Reporting on Jira Custom Attributes with Report Builder

On this page:

---

Introduction to issue shapes

By default, the TRS feed served by OSLC Connect will only contain system fields. IBM Lifecycle Query Engine is not able to index any custom attributes of your Jira Issues without a specific configuration, meaning you won’t see these attributes when building reports in Report Builder.

To expose those custom attributes, you will need to update your Jira issue shapes.

From an OSLC perspective, the Shape of a resource is the set of properties that composes it. Changing the issue shape implies changing the set of properties that are exposed to other applications through TRS.

Changing a Jira issue shape

An issue shape relies on a Jira issue scheme. For each issue scheme, you can decide to change the properties exposed. Otherwise said, making changes to issue shapes is just a matter of listing the properties you’re interested in for each issue scheme.

To reach the configuration page, follow:

1. Click the Jira Administration icon in the top right corner and go to the Manage apps tab.

2. Click issue shapes in the OSLC Connect section.
   

   

This page will allow you to change the shape of your Jira issues.

Note that this configuration will affect every Jira project using the selected issue scheme.

1. Choose an issue scheme in the selection list.

2. The table below allows for the addition and removal of properties:

   • To add a property, start typing its name in the search field and click the desired property.

   • To remove a property, hover over the corresponding line and click the Remove Field button to the right.

3. Once you’re satisfied with your changes, click the Save button in the top right corner.

Support Status

Note that adding a property to the issue shape of your issue scheme won’t always result in it being displayed properly in your reports. The Status column of the issue shape configuration page will inform you of the support level for each property:

• Supported: Represented by a green checkmark icon, it means the custom field has been tested and proved that its value will be displayed as it’s displayed on the Issue page.

• Not Supported: Represented by a red exclamation mark icon, it means the custom field has been tested and it is known that its value won't be meaningful/usable.

• Undetermined: Represented by a yellow exclamation mark icon, it means the custom field is not either a well or bad-known working field, you will have to discover it on your own. This is typically the case for custom field types provided by third-party applications.

Report Builder Meta-model Refresh

After saving the changes to the issue shape, you’ll see a notification alerting you to the necessity to do a meta-model refresh before trying to access these custom properties in Report Builder. This operation is mandatory:

1. Open the IBM Report Builder and go to the Data Sources manager (/rs/endpoint).

2. Select the LQE Data Source.

3. Click the Refresh button in the top right corner.

4. Wait for the process to complete before proceeding.

Using custom attributes in Report Builder

You’re now ready to use these new attributes in your reports, you should already be able to see them listed when adding a column in Report Builder:

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issue that prevents you from using custom attributes in ELM reporting tools, please read the following article: How to resolve missing artifact properties