Zoho Sprints to Zoho Projects Integration

Zoho Sprints to Zoho Projects Integration

No matter how many projects you have on your list or teams to coordinate - Managing everything in the right way matters the most. Project management methodologies are many, and every team is bound to follow a standard process. That's why moving to a different process remains herculean for teams. 

Teams across a project, either follow the waterfall or the agile model to manage their work. Not all the processes in the team find the usual model effective. Some teams may require the standard process and other teams require an iterative model to deliver the tasks. Managing teams by implementing both the models is the real success.

Integrating Zoho Sprints with Zoho Projects will create a standard process that offers a flexible, productive, and iterative workflow. Let's start with the technical steps to work with this integration. 
Plan: Available in all the plans.

Business scenario  

Helen Collins is the managing director of 'Marks and Michalle' an e-commerce website that is famous for textiles in New York (NY). She has a team of 500 employees working from client servicing to delivery sectors. As the team grows she finds it difficult to manage an d monitor the working style and process of all the sectors.
 
Now, she uses Zoho Projects where all the employees in her company are added as users with different roles. All the deliverables are met successfully with a long-term project management technique. 
 
However, here comes the challenge when the customers raise something like this:
Case 1: "As a user, I want to be a part of the development process and try out your features before you take it up for the final release".
 
Bringing the end user into the development and review process is possible if Helen's team starts working Agile - Develop, Review, Iterate, and then Deliver. Now, she can push her development team to follow the agile process to succeed the above user story. 


 Sync all the projects related to development in Zoho Sprints.

 Set a strict scrum (8 weeks) and deliver a workable version to the customer.

 Conduct a sprint review meeting and receive feedback.

 Conduct the sprint retrospective meetup and analyze pitfalls. 

 Iterate in a different sprint and deliver the final version. 

 Update the work item progress to high level managements.

 Track all reports at a single place.
 
Helen's development team now finds it easy to manage the customer request by integrating with Zoho Sprints. The other teams can use Zoho Projects for:
 

 Listing all the long term goals as milestones

 Managing and generating invoice for the employees

 Viewing all the Zoho Sprints reports and quickly estimating their team's performance

Portal Configuration  

Configuration of portals has to be implemented from the Zoho Projects platform. 
  1. Navigate to Settings in Zoho Projects.                    .
  2. Select Zoho Apps  under  Marketplace section.
  3. Click Configure under  Zoho Sprints . 
  4. Choose the Zoho Sprints team from the drop-down. (Incase, if you don't hold a Zoho Sprints portal, click Create Zoho Sprints Account and create a new team in Zoho Sprints.)
  5. Click Map Portal . (Your portal will be configured.)
  6. Click  Sprints Info to navigate to Zoho Sprints. (or) Click Back to Integrations  and select Access Zoho Sprints. 


Ensure whether API access is enabled in Zoho Sprints settings to initiate this integration.
Once you click  Access Zoho Sprints  you will be redirected to your Zoho Sprints team. The actual work starts now.   

   Key points in portal configuration 
  1. Only team owners can integrate Zoho Sprints with Zoho Projects.
  2. This integration is accessible only for the users who have an admin role in Zoho Projects. 
  1. If you don't have a team (i.e., portal) in Zoho Sprints, you can create a new team and then map it to your Zoho Projects portal.
  1. You cannot disable the integration once it is enabled. 

Projects sync 

You can only map projects from Zoho Projects to Zoho Sprints. Learn more on how to map the projects.
  1. Field sync: Project Name, Description, Project Owner, Start Date, and End Date

   Key points in project sync 

  1. You can add new or existing projects from Zoho Projects to Zoho Sprints and vice versa .
  1. Deleting the mapped project in Zoho Sprints will remove the mapping with Zoho Projects. Once deleted, you cannot retrieve the mapping.  
  1. Archiving the mapped project in Zoho Sprints will disable the upcoming modifications made in Zoho Projects. Once the project is moved to active, the users can resume the sync.
  1. Trashing a mapped project in Zoho Projects will remove the mapping with Zoho Sprints. Once trashed, you cannot perform any operation between the applications. Mapping will be enabled if you recover the project from trash.
  1. You cannot map project templates from Zoho Projects to Zoho Sprints. 
  1. You cannot map new or existing projects from Zoho Sprints to Zoho Projects. 
  1. You cannot sync a project that is enabled with a Task Roll up option in Zoho Projects. 







