Hierarchy - Cloud Native

Hierarchy overview

The Hierarchy feature allows you to map the item hierarchy configuration of one platform to the other.

Jira and Azure DevOps have different approaches to their hierarchy structures. A standard Jira instance provides a default hierarchy structure of Subtask > Story > Epic, while Azure uses parent-child relations to connect multiple item types in a single hierarchy tree.

TFS4JIRA can preserve the Azure hierarchy structure when synchronizing items.
Representation of an Azure hierarchy depends on the selected process.

Epics

Select the Epics checkbox to synchronize epics and map the corresponding epic items in both systems. The Epic entry in the In Jira field cannot be changed.

The item types are set on the Item types page and are not editable from Hierarchy. The in-line message This is editable in item types mapping contains a link to the Item types page. Click the link to return to the Item type section, where you can select another Azure item type to map to the Jira Epic. Once you have changed the item type, that change appears in the Epics In Azure field.

Refer to the Item types page for more information.

Open

Other levels

Click the Other levels checkbox to select the corresponding Jira link type.

Open

Select the Jira link type to associate with the Parent / Child in Azure. The default link types used in Jira are:

• is cloned by / clones

• relates to / relates to

• duplicates / is duplicated by

• blocks / is blocked by

For example, when the relates to link type is added in Jira, there is a Parent/Child link in Azure between the corresponding User Story and Feature.

When the Parent/Child link is created in Azure, a relates to link is added in Jira between corresponding subtasks.

Subtasks

To synchronize Jira subtasks, select the Subtask option and map the corresponding work item type in Azure to subtask item type in Jira.

Select an item type from the In Azure dropdown list.

Replicate a multilevel Azure hierarchy in Jira

Since Azure hierarchy can consist of more than three levels and Jira supports only three (Epic, Story, and Subtask), a relation link is created to reflect more complex hierarchies. The Hierarchy feature allows you to select the relation type to apply.

This relation can link to an Epic (making this epic a child issue), a Subtask (making this subtask a parent issue), or any issue.

When neither Epic nor Subtask synchronization is enabled, the Multi-level-hierarchy synchronization section serves standard link synchronization only (with forced Parent/Child link on the Azure side).

Recreating a multi-level Azure hierarchy in Jira is done by combining item mapping in the Item types section and mapping and creating a relation link in Jira.

Hierarchy examples

Three-level Azure hierarchy

Follow the steps in this example if you are setting up a hierarchy for an Azure DevOps project that uses a Basic process. Basic is Azure’s most straightforward process configuration consisting of epics, issues, and tasks to track work. This configuration is equivalent to a Jira three-level hierarchy, which uses epics, tasks, and subtasks.

To set up a three-level hierarchy

1. In the sync profile, go to Item types.

2. Select Epic from In Jira and In Azure and click Add mapping.

3. Select Task from In Jira, then select Issue from In Azure and click Add mapping. When finished, Azure will use Issue in the hierarchy.
   The mapped items appear in the Mapped item types list.

    

4. Click Save settings.

5. Click Hierarchy from the left side menu to move to the Hierarchy page.

6. Select the Epics option. Azure hierarchies will use epic as the top level.

7. Select the Subtask option and select Task in Azure to map with the Jira Subtask.

Some Jira projects also use the Epic Names field. If it is used in your project, you must also map the Epic Name field in Jira to a field in Azure. You can only save the configuration in Hierarchy if the Epic Names field is mapped.

1. From the left menu in your sync profile select Fields.

2. Select Epic Name from In Jira and the field you want to map to from the In Azure field.

3. Click Save settings.

4. Return to Hierarchy. The In Azure field now contains the field name mapped to Jira’s Epic Name.

Four-level Azure configuration

Follow the steps in this example if you have a four-level hierarchy for an Azure DevOps project that uses an Agile process. This is Azure’s configuration for teams that use Agile planning methods. The Agile process tracks work through Epics, Features, User Stories, and Tasks. This configuration is equivalent to a Jira hierarchy that uses Epics, Feature (custom issue type), tasks, and subtasks.

Preparation

To set up this hierarchy, add the custom issue type Feature to your Jira project.

1. From your Jira project board, click Project settings.

2. Click Issue types > Create issue type.

3. Enter Feature in the name field.

4. Provide a Description and change the issue type icon. (optional)

5. Click Create.

The custom issue type Feature is now in your Jira project. This issue type will be available in the To be mapped list on the Item types page.

To set up a four-level hierarchy

1. Select a sync profile and go to Item types.

2. Select Epic from In Jira and In Azure and click Add mapping.

3. Select Feature from the In Jira and In Azure fields and click Add mapping.

4. Select Story from the In Jira field and User Story from the In Azure field.
   The mapped items appear in the Mapped item types list.

5. Click Save settings.

6. Click Hierarchy.

7. Select the Epics option. Azure hierarchies will use epic as the top level.

8. Select the Subtask option and select Task in Azure to map with the Jira Subtask.

9. Click Save settings when finished.