Migration using Jira Cloud Migration Assistant (JCMA)

Owned by Anna Ciepłota
Last updated: Dec 13, 2024
10 min read

Contents:

Contents:

The migration using JCMA is available for:

  • BigPicture/BigGantt version 8.11 and later

  • BigTemplate version 8.17.1 and later

If you don't know how to check the current version, refer to the Checking the App version article.

With the Atlassian JCMA tool, you can migrate selected projects or divide the migration process into a few stages. It is possible to:

  • Migrate Jira On-premise and the BigPicture / BigTemplate / BigGantt plugins to Jira Cloud. 

  • Migrate only Jira On-premise without the BigPicture/BigGantt plugin to Jira Cloud. 

Let's analyze the following example.

You use BigPicture installed on Jira Cloud. When you want to migrate Jira On-premise to Jira Cloud, there are two possible migration scenarios:

  • You can migrate Jira On-premise + BigPicture. After migration, BigPicture from Jira On-premise will overwrite data in BigPicture on Jira Cloud. The state of BigPicture on Jira Cloud before the migration will be replaced with the state of migrated BigPicture from Jira On-premise.

  • You can migrate only Jira On-premise without BigPicture. After migration, BigPicture on Jira Cloud will remain unchanged.

After migration, the App data from Jira On-premise will overwrite data on Jira Cloud.

Make sure you have JCMA installed on your Jira. If you do not have JCMA installed:

  1. Navigate to Jira Administration.

  2. Go to ATLASSIAN MARKETPLACE in the left sidebar.

  3. Select Find new Apps.

  4. Search ‘Jira Cloud Migration Assistant’ and install it.

To find out more about JCMA, read the Use Jira Cloud Migration Assistant to migrate (legacy) article.

In case of any doubts, contact our Support.

What is not migrated

  • What If Scenario is not migrated.

  • JQL can be incomplete and may require manual changes. JQL is used in Scope definition → Additional Filtering and Quick Filters.

How to prepare for migration

The steps below are necessary to migrate the plugins to Jira Cloud. Ensure you have all the plugins (BigPicture, BigTemplate) installed on your Jira Cloud before you begin.

To reinstall BigPicture:

  1. Uninstall the app.

  2. Go to the BigPicture Marketplace page.

  3. Download the JAR file for exactly the same version:

    download-versions.png

  4. Install the app with the file.

    upload-app.png

     

  1. Prepare a JCMA snapshot in BigPicture on Jira On-premise:

    1. Navigate to BigPicture App Configuration > Advanced > Database dumps > New dump > JCMA dump.

    2. Enter a unique Migration name, as you will later need to identify this snapshot in JCMA and complete the Description field.
      The provided Migration name can be edited later.

  2. For BigPicture on Jira Cloud:

    1. Navigate to Apps > BigPicture App Configuration > Advanced > Technical info > Others > Data migration.

    2. Enable the Allow JCMA migration option.

  3. On Jira On-premise:

    1. Navigate to Jira Administration > System > Import and Export > Migrate to cloud > Assess your apps.

    2. Assign the Needed in cloud status for each App.

    3. Click Done.

       

Migration process

  1. Initiate a migration process in JCMA:

    1. Navigate to Jira Administration > System > Import and Export > Migrate to cloud.

    2. Click the Create a migration button.

  2. Get familiar with information about the migration process.

  3. Provide the migration name (the one you used for creating the JCMA snapshot in BigPicture).
    Tip: “Migration 3” and “migration-3” are different names. Make sure that the name matches exactly.

  4. Choose your destination Jira Cloud.

  5. Click on the preferred migration method:

    1. Choose what to migrate; or

    2. Migrate all data at once.

  6. If you have selected Choose what to migrate in the previous step:

    1. Define your migration options, such as Projects, User and groups, and Apps.

    2. When ready, click the Check for errors button.

    3. Select All to migrate all the apps with an automated path that are marked as Needed in cloud in your app assessment.
      If you select None, no apps will be migrated.

  7. Proceed by clicking Review migration.

  8. You can run your migration now or save it and come back later. You will not be able to add or remove projects after you have saved so if you would like to make any changes, perform them now.

  9. After running the migration, you can track its progress from the Migration dashboard.

    Info: During migration, your BigPicture on Jira Cloud will restart to reflect the state of the migrated BigPicture from Jira On-premise.

  10. Once the migration is complete, the status will be updated accordingly.
    (BigPicture Jira Cloud) You will see the Migration completed successfully message once you enter Apps > BigPicture App Configuration > Advanced > Technical info.
    The message will disappear after the next BigPicture update.

    (Jira On-premise) The Progress column in the Migration dashboard (Jira Administration > System > Import and Export > Migrate to cloud) informs about the migration status.
    You can also expand the Actions menu and click View details. 

    You will find detailed information on the migration.

Additional instructions for the Migrate all data at once option

The following steps apply only to the Migrate all data at once option. 

If BigPicture/BigGantt migration got stuck at 0% and there is no progress in the last 15 minutes, go to BigPicture/BigGantt on the target Jira Cloud instance.

 

If you see the following screen, it indicates the lack of sufficient permissions for add-ons on Jira Cloud. In this case, you must follow the procedures described on the Insufficient JIRA Permissions in BigPicture page.

Once you define sufficient permissions, return to BigPicture/BigGantt on Jira Cloud:

How to repeat migration

In case of any mistakes during the migration process in JCMA (for example, forgetting to provide the correct Migration name of your JCMA snapshot), you can run the migration process again.

After migration

Once the migration process is finished, it is recommended to check the following:

In Jira:

  • Review imported groups

  • Verify permissions

  • Check migrated custom fields

In BigPicture:

  • Field mapping in App Configuration > General > Fields

  • Scope definition in Boxes

  • Content of Boxes such as tasks, projects, etc.

  • Editing and assigning tasks (it can be necessary to correct permissions)

  • Individual resources 

  • Permissions assigned in App Administration > Security

BigTemplate migration

You can migrate BigTemplate alone or together with BigPicture using JCMA. As a result, the BigTemplate database and all files with templates are migrated to your Jira Cloud.

How to prepare BigTemplate for migration

Make sure you have BigTemplate installed on your Jira Cloud before you begin. 

  1. A JCMA snapshot for BigTemplate on Jira On-premise is created automatically.

  2. On Jira On-premise:

    1. Go to the Jira Administration > System > Import and Export > Migrate to cloud > Assess your apps section.

    2. Assign the Needed in cloud status for BigTemplate.

    3. Click Done.

BigTemplate migration process

The migration process for BigTemplate is almost identical to BigPicture (two preparation steps are not needed when migrating only BigTemplate):