How can we run a crystal report in Jira Software

[Triumph Support]

Hi,

We used to run Jira Software on-premise and use SQL Server for database, so we can easily to run some SQL Query and script to get the information to generate a report.

Now we moved to cloud, is there any tools or script we can use to achieve the similar thing?

I can only find the export function at the moment, but it can't help a lot.

[Trudy Claspill · Accepted solution]

Hello @Triumph Support 

With Jira Cloud you cannot access the database directly.

There are many tools to help with reporting. You can find them in the Atlassian Marketplace here:

https://marketplace.atlassian.com/search?hosting=cloud&product=jira&query=report

Which one would work best for you will depend on your report needs.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

@It_s Doug Here  Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

The short answer is "no". 

Crystal Reports is a great reporting tool, but it requires you to have a full understanding of the structure of the data you want to report on.  This is usually done with a "data dictionary" and access to the underlying database.

But you really really don't want to do that.

Jira does not use the database as a database, it uses it as a data store.  All the relationships and logic is done in the code.   The database looks like an inscrutable mess, which makes it incredibly hard to create a data dictionary for, and really hard to update on any upgrade.

Even the most simple of human questions can generate some horrid SQL to read it.  For example, the question "show me this single issue" requires joining at least 18 tables, and another 2-5 for each custom field you might have.

And for Cloud, you don't have any access to the database.

So, if you want to use Crystal, your best option is to scrape a copy of the data over the REST API and inject it into a separate database that is structured for reporting.  REST calls do not return raw data from the database, they return more structured data - the question "show me this single issue" gets you a single block of JSON with everything in one place.  It does all the joining and lookups for you.

A better option is to use Jira as intended, you say "limited dashboard options", but they're a lot less limited than most people think.  But I will opine that a lot of the good reports are quite hard to find, and they only really cover standard usage.  When you're doing simple issue tracking, or being agile (with Scrum or Kanban), it's fine, but when you're just pretending to be Agile, or being honest about not being Agile, then it is not good.  (And it's not good at scale, Agile or not)

I strongly recommend you look at the link @Trudy Claspill gave earlier - these are reporting apps that can help you a lot.  Of all of them, I would start with a look at EazyBI - many years ago, someone said "It's like Crystal reports with the (human friendly) Jira data dictionary built in", and I tend to agree.

[It_s Doug Here]

Thank you Nic.

I'd like a report to look like a report, printed in entirety.

The reports I get from Jira only display up to 50 records at a time.  If I want to print it, I'm only printing the portion that's on the screen.

That's what I mean by "limited".

Fortunately, I do have data warehouse experience and used to write SDLC docs for the Resolution Trust Corporation (now the FDIC).  I'm familiar with data dictionaries because I used to write them.  But for the unskilled who are just trying to get good data reports out of Jira, Atlassian doesn't provide helpful solution tools.  They have the pretty charts down, but pretty reports - MEH!

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

This always takes me back to "why?"  Humans don't read reports with hundreds of issues on them, they want summaries.

[It_s Doug Here]

I'm not looking for an issues report.  I'm looking for a data report.

I have a Jira database listing hundreds of IP patent filings with patent summary information as individual Epics.  All of the documents and communications related to those patent filings are set up as Issues related to an Epic. I need a full and complete report of my patent filing Epics and can't seem to get what I need from Jira as a complete listing.  Crystal Reports used to do a really nice job of reporting data output.

I know what the humans in my company are looking for and we want to see the hundreds of patents along with their status.  It would be helpful if I had a software company behind me that was in line with my needs and not with their philosophical interpretations of what I need or don't need.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

That would be an issue report (the Epics are issues).

Why do you think you need a "complete listing"?  What problem would printing out several hundred issues on paper solve?  Who is going to read all of that and why?  Why can't you just ask them to look at the Epics they need to see?

[It_s Doug Here]

I'm interested in providing data output reports from my Jira dataset.  Is Crystal the best option for doing that or is there something better in Jira than the limited dashboard reporting options?