How to sync story points to Jira

You can run planning poker directly on your Jira backlog: import the issues into a room, estimate them as a team, and have the accepted story points written back to each issue automatically, with no copying by hand. This removes the slow, error-prone step at the end of most estimation sessions, where someone types the numbers into tickets one by one. Below is how to connect Jira, import issues, estimate, and send the points back, plus how to estimate well once it is set up.

Still choosing a tool? See why teams use planning poker for Jira without installing a Marketplace app.

What you need

• A Jira Cloud site. (Jira Data Center is not supported.)
• A Jira account that can browse the project (to import issues) and edit issues in it (to write the estimate back). A shared account made for this, such as [email protected], works better than a person's own, since the token stops working when that person leaves.
• The permission to manage Planning Poker in your organization, to connect Jira. Owners have it by default.

Step 1: connect Jira

1. Open Settings → Integrations and choose Jira, then Connect.
2. Connect in the way that suits you:

• OAuth: you are sent to Atlassian, approve the access and come back. There is nothing to copy. This option appears when it has been set up for your workspace.
• API token: a personal access key. Fill in three fields: your Jira site (for example https://your-team.atlassian.net), your account e-mail and the API token. You create the token on Atlassian's own page: id.atlassian.com → Security → API tokens → Create API token (the plain one, not the one "with scopes"). The token has the same permissions as the account that created it. Step by step, with what to check if it fails: connect Jira with an API token.

1. Use Test to check the connection. Your key is stored securely and is never shown again.

Step 2: choose where the estimate goes

Right after connecting, a Configure step asks whether the accepted estimate should be sent back to Jira, and into which field.

• Turn on Send the accepted estimate back.
• Pick the Jira field that holds your estimates. The list shows the number fields of your site, and Story point estimate is already selected when it exists.
• You can change this later in Estimate settings.

Not sure which of Jira's two estimate fields to pick? The next section explains it.

Story Points or Story point estimate? Which field to pick

Jira has two estimate fields that look alike, and picking the wrong one is the most common reason an estimate does not show up on the board. Which one you need depends on the type of project:

Two things to watch:

• Custom boards behave like company-managed ones. On a custom board only Story Points is available as the estimation statistic, even when the project is team-managed. Atlassian recommends using the board that was created together with a team-managed project.
• Moving a project between types can drop estimates. When you migrate a team-managed project to company-managed, keep the "Retain" option checked so your story points come along.

Whichever field you pick, make sure it is on the issue's screen in that project, otherwise Jira refuses the update.

Step 3: bring the issues into a room

1. Create a room (or open an existing one) and choose Import in the Tasks panel.
2. Pick Jira, then your project.
3. Narrow the list down with the filters: sprint, epic, issue type and status. You can also search by text.
4. Select the issues you want, or all of them, and import.

Issues that are already in the room are marked, so nothing is added twice. Each task keeps its Jira key (such as PROJ-142), a link back to the issue and the first lines of its description.

Step 4: estimate

Run the session as usual: open a task, everybody votes, reveal, talk about the differences, and accept the estimate. If you are new to the ritual, our step-by-step guide to planning poker walks through each step. When you accept the estimate, the number is written to the Jira issue within moments, without making the room wait. The room history then shows Estimate sent, or the reason it could not be.

What is and is not sent

• Numbers are sent. Half points work too, since Jira's field is a number.
• The ? and ☕ cards and T-shirt sizes are not, because they are not numbers. They are kept in the history as "not sent".

If your team estimates in T-shirt sizes, keep using them in the room, and write the story points in Jira by hand, or agree on a numeric deck for the sessions that feed Jira.

Estimating well, with or without Jira

• Estimate before the sprint, not during it. Look at the backlog items that are next in line, so the sprint starts with numbers everyone has already discussed.
• Use one scale and stick to it. Switching between Fibonacci and sizes from one session to the next makes your history impossible to compare.
• Points measure effort and uncertainty, not time. Avoid translating them into hours. The velocity of past sprints will tell you how many points fit in the next one. For what points really are, and are not, see what are story points.
• Re-estimate when the scope changes. A task that grew after the discussion deserves a new vote.

Planning poker is one of several agile estimation techniques, and it is the one that pairs most naturally with writing a single agreed number back to a tracker like Jira.

If an estimate was not sent

• "The field is not on the screen" or a permission error: check that the field is on the issue's screen in that project, and that the connected account is allowed to edit it.
• The connection stopped working: the token may have been revoked or expired. Use Test on the Integrations page, and Reconnect if needed.
• Something is not a number: the ? card, ☕ or a T-shirt size. This is expected.

Connecting takes a few minutes, and from then on the numbers from your sessions land in the right place without anyone copying them.

Frequently asked questions

Can you run planning poker inside Jira?

You run it in a planning poker room connected to Jira: import the issues, estimate them as a team, and the accepted story points are written back to each Jira issue automatically, so nothing has to be copied by hand.

Which Jira field do the story points go into?

Whichever number field you choose when you connect, usually Story point estimate. Note that Jira has two similar fields, Story points and Story point estimate, so pick the one your board displays and make sure it is on the issue's screen.

Does it work with Jira Data Center or Server?

No. The integration supports Jira Cloud only.

Do I need an API token, or can I use OAuth?

Either. OAuth is a one-click approval when it is set up for your workspace. An API token is a personal key you create on Atlassian and paste into three fields. Both work the same once connected.

What happens to non-numeric votes like "?" or T-shirt sizes?

They are not sent to Jira, because the field is numeric. They stay in the room history marked as "not sent". If you estimate in T-shirt sizes, add the points to Jira by hand or use a numeric deck for sessions that feed Jira.

Can the whole team estimate without Jira accounts?

Yes. Only the connection uses a Jira account. Teammates join the room from a link with no account, and just the accepted estimate is written back to Jira.