UPDATE!!!
As of Sept, 2025, SPM team is working on an OOB integration that connects EAP directly with Jira, targeted for 2025 & beyond release (with Safe Harbor notice), with the below scope:
(NOTE: The timelines are very tentative and may change over time)
1. Only Epics will be synched OOB from Jira to ServiceNow to begin with
2. This can be extended to Features, Capabilities by configuring new table/field maps for the new tables
3. Stories and Sprints will not be synched with the first version of this solution but this is planned for the future releases
Overview:
This guide explains how to integrate Enterprise Agile Planning (EAP) with Jira or Azure DevOps (ADO) using a two-step integration approach:
- EAP → Agile Development
- Agile Development → Jira or ADO
Who should use this integration?
- This approach is an interim solution and a bi-directional integration directly to EAP is currently on the roadmap to be developed as a long term solution. So this approach is suitable for organisations that want to move to Enterprise Agile Planning (EAP) immediately, and cannot wait for the long term solution.
- Sprints cannot be synchronized with this approach, so this approach is ideal for organisations for which the primary motivation of integration is to view the progress of Epics and stories within EAP.
Limitations of This Approach:
Before proceeding, it's essential to be aware of the following limitations:
- Sprints cannot be synched with this approach.
- Epic has to be created in EAP with an Assignment Group (new field created in Step 1 below) assigned.
- Users must update both the EAP Team and Assignment Group fields in the EAP epic (sn_align_core_scrum_epic).
- If Essential SAFe is used with this integration (ADO/Jira <> Essential SAFe <> EAP), only Epics and Features can be synched (stories cannot be synched).
Steps to setup this integration:
Note: This article takes the example of Epic (sn_align_core_scrum_epic → rm_epic → ADO/Jira epic). If you would like to enable sync for other work item types, such as story or feature, the same changes need to be applied to the corresponding Business Rules (BR).
Step 1: Add a new field named "Assignment Group" on the ‘sn_align_core_scrum_epic’ table, referencing the sys_user_group table.
Step 2: Configure Internal Integration Field Mapping
In the Internal Integration Table & Field Mapping, create a field map:
- Go to Nav->StrategicPlanning -> Integrations -> ServiceNow Internal -> Table Maps -> rm_epic
- Map the "Assignment Group" field from sn_align_core_scrum_epic with the Assignment Group field on rm_epic
Step 3: Modify the Business Rule on rm_epic: (Changes in this step are included in the update set)
- For Jira integration, apply "EAP:Jira Integration Workaround.xml". This update Set has the changes on the Business Rule, "Synch Epic with Jira".
- For ADO integration, apply "EAP:ADO Integration Workaround.xml". This update Set has the changes on the Business Rule, "Synch Epic with Azure DevOps".
Explaining the changes in the above update set in Step 3:
1. Prevent Cyclic Updates
Update the script in the BR, “Synch Epic with in ….” to add the following condition:
current.getValue('sys_updated_by') != 'system'
This ensures that updates triggered by system-generated processes (such as Jira/ADO sync) do not cause endless cyclic update, while user-initiated changes still sync properly.
2. Remove the Condition Value
The existing Business Rule checks for:
gs.getSession().isInteractive()
Remove this condition because Jira/ADO updates appear as "system" in ServiceNow and this condition only returns true for UI-based updates (form or list view).
By following these steps, you can successfully integrate Enterprise Agile Planning (EAP) with Jira or AzureDevOps (ADO). This setup enables users to track the progress of Epics, Features, Stories and other work items within EAP and SPW while ensuring smooth synchronization between ServiceNow and Jira or Azure DevOps (ADO).
