Migrate from Cobalt Project Manager to Jira

Cobalt Projects map directly to Jira Projects. We extract the project name, key (used as the Jira project key prefix), description, and default access level. Jira project keys must be uppercase alphanumeric and are typically derived from a Cobalt project name abbreviation during scoping. If the destination Jira instance already contains projects with conflicting keys, we append a numeric suffix. Project configuration (notification scheme, permission scheme, issue security scheme) uses Jira defaults and is noted for admin reconfiguration post-migration.

Cobalt Tasks map to Jira Issues. The mapping to Story or Task issue type is resolved during scoping based on whether the Cobalt task represents a deliverable increment (Story) or a generic work item (Task). We map the Cobalt task title to Jira Summary, description body to Jira Description (converted to Jira wiki-markup or ADF depending on destination version), status to Jira Status via the configured workflow, priority to Jira Priority, due date to Due Date, and created/modified timestamps to Jira Created and Updated.

Cobalt Subtasks map to Jira Subtask issue type, which requires a parent Issue to exist first. We resolve the parent Issue reference by matching Cobalt subtask.parent_task_id against the Jira Issue that was created from the corresponding Cobalt parent task. Parent resolution is validated after each batch and before the subtask batch begins. Jira enforces a maximum of one level of Subtask nesting; deeply nested Cobalt subtasks beyond one level are flattened into sibling Subtasks under the same parent.

Cobalt Milestones map to Jira Epic issues within the same Project. The Epic Name maps from the Cobalt Milestone title, and the Epic summary inherits the Cobalt description. Target date on the Cobalt Milestone maps to the Epic's custom field for target end date. Epic Link (the Jira field linking Stories and Tasks to an Epic) is not set during bulk import; instead we run a post-processing pass that updates all Issues whose parent Cobalt Milestone ID matches the Epic, wiring the Jira Epic Link field to the newly created Epic issue key.

Cobalt Time Entries linked to Tasks map to Jira Work Log entries on the corresponding Issue. We extract time spent duration, the work log date, and the time entry description. Jira requires the Work Log author to match a Jira User; we resolve the author by email against the destination Jira User table and flag any unmapped authors in the reconciliation queue before the work log batch runs. Time entries without a corresponding Jira Issue (orphan entries) are logged separately for admin review.

Cobalt task assignees are resolved by email match against the destination Jira User table. If the destination Jira instance uses Atlassian Identity Management (Atlassian Cloud) or a connected directory (Okta, Azure AD via SCIM), we validate user existence and active status during scoping. Any Cobalt assignee without a Jira User match goes to the reconciliation queue for the admin to provision before the assignee batch runs. Jira does not allow assigning an Issue to a deactivated User; this is validated before Issue import.

Cobalt task comments map to Jira Issue Comments. We preserve the comment body, author (resolved by email to Jira User), and created timestamp. Jira comments are stored as HTML or ADF depending on the destination version; we convert the Cobalt comment body to the appropriate format during the transform step. Comments on Cobalt Tasks that have no corresponding Jira Issue are logged with the parent task ID for manual review.

Cobalt task attachments migrate as Jira Issue Attachments. We extract the attachment URL or binary from Cobalt's export snapshot, validate the file size against Jira's attachment size limits (default 10 MB per file on Jira Cloud), and upload to Jira via the REST API. Attachments exceeding Jira limits are flagged in the reconciliation report with a recommendation to store in a linked external file store (Confluence, Google Drive, or SharePoint) and add the URL as a Jira comment.

Cobalt task labels or tags map to Jira Labels on the corresponding Issue. Labels are a flat list in Jira and do not support hierarchy, so multi-level Cobalt tag structures are flattened to a hyphenated label string during transform. Jira labels have a 255-character per-label limit; Cobalt tags exceeding this are truncated with a warning in the migration report.

Cobalt custom fields (defined at the project or global level) map to Jira custom fields created in the destination instance before migration. We match field data types: Cobalt text maps to Jira Text Field (Single Line or Free Text depending on length), Cobalt number maps to Jira Number Field, Cobalt date maps to Jira Date Picker, Cobalt dropdown maps to Jira Select (Single Choice), and Cobalt multi-select maps to Jira Select (Multi Choice). Jira custom fields must be added to the relevant screen before they appear in the Issue view; we include screen configuration in the pre-migration checklist.

Cobalt task status values (e.g., Open, In Progress, Complete) map to Jira Status values via a mapping table created during scoping. Cobalt priority levels map to Jira Priority values (Highest, High, Medium, Low, Lowest) with the customer choosing the exact mapping. If the destination Jira project uses a custom workflow with statuses not in the default Jira workflow, we configure the Jira workflow status category (To Do, In Progress, Done) during pre-migration so that Issue transitions map correctly after import.