Project Template Sync

Project templates from Zoho Projects can now be synced with projects in Zoho Sprints. When you have to execute work items that are quite similar to your tasks in Zoho Projects, instead of manually recreating it in Zoho Sprints every time, you can simply sync the template.





Note:  If you sync a project with an integrated template, work items that are common to both the products remain integrated. The stand alone work items and tasks will be cloned in Zoho Sprints and Zoho Projects respectively.

Case for strict project

In Zoho Projects, you can set a project as 'Strict' and define a start and end date. When a project is strict the users cannot defy the dates while working with the tasks. The same rule gets applied when a strict project is added to Zoho Sprints. There are a few restrictions to keep in mind when you're trying to sync a strict project.

Strict project restriction
  1. Strict projects will carry the same date range while mapped with Zoho Sprints.
  1. You can modify the date range for a strict project  in Zoho Sprints. 
  1. While modifying the date range ensure that all the work items are eligible for a date change. 
  1. For example, if a strict project's date range is Aug 1, 2019 - Aug 31, 2019 and you have a work item with a start and end date as Aug 30, 2019 - Aug 31, 2019. 
  1. When you try to modify the date range of the project from Aug 1, 2019 - Aug 28, 2019 in Zoho Sprints, you cannot update the new date range since you have a work item exceeding this date range. 
  1. In this case, you have to stick on to the existing date range or change the work item's date range to modify the project's start and end date.
This is a two-way sync where you can add work items from Zoho Sprints as tasks to Zoho Projects and tasks as different work item types from Zoho Projects to Zoho Sprints. 

Learn more on how to add a work item from Zoho Projects. 

Add work items from Zoho Sprints to Zoho Projects

  1. Navigate to Backlog .
  2. Choose Create  and select + Work Items .
  3. Enter the item name and fill up the other details.
  4.   Zoho Projects Task option will be enable by default. You can disable if you don't want to add that item in Zoho Projects. 
  5. Click Create . 
  1. Field sync: Work item title, Description, Start Date, End Date, Duration, Assignees, Comments, Attachments.

Add existing items from Zoho Sprints to Zoho Projects

  1. Navigate to Backlog .
  2. Select the work item from Project Backlog or Sprint Backlog .
  3. Click + (Add To) in the right side of the details page and select Zoho Projects Task .
  4. Fill up the mandatory custom fields. (These fields are marked as mandatory in Zoho Projects. User can add the item to Zoho Projects only if they fill up these fields). 
  5. Click Create . 
You can view the details of the tasks added from Zoho Projects as shown in the image below. 
  1. Click View in Zoho Projects or the Zoho Projects icon in the right corner to navigate to Zoho Projects.
    1. All the custom fields marked as Mandatory in Zoho Projects are listed here. 
  

You can also add work items in bulk to Zoho Projects. You will be able to add a maximum of 25 work items from the Backlog page.



   Key points in work item sync  
  1. Two-way sync for new and existing work items.  
  1. Work items will be added as Tasks in Zoho Projects.
  1. Mandatory custom fields are listed in both the applications when syncing work items.
  1. Attachments from Zoho Projects will be displayed in Zoho Sprints.
  1. If the project is a 'Strict project' in Zoho Projects, you have to update the work items within the strict project's date range. 
  1. Moving work items across the projects will remove the sync with Zoho Projects. 
  1. Deleting the work item from either of the applications will only remove the sync.
General FAQs

How to remove the sync of work items from Zoho Sprints to Zoho Projects?

You can delete the work item in Zoho Projects to remove the sync. The deleted work item will appear in Zoho Sprints and users can carry out operations but there will not be any sync to Zoho Projects. 

Why can't I delete the attachment for a synced work item?

Attachments are specific to each application. You cannot delete the attachments that are uploaded in Zoho Projects. You can view or download the same instead. 

What happens when I move a synced work item to a different project?

Moving a mapped work item to a different project will remove its sync with the current mapped project. You cannot remap the work item. Instead, you can add a new work item and sync it to the other application.

How are subitems synced from Zoho Sprints to Zoho Projects?

Subitems are added an individual task in Zoho Projects and vice-versa.  

