Jira and Tempo
Turn your Jira projects, or issues such as epics, into teams in MuchSkills, and add Tempo plans so you see who is planned on what. You create an Atlassian API token and a Tempo token, paste them into a form in MuchSkills and choose how to sync.
- Who
- A MuchSkills Owner or Admin, with a Jira and Tempo admin
- How it connects
- Self-serve, in Settings › Integrations
- Brings in
- Projects or issues, their members, and Tempo plans
- Access
- Reads data, and adds one webhook in Jira
How to
How it works
Each Jira project, or each issue of a type you choose, becomes a team in Team Builder, with its Jira description. Tempo adds the plans, so you see who is planned on which team and for how much time. You then add the skills each team needs and staff it with people who have them. MuchSkills adds a webhook to your Jira site to follow project changes and users.
Jira now calls projects spaces. MuchSkills still says projects, and means the same thing.
Before you start
- In MuchSkills: the Owner or Admin role.
- An Atlassian account for the token. It must be able to see every project you want in MuchSkills, including private ones. Choose an account that will stay active, because the sync stops if it is removed. MuchSkills also adds a webhook to your Jira site, so we recommend an account with Jira administrator rights.
- Tempo rights for the same person. The Tempo token works with the permissions of the person who creates it. That person needs View Plans for the teams whose plans you want.
- Check email addresses. People are matched by email. Their Jira email should be the address they sign in to MuchSkills with.
- Choose a sync type. Projects or Issues. Changing it later permanently disconnects the teams synced the other way.
Steps
In your Atlassian account
- Create an API token. Go to your Atlassian API tokens. Choose Create API token with scopes, give it a name and an expiry between 1 and 365 days, choose Jira as the app, and tick the scopes read:jira-user and read:jira-work. Click Create and copy the token. Atlassian shows it only once. A token without scopes, made with Create API token, also works. Atlassian's guide to API tokens
In MuchSkills
- Open the Jira connector. Go to Team/Org › Settings › Integrations and click Connect on Jira.
Team/Org › Settings › Integrations › Connect on Jira.
- Enter the Jira details.
- Jira Account Email: the email of the Atlassian account that created the token.
- Jira API Token: the token from step 1.
- Jira domain: your Jira address, for example
yourcompany.atlassian.net. If your Jira runs on a custom domain, turn on Custom domain.
- Choose a sync type. Under Choose a sync type for Jira, pick Projects for one team per Jira project, or Issues for one team per issue of a type you choose. For Issues, enter the Jira issue type, such as Epic or any custom issue type.
- Set archiving and members. Under Archiving, a team is archived at the next sync when its Jira project or issue is archived or deleted. With Issues, you can also archive a team when its issue reaches a status in the Done category. Turn on Sync members of new teams to add the members of a Jira project to its team when the sync creates it.
- Connect Jira. Click Connect.
The Jira form: 1 account email, 2 API token, 3 domain, 4 Connect.
In Tempo
- Give the token owner View Plans. In Tempo, open Settings and choose Permission Roles under Data Access. Click + Add permission role, name it, tick View Plans, click + Add users and add the person who will create the Tempo token. Choose Full for the whole organisation, or Restricted to pick teams, and save. Tempo's guide to permission roles
- Create a Tempo API token. In Tempo Settings, under Data Access, choose API Integration and click New Token. Give it a name, set the expiry (Tempo defaults to 30 days, so choose longer if you can), choose Full Access and create it. Copy the token. Tempo's guide to API tokens
Back in MuchSkills
- Connect Tempo. Under Jira plugins, paste the token into Tempo API Token and click Connect. Turn on Sync members of new teams for Tempo to add the people with Tempo plans on a project to its team when the sync creates it.
- Start the sync. Click Start Sync. MuchSkills shows that it will sync data from Jira to your MuchSkills workspace.
Tempo sits under Jira plugins. Turn it on to add the Tempo token.
