGRC task and saved in the selected Jira project.

Connecting to an Existing Jira Item

To connect a task to an existing Jira item, complete the following steps:

1. Create or open a task.
2. Click the ellipses in the top right (if your browser is maximized, an Actions button replaces the ellipses) and select Link to Jira.
   
   
   
   

3. In the dialog box, enter a search term and click Search.
   
   

   TIP

   The Search box does not auto populate, so you will need to know a word in the Jira Key or Summary fields in order to search for your issue.

   
   
   
   

4. Select an option from the results.
   
   
   
   

5. Click Save. The page refreshes to display information from the Jira issue.
   
   
   
   

   TIP

   These Jira fields can only be edited in Jira.

Linking a ZenGRC Task to a New Jira Item

To create a new Jira item and connect it to a task, complete the following steps:

1. Create or open a task.
2. Click the ellipses in the top right (an Actions button replaces the ellipses if your browser is maximized) and select Create new Jira issue.
   
   
   
   

3. In the Project dropdown, select an option.
   
   

   TIP

   The Project dropdown displays projects in the connected Jira instance. This then populates the Issue dropdown with selections from the chosen Jira project.

   
   
   
   

4. Select an option in the Issue dropdown and click Create new. Alternatively, click Back to cancel and return to the prior page.
   
   
   
   

5. A new dialog box displays with fields to complete that are dependent on the selected Jira project setup.
   
   
   
   

   IMPORTANT

   Since user information cannot be transferred from Jira to ZenGRC, clicking within the Assignee and Reporter dropdown boxes won't prompt a name dropdown. These fields either expect email addresses associated with the Jira accounts or Jira user names following the @. 

   For example, the below screenshot is from Jira and displays a list of users.
   
    

   • Only the person's email address (not shown) or the information outlined in red (without the @) is accepted in the ZenGRC fields. ("Eddy" or "Eddy Editor" will prompt errors, but "michael+editor" or "michael+editor@reciprocitylabs.com" won't.)
   • The user must be in Jira, but does not have to be in ZenGRC.
   • Only one user can be assigned per field.

   These are not a mandatory fields, so a workaround is to create the issue without assigning names. Then, log into Jira and assign users.

Editing a Jira Issue Linked in a ZenGRC Task

To access a Jira issue from a ZenGRC task, complete the following steps:

1. Open the task.
2. Click the link under Jira issue key.
   
   

Unlinking or Replacing a Linked Item

Only one Jira item can be linked within a task.

To remove the link between a task and a Jira item, complete the following steps:

1. Open the task.
2. Click the ellipses in the top right (an Actions button replaces the ellipses if your browser is maximized) and select Unlink Jira issue.
   
   
   
   
3. In the dialog box, click Unlink. Alternatively, click Cancel to close without changes.
   
   
   
   

To replace the link between a task and a Jira item with a different Jira item, complete the following steps:

1. Open the task.
2. Click the ellipses in the top right (an Actions button replaces the ellipses if your browser is maximized) and select Replace Jira issue.
3. The dialog box displays allowing you to search or create a new Jira issue.