Log hours sync

It is a two-way sync and users can log hours for the synced work items. You can use this log hour sync to generate invoice for your team members. 
  1. Field sync: Title, Duration, Description, Log Hours, Billing Status, Assignee

Adding log hours in Zoho Sprints
  1. Select the required work item. 
  2. Navigate to Log Hours .
  3. Fill in the required details in the Log Hours form. 
  4. Click Add .

The highlighted log hours are added from Zoho Projects.  

You can also check how you can add time logs in Zoho Projects here. Check out the timelog settings in Zoho Projects . 

  Log hours behavior

Time log settings in Zoho Sprints
Time log Settings in Zoho Projects
Log Hours Behavior 
 Approved
 Submit with Approval

  1.  If log hours are approved in Zoho Projects, they will be synced with Zoho Sprints.
  2. If the log hour is moved to pending state in Zoho Projects, it will be deleted in Zoho Sprints. Once it gets approved, it will be added back in Zoho Sprints.
  3. Log hours submitted in Zoho Sprints will be synced immediately.
Pending
Submit with Approval

  1. Log hours will be added in the pending status from Zoho Sprints to Zoho Projects. 
  1. If the log hour is approved in Zoho Sprints, then it gets approved in Zoho Projects.
  1. If the log hour is rejected in Zoho Sprints, then it gets rejected in Zoho Projects as well. 
Pending
Submit without Approval

  1. Only the log hours approved will be synced to Zoho Projects. 
  1. Pending log hours when approved from Zoho Sprints will be added to Zoho Projects. 
  1. Approved log hours when rejected from Zoho Sprints will be deleted in Zoho Projects. 
  2. If the log hour gets approved in Zoho Sprints but encounters a failure in Zoho Projects due to restrictions, it will not get approved in Zoho Sprints as well.

Approved
Submit without Approval

  1. Log hours will be added with the status as 'Approved' in both the applications. 
  1. If the log hour is rejected from Zoho Projects, then it will be moved to the 'Rejected' status in Zoho Sprints. 
  1. If the log hour is rejected from Zoho Sprints, then it will be deleted in Zoho Projects. 

   Key points in log hour sync
  1. Two-way sync for log hours. You can log hours for all the synced work items in both the applications. 
  1. The status of the log hours is based on the timelog settings predefined in both the applications. 
  1. Log hour status (Approve, Reject, Pending) will be synced to Zoho Projects if you have enabled the 'Submit with Approval' status in timesheet settings in Zoho Projects. 
  1. Rejected hours for the synced items will be deleted in Zoho Projects if you have enabled the 'Submit without Approval' status in timesheet settings in Zoho Projects.
  1. Two-way sync is enabled for edit and delete log hours. 
  1. In Zoho Projects, if the timesheet settings are restricted to past or future dates:
  1. You can add log hours for the synced work items in Zoho Sprints. 
  1. You cannot logged hours in the past or future dates that doesn't fall under the defined settings in both Zoho Projects and Zoho Sprints.
  1. Zoho Sprints allows timers to run beyond 24 hours. But if the time logged is beyond 24 hours, it will not be recorded in both Zoho Sprints and Zoho Projects due to the restriction limit in Zoho Projects.
  2. Any restriction in Zoho Projects will not allow the log hours to get recorded in both Zoho Projects and Zoho Sprints.
  3. Loghours should have the same billing type as Zoho Projects.
  4. The log hours get added in Zoho Sprints only if it is successfully added in Zoho Projects.
  5. The log hours get updated in Zoho Sprints only if it is successfully updated in Zoho Projects.
  6. All log hour restrictions in Zoho Projects applies to Zoho Sprints as well.
  7. If integrated items contain standalone log hours that have valid approval and no restrictions from Zoho Projects, they will be added to Zoho Projects whenever a field gets updated in Zoho Sprints.
  8. Whenever there are bulk-add actions in Zoho Sprints, the log hours remain recorded in Zoho Sprints despite the restriction in Zoho Projects.


General FAQs

Why log hours are not getting synced to Zoho Projects?

