Migrate from Microsoft Project to Jira

Each Microsoft Project file (.mpp) or PWA project maps to one Jira project. Project-level metadata — name, description, start date, finish date — translates to Jira project fields. Multiple .mpp files require multiple Jira projects or a shared Jira project with components.

Summary tasks in MS Project with child subtasks map to Jira Epics. The Epic summary, description, and start/due dates pull from the summary task's name, notes, and scheduling dates. Epics serve as the WBS level-1 container in Jira's hierarchy. The mapping also inherits any custom field values defined on the summary task into the Epic's custom fields, ensuring continuity of metadata across the hierarchy.

Standard MS Project tasks map to Jira Stories (for deliverable-oriented work) or Tasks (for activity-oriented work). The issue type is configurable — we use Story as the default for tasks with an assignable deliverable and Task for general work items.

MS Project subtasks under a parent task map to Jira Subtasks linked to their parent Story or Task. Subtask inherits the parent's Epic link when the parent is part of an Epic-Story hierarchy. If the subtask carries resource assignments or custom fields, those values are copied to the Jira Subtask as well, preserving allocation and metadata continuity.

MS Project WBS codes encode hierarchical task numbering (e.g., 1.2.3). We map WBS levels to Jira's Epic-Story-Subtask nesting where possible. Deep WBS structures beyond three levels are preserved as a custom WBS_Code__c field and optionally as Jira Labels for filtering.

MS Project milestones (zero-duration tasks) map to Jira Versions (Releases) if the milestone represents a delivery checkpoint, or to a dedicated milestone issue type if your Jira project uses one. Target dates map to the Version release date field. If mapped as a Version, the milestone's finish date populates the release date, preserving any linked description.

MS Project finish-to-start dependencies become Jira issue links of type 'blocks' from the predecessor to the successor. Jira's blocking link directionality is reversed from MS Project convention — we handle the direction flip during mapping. The original MS Project predecessor/successor IDs are stored in a custom field (Source_System_ID__c) on each linked issue for auditability.

Start-to-Start and Finish-to-Finish dependencies have no native Jira equivalent. We map them to Jira issue links ('relates to') with a custom field (Dependency_Type__c) storing the original dependency type and lead/lag days as a note for manual follow-up. If a lead or lag value exists, it is recorded in the Dependency_Lag_Days__c field so that your team can manually adjust the schedule in Jira where necessary.

MS Project resources (people and equipment) are matched to Jira user accounts by email address. Unmatched resources are flagged with the resource name and email for manual Jira account provisioning before migration. Generic resources without an email are mapped to a placeholder or left unassigned.

MS Project task assignments with units and work hours map to Jira issue assignees with the original work estimate stored in the Work field (in hours). If MS Project uses material resources, those are preserved as a custom field since Jira has no native material resource concept.

MS Project baselines store planned start/finish/duration for comparison against actuals. Jira has no native baseline field — we create Baseline_Start__c, Baseline_Finish__c, and Baseline_Duration__c custom fields on issues, plus a Baseline_Name__c field for multi-baseline tracking. We do not migrate baseline comparison charts.

MS Project project calendars define working time and exception days. Jira uses project default settings and user profiles for calendar configuration. Calendar settings do not migrate — they must be reconfigured in Jira's project settings after migration. If your migration includes recurring exception days such as holidays or custom work weeks, document them in a separate calendar reference file for your Jira admin to apply.

MS Project enterprise custom fields (text, number, cost, flag, date, outline code) map to Jira custom fields with equivalent or closest-match types. Cost fields map to Jira Number fields with currency context noted. Jira requires custom field context assignment per project — we include that in the setup plan.