I am always interested in hearing from other product and project professionals about effective task management and communication tools. If you are also interested in tools of the trade, read on to learn about the Power-Up integration between Trello and Jira.
But first, a quick introduction is necessary in case you are not already using Trello or Jira. Trello is a Kanban-style task tracker that Atlassian bought in 2017. It’s different from other list trackers because of its visual display that enables individuals and teams to collaborate seamlessly. Jira, also owned by Atlassian, is a powerful product development tool commonly used for tracking agile software projects. So much more can be said about both Trello and Jira, but this is about the integration between the two.
What is Atlassian’s Power-Up?
Power-Ups are integrations developed by Atlassian that extend Trello’s functionalities beyond its core features. They allow teams to customize their Trello boards with specialized tools and integrations. There are over 250 Power-Ups available.
Features and Benefits of Trello + Jira Power-Up
We use Trello for project management tasks and Jira for managing our development backlog on my project. My team loves the specific Power-Up between Trello and Jira. This integration syncs visual boards with issue tracking and project management. Below are the reasons this feature is making a difference for our team, as well as some of our practices.
Note: Supposedly, Atlassian will deprecate this Power-Up sometime after July 30, 2023. The alternative is Smartlinks in Trello. As of this post, the Trello Jira Power-Up is still available.
Streamlines Workflow
This integration has simplified our workflow by eliminating unnecessary or redundant steps throughout various project stages. Tasks, user stories, and requirements flow between the platforms, ensuring transparency and real-time updates.
Automates rules
In Trello, we use rules to automatically create Jira issues from Trello cards or update card statuses based on changes in Jira. One rule that saves my team time is that when a Trello card is moved to a list we call “Backlog Story Writing,” a Jira issue is automatically created. This automation helps streamline the process and keeps the teams focused on what matters most.
Saves Time
For project teams already using both Trello and Jira, this Power-up can be a big time-saver. The integration between Trello and Jira turns Trello cards into Jira issues.
On my team, the primary benefit of this integration is that I can keep both tools in sync from one place. For instance, when I meet with the team leads to check in on action items, we use Trello. During our check-in, we often need to create development items that belong in our Jira backlog. We can do this from within Trello. Similarly, when I am meeting with the development team, we use Jira to keep us focused. When action items arise in the development team meeting, I can capture them in a Jira issue, and they will be visible from within Trello.
Occasionally, I would like to create a new Trello card from Jira, making a two-way sync possible. There are third-party add-ons for this function. But since I don’t often need that functionality, I haven’t investigated the cost of an add-on.
Smooths Team Collaboration
The Jira Power-Up enables smoother collaboration between various agile teams. For instance, our delivery-focused team creates detailed cards in Trello that contain useful history about the evolution of a feature request. The history in those Trello cards may or may not be pertinent to the developer working on implementing the Jira issue in our backlog. If it is useful for a developer to reference those historical details, they can be referenced from the Jira issue. This helps keep everyone on the same page.
Enabling the Jira Power-Up from Trello
The best help documentation for enabling this integration can be found within Trello. From the dropdown menu (…) in the upper right, choose Power-Ups.
On our project, this Power-Up bridges the gap between Trello’s visual simplicity and Jira’s almost-too-robust capabilities. The integration helps simplify our task workflows and speeds up information sharing within two systems.