Zoho Projects restricts log hours to 24 hours per day. In Zoho Sprints, we do not hold any limit for log hours. You might have logged more than 24 hours in a day. In this case, the log hours will be added to Zoho Sprints and will not be synced to Zoho Projects. 
Note: You can also customize the log hour restrictions in Zoho Projects. If the hours logged exceed the customized limit, then the log hours will not be synced to Zoho Projects. Also, a user's log hours will be added to Zoho Projects only if she/her is a confirmed user.
When I try to log hours in past dates it gets added in Zoho Sprints but it is not synced to Zoho Projects, how to work out this sync?

Zoho Sprints will restrict log hours to future dates. Based on the time log settings defined in Zoho Projects, the log hours are synced from Zoho Sprints to Zoho Projects. But, even if the future is "Allow" in Zoho Projects, the log hours will not be synced to Zoho Sprints.  

User sync

User sync is one of the main component in this integration as it helps coordination between the team members to work both in the waterfall and agile model. 

Adding user

All the users from Zoho Projects will be added to Zoho Sprints but will be under 'Inactive' state. Only the Admin can activate the user in Zoho Sprints. And only after the user confirms the invitation email they can carry out the further operations.  Learn more  on how to activate users. 

Before the user confirms or if the user is in 'Inactive' state in Zoho Sprints, then they: 
  1. Can perform allowed operations from Zoho Projects to Zoho Sprints. 
  2. Cannot view the operations in Zoho Sprints. 
How are user roles mapped?

Zoho Sprints
Zoho Projects
Team Owner
Portal Admin
Member
Admin, Manager, Employee, Contractor, Client User

When you add a new user (and client user) in the mapped project from Zoho Projects, the user will be added to Zoho Sprints. But at a team level, the user will be added only if they are part of any mapped project.  


  
  1     User is synced from Zoho Projects.  This user has been moved to Active Status in Zoho Sprints and the user has confirmed the email invite. After the user has confirmed, the role is changed as Manager in Zoho Sprints.  
  2    User is synced from Zoho Projects. By default, the user has been added to 'Inactive' Status. Only after the confirmation the user will be shown as 'Active' 
  3      The client user in Zoho Projects should be added to Zoho One to integrate with Zoho Sprints.  
 
Editing user

When you modify the user details from Zoho Projects it gets automatically updated in Zoho Sprints. When you modify the project details and add it as a Zoho Sprints project, all the users will be synced to Zoho Sprints. 

Deleting user

You cannot delete a Zoho Projects user from Zoho Sprints. Alternatively, you can delete them at a team level but the user will only be moved to 'Inactive' status and will not be deleted. You have to delete the user from Zoho Projects to remove them from Zoho Sprints. 

Deactivating users

Deactivating synced users from both the applications will hold the user as an active user and they can perform all the operations. 

General FAQs

What happens if I don't activate the synced Zoho Projects user in Zoho Sprints?

The user remains in the 'Inactive' status and the user will not be able to add work items, log hours, and perform further operations. You can assign the users to the work items but they can neither view nor perform any actions until the user gets activated in Zoho Sprints.  

How do I know that the user is confirmed in Zoho Sprints?

Once you activate the Zoho Projects user, they will receive an invitation email to confirm their account. Only if the user confirms the email they can start working with Zoho Sprints. 

Can I sync a new user added from Zoho Sprints to Zoho Projects?

No, you cannot sync a new user from Zoho Sprints to Zoho Projects. But a new user added from Zoho Projects will be synced to Zoho Sprints. But, the user will remain in the 'Inactive' state. 

Can I delete a Zoho Projects user from Zoho Sprints?

No, you cannot delete a user added synced from Zoho Projects. The user should be deleted in Zoho Projects and only then they can be deleted from Zoho Sprints. 

How does work item status differ in Zoho Sprints and Zoho Projects?  

When you integrate Zoho Projects with your Zoho Sprints account, you can sync your work items. However, the status updates will be different for both the products.
 
For instance, when you add an item in Zoho Sprints and Zoho Projects, the work item in Zoho Sprints will be added with the status ' To Do ' and in Zoho Projects it will be added with ' Open '.

Error and troubleshoot 

Error Message 
Reason
Troubleshoot
Start and end dates cannot be empty for projects marked as 'Strict' in Zoho Projects. 
In Zoho Projects, if the project is marked as Strict they do not allow the users to clear or modify the dates. 
You can modify the strict project to a normal project in Zoho Projects. 
1. Modify the dates within the 'Strict project' date range to update the work item in Zoho Projects. 

