This article was originally published in the Atlassian community.
I recently explored a practical use case while hosting a webinar at Exalate involving a Jira Service Management (JSM) and Salesforce integration. During the session, I threw a natural language prompt at Exalate’s AI-assisted configuration feature, Aida, and the output took me by surprise.
It’s a solid example of how you can implement complex workflow orchestrations using AI-powered integration tools without writing scripts from scratch.
The Use Case
If a work item in Jira Service Management (JSM) is in the Escalated status and has the Highest priority:
- Add a comment to the synced Salesforce case saying, “Something is burning.” 🔥
- Change the Salesforce case priority to High.
Otherwise, set the Salesforce case priority to Low.
Here’s the prompt I typed into Aida:
When a Jira work item has the Highest Priority and is in the Escalated status, add a comment to the Salesforce Case, saying “Something is burning,” and change the Case priority to High. Otherwise, change the Case priority to Low.
Sounds complex, right? Not with Aida.
Before I walk through the implementation, here’s a quick background on how this works.
What is Aida?
Exalate is a script-based integration solution that synchronizes data between platforms like Jira, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Zendesk, Azure DevOps, Freshservice, Freshdesk, Asana, GitHub, and more.
Exalate’s scripting capabilities let you set up complex sync rules using Groovy-based scripts. You can configure advanced data mappings, apply conditional logic, and use the full power of Groovy to handle any workflow.
If scripting feels out of your depth, you can use Aida, Exalate’s AI-assisted integration expert, to generate sync rules automatically from plain English descriptions. Aida understands your existing configuration and scripting API context, then generates working Groovy scripts with the right field mappings.
Let’s see how I implemented this advanced JSM-Salesforce integration scenario using Aida.
How to Set Up an Advanced Jira Service Management Salesforce Integration
Step 1: Connect Jira Service Management and Salesforce
Log in to the Exalate. If you’re a new user, create an account using your email or Google sign-in.
Once logged in, create a workspace to organize your integrations. Then create a new connection:
- Click “+ Add Connections” > “Create new connection.”
- Enter the name for your first system (System A). You can start with either JSM or Salesforce.
- Enter the URL of your system. For Salesforce, enter your Salesforce instance URL.
- For authentication, Jira uses OAuth, and Salesforce uses an API token. Complete the authentication for both systems.
- Give your connection a name and description, then click “Create connection.”
Once the connection is created, select “Continue to configuration” and choose the Jira project you want to use for synchronization.
Step 2: Understand Exalate’s Sync Architecture
After creating your connection, you have two configuration paths: “Quick Sync” and “Edit & Test.”
To implement custom logic like this use case, choose “Edit & Test” to open the draft editor. Click “Edit” to open the script editor.
The scripts are divided into incoming and outgoing scripts:
- Outgoing script: Defines the information sent from JSM to Salesforce (or vice versa, depending on the sync direction).
- Incoming script: Maps the information received from the other system into your local platform.
You can change the sync direction by clicking the two arrows next to the connection name.
Exalate uses a Replica, a JSON payload that stores the data transferred between systems. You populate the Replica on the source side and extract its content on the destination side to map fields locally.
Step 3: Use Aida to Modify the Salesforce Incoming Sync
To implement our use case, navigate to the Salesforce incoming script side. In the Aida prompt box, type:
When a Jira work item has the Highest Priority and is in the Escalated status, add a comment to the Salesforce Case, saying “Something is burning,” and change the Case priority to High. Otherwise, change the Case priority to Low.
Wait for the suggested scripts to load. Aida will highlight changes using color coding: green indicates scripts to be added, and red indicates scripts to be removed.
Review the generated scripts carefully. As with any AI tool, Aida can make mistakes. You can always refine the prompt until you get the desired output.
Step 4: Test with Test Run Before Going Live
Before publishing your changes, use the Test Run feature to validate your scripts against real data without affecting production.
Select the items you want to test against, then click “Start Test Run.” You can review the incoming and outgoing replicas for each item to verify the field mappings are correct.
If everything looks good, click “Publish Version” to apply the updated configuration to your live synchronization. If something needs adjustment, go back, tweak the scripts, and test again. Script versioning keeps a full audit trail, so you can always roll back to a previous version if needed.
Why This Approach Works
Using Aida for complex sync logic like conditional priority mapping and automated comments, cuts implementation time significantly. You describe what you want in plain English, and Aida generates the Groovy scripts for you.
This is especially useful for teams that need advanced Jira Salesforce workflows but don’t want to invest time learning Groovy scripting from scratch. And because Exalate manages everything from a unified console, you get full visibility across all your connections and integrations in one place.
Have a Use Case in Mind?
Using script-based solutions like Exalate can seem overwhelming at first, but with Aida handling the heavy lifting, it opens up possibilities for nearly any integration workflow.
Have a specific Jira Salesforce integration use case in mind? Drop it in the comments, and we can discuss it! Or ask our integration engineers for a walkthrough of what’s possible.
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Recommended Reading:
- Jira Salesforce Integration: How to Set up a Two-Way Sync between Different Teams
- How to Sync Comment Threads and User Mentions in Comments between Jira and Salesforce
- How to Sync Multiple Related Salesforce Objects (Contact & Account Linked to a Case) to Jira
- How to Update a Salesforce Account from a Jira Custom Field
