ZARA → Jira Field Mapping
Purpose
This document defines the *authoritative mapping- between ZARA-generated output and Jira issue fields.
A Jira ticket created from ZARA output must not require manual editing.
Source of Truth
- **Input:*- ZARA JSON output (validated by fixtures)
- **Output:*- Jira issue fields
No additional inference, rewriting, or enrichment is allowed beyond this mapping.
Canonical ZARA Output
ZARA produces a deterministic JSON object with the following fields:
objectivecontextscopeOfWorkfunctionalnonFunctionalacceptanceCriteriaoutOfScopeneedsClarificationqualityScore
The structure and meaning of these fields are fixed and issue-type agnostic.
Jira Field Mapping (Canonical)
Jira: Description
The Jira *Description- field MUST contain the following sections, in the exact order listed below.
## Objective
- ZARA.objective[]
## Context
- ZARA.context[]
## Scope of Work
- ZARA.scopeOfWork[]
## Functional Requirements
- ZARA.functional[]
## Constraints (Non-Functional)
- ZARA.nonFunctional[]
## Out of Scope
- ZARA.outOfScope[]
## Questions / Clarifications
- ZARA.needsClarification[]
Rules:
- Empty ZARA arrays MUST render as empty sections (section header present, no bullets).
- No rewording, merging, or reordering of bullets is allowed.
Jira: Acceptance Criteria
The Jira *Acceptance Criteria- field MUST contain:
- ZARA.acceptanceCriteria[]
Rules:
- Acceptance criteria MUST NOT appear inside the Description field.
- If
ZARA.acceptanceCriteria[]is empty, the Jira Acceptance Criteria field MUST be empty. - Acceptance criteria are addressed to the system under test, not to humans.
Jira: Spec Quality (Custom Field)
The Jira *Spec Quality- field MUST be populated from:
ZARA.qualityScore
Interpretation Guide
| Score | Meaning |
|---|---|
90–100 | Clear, implementable, low ambiguity |
75–89 | Mostly clear, some clarifications needed |
60–74 | Risky, multiple blockers |
<60 | Spec not ready for implementation |
Rules:
- The score is informational and advisory.
- The score is intended primarily for Product Managers and reviewers.
- The score MUST NOT affect the rendered instructions or acceptance criteria.
Jira Issue Type Compatibility
ZARA output is issue-type agnostic. The same ZARA output may be used for all Jira issue types.
Task (Default)
Recommended for implementation, refactoring, wiring, schema work.
- Description → Canonical Description mapping
- Acceptance Criteria → ZARA.acceptanceCriteria
- Spec Quality → ZARA.qualityScore
Story
Recommended for user-facing or platform-level value delivery.
- Description → Canonical Description mapping
- Acceptance Criteria → ZARA.acceptanceCriteria
- Spec Quality → ZARA.qualityScore
Bug
Recommended for deviations from expected behavior.
- Description → ZARA.context
- Acceptance Criteria → ZARA.acceptanceCriteria (expected behavior only)
- Spec Quality → ZARA.qualityScore
ZARA does not generate “actual behavior” descriptions.
Spike
Recommended for research and investigation work.
- Description → ZARA.context + ZARA.scopeOfWork
- Acceptance Criteria → Usually empty
- Spec Quality → ZARA.qualityScore
Low Spec Quality scores are expected and acceptable for Spikes.
Validation
Recommended for testing and verification work.
- Description → Canonical Description mapping
- Acceptance Criteria → ZARA.acceptanceCriteria
- Spec Quality → ZARA.qualityScore
Epic
Used only as an aggregation of multiple ZARA-generated issues.
- Description → Manually curated summary
- Spec Quality → Aggregated (average or minimum)
ZARA does not generate Epics directly.
Non-Goals
This mapping explicitly does NOT:
- Rewrite or summarize ZARA output
- Add Jira-specific prose or formatting beyond section headers
- Infer missing requirements
- Modify acceptance criteria for readability
Stability Contract
- This mapping is *stable- and versioned.
- Any change to this document requires a version bump.
- Tooling MUST treat this document as authoritative.
Summary
ZARA generates deterministic, implementation-ready instructions.
This mapping ensures those instructions can be dropped into Jira without human intervention, while preserving intent, traceability, and reviewability.