Adding new connections

Introduction

You can connect BigPicture with platforms other than your Jira instance to plan and coordinate your team's work if they prefer to use different tools such as Trello, Azure, or another Jira instance. Currently, you can connect to Trello Boards; the upcoming version of the App will support other platforms.

Once connected, you can add Trello Boards (including Cards, Lists, CheckItems, Checklists) to the scope of your Boxes and have all your work in one place.

Each connection has dedicated sections to define the scope and types of synchronized tasks and the task structure.

Set up the connection

You can add or remove connections from the Box configuration or the App configuration pages. Once added, new sections appear on the Scope definition and Tasks structure pages of the Box configuration and the Task structure page of the Box type configuration.

To connect a new instance using the Box configuration page, click on the 'Add new integration' buttons and select which type of platform you would like to connect with:

• Trello

• Jira Server (coming soon)

• Jira Cloud (coming soon)

Open

Once you choose the platform, click the 'Add new connection' box. To add a new tool, you need to allow pop-ups in your browser as the authentication screen opens in a new window:

Open

You can connect your Atlassian and Trello accounts, so there is no need for additional authorization, but you can also switch to a different Trello account.  The next step is to accept the relevant policies and grant access to your Trello account:

Next, select the team to connect with; let's choose the 'BigPicture' team and click the Connect button. The connection name is generated based on the team name, but you can rename it anytime.

The new connection is now established and appears in the Connection box. Select the connection and click the 'Add' button:

 You can now select from the list of available Boards and add different task types such as Cards, Lists, CheckItems, Boards, and Checklists. Let's choose the BigPicture Power-Up Public Board:

To structure your Trello tasks, go to Box configuration > Tasks > Task structure page and activate the structure builder. Let's structure the tasks using the Boards and Lists structure builders, so it resembles the Trello board:

Now, let's compare the result using the Roadmap module with the connected Trello Board:

Trello tasks in the Roadmap module:

Trello Board:

Terminate connections

You can remove the connection from the list by clicking the '...' button next to the connection name > remove. 

Connected instance requires your attention.

The App works together with the connected tools (such as Jira or Trello). Certain situations may render this connection unusable - the App cannot correctly communicate with the connected instance. 

Causes:

• Authorization failed, for example:

  • Token expired

  • Application permissions have been revoked

• A valid installation of the App can't be detected:

  • The App hasn't been installed

  • The license expired or is otherwise invalid

  • The license is valid, but the pricing plan doesn't match it.

Security and access

You can manage your connections in one of the following:

• App configuration - go to Jira administration (or settings) > Manage apps >  Configuration > Tools, requires Jira admin permission.

• Box type configuration - go to Administration > Box types > choose the Box type you want to edit > Tasks > Task structure, requires App admin security role.

• Box configuration - go to Box configuration > Tasks > Scope definition, requires Box admin security role.