Jira Migration: Steps to Consider and Best Practices to Follow

Jira migration can be challenging for the company. The problem is in relocating the data from one system to another or from an on-premise to a cloud solution. This article will introduce the basic principles of the Jira migration process, outline its benefits and focus on Jira migration best practices and cases we completed.

WHAT TYPE OF JIRA MIGRATION IS THE BEST FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
Let’s start with the basic things you need to consider when creating a Jira migration plan. As we mentioned, there are two types of migration:

Jira migration from one instance to another.
Jira migration from on-premise to a cloud solution.
Cprime has experience with both types of migration, and we will share some cases. Before starting the process, you should also learn the difference in the approaches to migration.

Here are the most commonly used ones:

Big Bang Jira migration. The concept of this type is based on a one-step migration process. It means that you will relocate data between systems in one step. But it also means that the system will not work for some time.
Project migration. In this case, you will migrate project after project. You will have access to the whole system, but it will be closed for migrated projects. After you finish the Jira migration project, all users will notice that it exists in the new instance.
Issue migration. As you can see from the name, this approach provides Jira migration for each issue. It is quite a flexible type of migration, as all team members will work with issues on both platforms during the migration process.
MORE ON TOPIC: Tips on getting ready for data migration

WHAT TO CONSIDER BEFORE JIRA MIGRATION
Before you plan Jira migration steps in detail, you need to focus on a few practices to implement this relocation successfully. Next, we will discuss the best Jira migration practices to pay attention to while launching this process.

Run a health check of the new infrastructure. It is essential to ensure that the new system is ready to maintain all the data you will transfer. That is why start your Jira migration checklist by analyzing the new instance. Ensure that all Atlassian apps, users, issues and projects can be effectively handled in the new system. Is everything working correctly? You can start Jira migration only after you launch a health check of the new system.
Check if your systems are compatible. Another problem can be if your new system is incompatible with an old one. As a result, you can lose data. Some organizations use API modules to accelerate data transferring to Jira. But it would be much better if two software systems had the same version.
Ensure testing. The following vital point in Jira migration is testing. You need to ensure that there are no errors in your migration plan. Testing can define the downtime and insufficiency of the system. The best Jira migration scenario reduces the downtime to a minimum and ensures effective system operation. It is something you can achieve with testing. Here is what you need to check during this process:
Efficiency of the integration of Atlassian tools with other apps
Database connections
General configurations
User directories
Create a staging environment. It is an excellent point to ensure that your new system will work correctly. You can duplicate all the Jira data and implement migration from this test instance. Such steps will ensure that you can fix any bugs or issues in advance. It is an efficient case for boosting the productivity of the team.
Post-migration monitoring. To finish the Jira migration successfully, you also need to ensure continuous testing and monitoring of the new system. The last stage of migration looks like the first one – you need to analyze, check the data and test all possible issues in a new instance.
MORE ON TOPIC: 7 Things to Consider before Successful Software Migration

MIGRATING FROM OBSOLETE SYSTEM TO JIRA
The case we will discuss is migration from one of the first tools for issues tracking – HPQC. Jira and HPQC systems are not comparable even at the ideology level.

When HPQC was introduced in 2008, there were no agile or scrum teams. It works only on-premises and does not support integrations. Also, it runs only in windows, supports old versions of Internet Explorer, and has an outdated user interface (UI). Before Jira, it was the only option for bug tracking and managing workflow. And migrating to a new tool can be complicated.

It seems there is no way that someone will continue using HPQC instead of modern and innovative Jira. But many companies that started the business more than ten years ago used to have QC. And Jira became a standard for team management and organization workflow just in the last decade.

It can take time to make QA move test cases from HPQC to a new tool. But it definitely will be beneficial to launch the Jira migration.

MORE ON TOPIC: The Guide to Data Migration | Types, Tools, Approaches, Challenges, Phases and Comparisons

JIRA MIGRATION CASE STUDY
Let’s look at Cprime’s case to understand the benefits of migrating from the HPQC to the Xray Jira plugin. First of all, Xray ensures automated test procedures, integration with test automation frameworks, like Selenium, Junit and others. Also, with Xray, the company will have regular updates and easy linking to other Jira tickets.

Here’s how we run the migration from HPQC to the Jira Xray plugin. Cprime defined the processes from the old and new systems and tried to map them. There were three components in this phase:

business process mapping
entity mapping
mapping fields inside entities
Our client wanted to migrate to Jira software and the third-party plugin Xray, which they found beneficial for their business. Mapping was a critical pre-migration stage that helped the Jira migration. It makes this migration more complicated, but still, we implemented it successfully.

What was challenging in this case?

First, you need to understand that there will be some data loss in migration from HPQC to Jira. Our goal was to make those losses minimal.

Second, it was complicated to relocate attachments, as we needed to save history and statistics from the old HP system. Finally, we needed to validate the data after relocation, and for this task, we created a specific script.

CONCLUSION
Jira migration is a demanded solution for thousands of companies worldwide. Atlassian provides a practical, modern and easy-to-use tool for different tasks. At the same time, migration to Jira can face some challenges, but all of them can be overcome by a professional team.

Our team can be your Jira migration assistant for any task. If you need any Jira migration support or you want to discuss your specific case, you can contact Cprime experts.