Check it worked
- The connector shows Last successful sync and Next scheduled sync.
- Team Builder lists a team for each Jira project, or each issue of the type you chose, with its Jira description.
- With Tempo connected, planned time shows on team members and in Team/Org › Reports under utilisation.
Benefits
What you get
- Projects without retyping. Teams appear in Team Builder as projects start in Jira, and are archived when they end.
- Real workload when you staff. Tempo plans show who is already booked before you add someone to a team.
- Skills on real projects. Add skill requirements to synced teams to find gaps and feed the Demand report.
Important to know
Important to know
Matching is by email. A person whose Jira email differs from their MuchSkills sign-in email is not synced.
A webhook is added to Jira. MuchSkills adds it to your Jira site to follow project status and users.
Switching the sync type is permanent. Moving from Projects to Issues, or back, permanently disconnects the teams synced the other way. MuchSkills asks you to confirm first.
Connect Tempo for time and capacity. With only the Jira token, time and capacity information for your teams does not display correctly.
Disconnecting Jira also disconnects Tempo. New project data then stops syncing.
Watch both expiry dates. Atlassian tokens last up to 365 days. Tempo tokens last 30 days by default. Put both dates in your calendar.
Common errors
Troubleshooting
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Invalid Credentials or/and Scopes: | The token expired, a value was copied wrongly, the token lacks read:jira-user or read:jira-work, or the account behind it was removed from Jira | Create a new token for an active account with both scopes, paste it in and click Update Credentials |
| A project or its issues are missing, or the connector reports a project access error | The project is private, and the account behind the token cannot see it | Team-managed: in Jira open Space settings › Access and add the account with a role, or change the access to Open or Limited. Company-managed: give the account the Browse spaces permission in the project's permission scheme |
| Not all Tempo plans show | The Tempo token owner lacks View Plans for some teams | Add a permission role with View Plans for those teams, or choose Full |
| Teams show no time or capacity | Tempo is not connected | Complete steps 7 to 9 |
| Some people are missing from teams | Their Jira email differs from their MuchSkills email, or Sync members of new teams was off when the team was created | Align the email addresses, or add the people in Team Builder |
| Tempo stopped syncing after about a month | The Tempo token reached its default 30-day expiry | Create a new token with a longer expiry and click Update Credentials |
Frequently asked questions
Do we need Tempo?
No. Jira alone turns projects or issues into teams. Tempo adds the plans, meaning who is planned on which project and for how much time. Without Tempo, time and capacity for your teams do not show correctly.
Should we sync Projects or Issues?
Projects is the default: one MuchSkills team per Jira project. Choose Issues if your work is organised in issues of one type inside larger projects, such as epics: you then get one team per issue of that type. Switching later permanently disconnects the teams synced the other way.
Which permissions does the Jira API token need?
A token with scopes needs read:jira-user and read:jira-work. The Atlassian account behind the token also needs access to every project you want in MuchSkills, including private ones.
Does MuchSkills change anything in Jira or Tempo?
MuchSkills reads projects, issues, members and plans. It also adds a webhook to your Jira site so it hears about project changes and users. It does not edit issues, projects or plans.
What happens when a Jira project is archived?
Its team in MuchSkills is archived at the next sync, and the same happens when a project is deleted. With Issues sync you can also archive a team when its issue reaches a status in the Done category. Reopening the issue makes the team active again.
Who is added to the synced teams?
With Sync members of new teams switched on, the members of the Jira project, or the people with Tempo plans on it, join the team when the sync creates it. Teams that already exist keep their own member sync setting.
Why are some people missing from the teams?
MuchSkills matches people by email. If someone's email in Jira differs from the address they sign in to MuchSkills with, they are not added.
What happens when a token expires?
The sync stops and the connector shows an error. Create a new token, paste it in and click Update Credentials. Atlassian tokens last up to a year, and Tempo tokens last 30 days unless you choose a longer expiry.