2. Modify the dates within the 'Strict project' date range to add the work item in Zoho Projects. 

Work items cannot be updated with a different date range in the mapped projects that are defined as 'Strict' in Zoho Projects.

Add or update the start and end dates within the date range mentioned in Zoho Projects. 

After modification, add the work item to Zoho Projects. 
This user is mapped with Zoho Projects. You cannot delete this user from Zoho Sprints.  
When you try deleting the user who is mapped with Zoho Projects.
Delete the user from Zoho Projects and then try deleting the user from Zoho Sprints. 
Your Zoho Projects portal is in the free plan. Upgrade to sync log hours added in Zoho Sprints.  
Timesheet is available only in the paid plan in Zoho Projects. 
You have to upgrade your Zoho Projects portal to a paid plan to access timesheets.  
You cannot log hours for closed item in Zoho Projects.  
Logging hours is restricted for a work item that is moved to a closed status. 
You have to reopen the work item in Zoho Projects and then try adding log hours in Zoho Sprints. 
You cannot modify the details of an approved log hours in Zoho Projects.  
Once after the log hour is approved, users will not be able to do any modification since it may affect the actual logged hours
Create a new work item, sync it to Zoho Projects, and new log hours. 
You cannot log hours for the selected date in Zoho Projects.  

If the time log settings in Zoho Projects is restricted to past or future dates and the date that you specify does not fall under the specific date.  


  1. You can manage your time log settings in Zoho Projects to log hours for the specific date.  
  1. You can delete the log hours in Zoho Sprints and then log hours afresh to avoid this error. 
There is a log hour restriction. The log hours will not be updated in Zoho Projects. 

The maximum log hour limit per day in Zoho Project is either customized by the user or is set by default to 24 hours. You will not be able to add more than 24 hours or the defined limit.  


  1. You can delete the log hours in Zoho Sprints and log hours later to avoid this error. 
  1. In case, if the log hour limit is customized less than 24 hours. Then, user can change the limit in Zoho Projects. (Only Admin can perform this action).


Billing status cannot be modified for log hours already having a task billing type in Zoho Projects


If a task in Zoho Projects is either billable or non billable type, you cannot edit the billing status of its log hours in Zoho Sprints.
Change the billing type to 'none' in Zoho Projects and then edit it.

Common FAQs

Will the mapping resume when a mapped project is moved to archive?  
  1. When you move a mapped project to archive in Zoho Sprints, mapping will be removed even though the project is active in Zoho Projects. 
  1. When you move a mapped project to archive in Zoho Projects, mapping will not be removed. Only if the project is deleted from the archives in Zoho Projects, the entire mapping will be removed. 

Add Bugs from Zoho Sprints to Zoho Projects

  1. Navigate to Backlog .

  2. Choose Create and select + Work Items .

  3. Enter the item name and choose the Item Type as Bug .

  4.  The Zoho Proje cts option will be enabled by default . You can disable if you don't want to add that item in Zoho Projects .

  5. Click Create .


 

The Bug Tracker module will list all the integrated bugs. This will be visible as long as your account is integrated with Zoho Projects. The bug you raised in Zoho Sprints will be added under the section where bugs get filed in Zoho Projects.



 

  1. Custom fields pertaining to Story/Task/Bug will appear in Zoho Sprints based on the Item Type you choose.
  2. If a Business rule  gets updated in Zoho Projects, it will automatically get updated here for the fields that are synced.
  3.   If you create custom work items with the base item type as Bug, they too will be synced
  4.   While syncing work items, if the existing bugs contain more than one user, one of the users will be assigned to the bug and the rest will be added as followers i n Zoho Projects.
  5.   You can sync 25 bugs at a time from Zoho Sprints to Zoho Projects.
  6.   Sync is available for the following fields: Subject, Description, Due Date, Assignee, Comments, Log   hours,   and Attachments  
  7.   Integrated work items with item type as Task and Story cannot be converted to bugs in Zoho Sprints and vice versa.
  8.   Bug sync will not be available in templates .
  9. If a task or a bug is associated to a team, users of that team alone can be assigned to them.
  10. If an item or a sprint contains invoiced log hours, they cannot be deleted or moved to another project.


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