Start your new year off right by exploring the on-demand live learning session and key takeaways as Matt Reiner, Customer Advocate at K15t, and David Olive, Associate Product Manager at Atlassian delve into the powerful integrations between Jira and Confluence.
A new year is upon us, and there’s no better time to reflect, revisit, and optimize the ways that you and your team work together. On December 11, Matt Reiner, Customer Advocate at K15t, and David Olive, Associate Product Manager at Atlassian, hosted a live learning session exploring the power of integrating Jira and Confluence. Packed with insights, demos, and some exciting sneak peeks, this session showcased how these two tools can help teams reduce manual work, streamline collaboration, and achieve their goals faster.
Start your new year off right by exploring the on-demand session on YouTube to unlock new possibilities for the way your team works. Here’s what you can expect: insights into how these tools work better together, a recap of your favorite features from 2024, sneak peeks at what’s coming next, and practical tips to help your team collaborate smarter and achieve more.
Why Jira and Confluence work better together
“Jira alone is great. Confluence alone is great. But together? They’re better than the sum of their parts,” shared David during the session. By connecting the structured project management power of Jira with the rich, collaborative documentation capabilities of Confluence, teams can:
- Reduce double work by linking tasks directly to documentation.
- Eliminate context switching with native integrations.
- Access relevant information exactly when they need it.
- Leverage automation and AI to simplify workflows.
The most-loved features of 2024
As we step into a new year filled with fresh possibilities, let’s take a moment to reflect on the tools and integrations that made collaboration easier, smarter, and more efficient over the past year.
1. Connecting Jira projects to Confluence spaces
A foundational integration, linking a Jira project to a Confluence space, creates a seamless way to view, manage, and create Confluence content directly from Jira. David demonstrated how teams can link their Confluence spaces through Jira’s “Project Pages” feature, enabling centralized access to all related documents. While each Jira project can link to only one Confluence space, multiple Jira projects can connect to the same space—ideal for centralizing documentation for large initiatives.
2. Enhanced Smart Links
Smart Links enable users to embed Jira issues and views—like timelines, backlogs, or boards—directly into Confluence pages. The embedded content is interactive, so users can move tasks, update statuses, or comment without switching tabs or tools. Smart Links are also available for Confluence’s database feature, allowing teams to link Jira data within tables.
3. AI-powered Jira issue creation
Using Atlassian Intelligence, Confluence Premium users can now create Jira issues more efficiently. Highlighting text on a Confluence page prompts an AI-generated summary and description for the issue, reducing manual input. The new bulk issue creation feature leverages AI to scan entire pages and suggest multiple Jira issues, streamlining the process for teams documenting meetings or brainstorming sessions.
4. Sprint retrospectives made easy in Jira
For agile teams, sprint retrospectives are a critical ritual. The integration allows teams to automatically generate retrospective Confluence pages or whiteboards when completing a sprint in Jira. This feature simplifies preparation, enabling teams to jump straight into reflecting on what went well and what could improve. Additionally, conducting sprint retros using embedded Confluence pages and whiteboards in Jira keeps the information easily accessible and tied directly to the project, making it simple to reference and build upon in the future.
5. Automated release notes
Documenting releases can be time-consuming, but Jira and Confluence integrations provide a valuable head start. Teams can auto-generate initial release notes based on Jira issues included in a release, giving them a solid foundation to build on. The notes are pre-formatted and published to Confluence, saving time and ensuring consistency. Teams can then edit and customize the content to suit their specific needs, whether for internal reviews or external stakeholders.
Sneak peeks: What’s coming next
David shared a few exciting updates that Atlassian is exploring for the future:
- Split-screen views: An experimental feature showing Confluence and Jira side-by-side in the same browser tab, allowing teams to collaborate without losing context.
- Automated space creation: Soon, creating a Jira project could automatically generate a linked Confluence space, complete with pre-configured templates and folders tailored to your team’s needs.
- More Smart Link support: Atlassian is working to expand Smart Link compatibility, including burndown charts and Jira dashboards.
Practical tips for maximizing integrations
Whether you’re new to Jira and Confluence or looking to level up your usage, here are some pro tips inspired by the session:
- Standardize your spaces: Establish a clear structure for your Confluence spaces to make it easy for teams to find and link the right documents. Use templates to maintain consistency across projects.
- Automate repetitive tasks: With Confluence Premium or Enterprise, automation rules can be set up to link Jira issues and Confluence pages, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
- Engage your team: Encourage team members to use Smart Links and integrated features regularly. The more your team relies on these tools, the more value they’ll unlock.
- Explore whiteboards: Available in Confluence Cloud, whiteboards provide a collaborative space for brainstorming. Leverage the ability to create Jira issues directly from whiteboard elements to turn ideas into action.
- Document stakeholder updates: Use embedded Jira dashboards and Smart Links in Confluence to create dynamic reports for stakeholders. Real-time updates ensure everyone stays informed.
Do your best work with Jira and Confluence
Jira and Confluence integrations reduce friction, eliminate silos, and ensure that teams stay aligned. By integrating documentation with task management, teams can work smarter, not harder. Matt summed it up perfectly: “Teams that connect their tools work better, move faster, and achieve more.”
Ready to unlock the full potential of Jira and Confluence? Watch the live learning session replay on YouTube to see these features in action. Explore how your team can do their best work with the latest integrations, automation, and AI-powered tools.
For more information, visit the Confluence and Jira integrations webpage and start the new year with the confidence to collaborate and deliver like never before.