ClearQuest to Jira Migration
- Atlassian Gold Solution Partner
- IBM Rational sales, support & migrations since 1999
- Delivering since 1999
- Public & private sector
IBM Rational ClearQuest has tracked defects and change requests for engineering teams since the 1990s, and a great many of those teams are now looking at Jira instead. ReleaseTEAM sells, implements and supports both. We have been an IBM Rational partner and an Atlassian Gold Solution Partner for the same reason: we spend our days in the tools our customers actually run, not just the ones that are easiest to sell.
This page is a working guide to a ClearQuest to Jira migration: what actually moves, what has to be redesigned, and how we run the project so you are not finding out about a broken hook in production. If you are also carrying ClearCase, the version control tool ClearQuest is often paired with, see our ClearCase to Git migration guide as well.
The short answer: ClearQuest’s record types, states, fields and queries all have a reasonably direct Jira counterpart. The part that takes real engineering is the hooks — the arbitrary code ClearQuest schemas run on state transitions — which have no Jira equivalent and are rebuilt as Jira Automation rules or ScriptRunner scripts. There is no packaged ClearQuest importer from either IBM/HCL or Atlassian; every migration we run is schema inventory, field and workflow mapping, a pilot project, then a phased cutover with reconciliation.
Why teams are moving off ClearQuest
ClearQuest’s ownership has shifted since it was first released. Development of the product line moved to HCL Software, which now ships it as HCL Compass and publishes its own ClearQuest-to-Compass migration guides. IBM’s support pages still list ClearQuest 9.1.x and 10.0.x as generally available and supported today, so this is a gradual product-line transition rather than a hard end-of-life notice — but it is the kind of signal that gets a change-management tool onto next year’s review list.
Layered on top of that, most ClearQuest shops are already running Jira somewhere else in the organization — for software teams, IT service management, or through an acquisition. Two systems of record for defects and change requests is the more common trigger than any single technical failing in ClearQuest: duplicate data entry, two audit trails to reconcile, and two tools to license.
When not to migrate yet
A few situations are worth naming honestly before you commit to a date.
Deep ClearCase UCM integration
If your ClearQuest schema drives ClearCase UCM activities and baselines — automatic activity creation, baseline promotion levels tied to record state — retiring ClearQuest without a plan for that integration breaks release engineering, not just ticket tracking. Plan the SCM move alongside the tracker move, not after it.
Heavy regulatory sign-off workflows
Schemas built for FDA, DO-178C or similar electronic-signature and approval-chain requirements need their Jira equivalent validated, and where required re-qualified, before cutover, not assumed.
Hooks nobody currently owns
Schemas accumulate hook code over a decade, often written by people no longer at the company. Inventory what every hook does before migrating, or a validation rule silently disappears.
How ClearQuest concepts map to Jira
This is the mapping every ClearQuest migration starts from. It is also where Atlassian’s own migration guidance for this exact tool pair begins — Atlassian publishes a Jira Cookbook: Migration off IBM Rational ClearQuest in its Enterprise documentation, aimed at running a proof-of-concept against sample ClearQuest data before committing to a production migration. Atlassian’s cookbook describes dozens of its customers having migrated fully from ClearQuest, and others choosing to run both tools side by side during evaluation — we see both patterns too.
| In ClearQuest | In Jira |
|---|---|
| Record type | Issue type |
| State (stateful record types) | Workflow status |
| Action (state transition) | Workflow transition |
| Field | Custom field |
| Query / query folder | Saved filter (JQL), dashboard gadget |
| Schema | Project’s workflow, screen and field configuration scheme |
| Hook (code on an action) | Jira Automation rule, or a ScriptRunner listener for anything an automation rule can’t express |
| Attachments | Attachments (native) |
| History / activity log | Issue history and the activity/changelog tab |
| Users and groups | Jira users and groups, mapped to permission and notification schemes |
| ClearCase UCM activity/baseline link | Development panel link to a commit, branch or merge request, once source moves to Git |
What the tooling does, and where we come in
Neither Atlassian nor HCL/IBM ships a one-click ClearQuest importer. Atlassian’s own migration documentation is written around Jira’s CSV/JDBC external-system import for the bulk data, combined with the workflow and scheme configuration you build by hand from the schema inventory below. Coexistence add-ons exist on the Atlassian Marketplace for keeping ClearQuest and Jira in sync during a transition, which is a legitimate option if you need both live for a while rather than a hard cutover.
Because there is no packaged importer, our migrations add the parts that make the difference between “the tickets moved” and “the process moved”:
- Schema inventory: every record type, field, state, action and hook in the ClearQuest schema repository, documented before anything is mapped.
- Hook-by-hook rebuild: each piece of hook code re-implemented as a Jira Automation rule where possible, or a ScriptRunner script where the logic needs more than a rule engine provides.
- Field and workflow mapping agreed with your teams, including which ClearQuest fields become Jira custom fields versus which become obsolete.
- Pilot project: one queue or record type moves end to end first, so the mapping gets tested against real data before the full rollout.
- Running in parallel: ClearQuest stays live and authoritative, or read-only, while the pilot and phased rollout are validated — we do not recommend a big-bang cutover.
- Reconciliation: record counts, field values and history spot-checked against the source before ClearQuest is retired.
What does not carry over cleanly
Hooks are the real migration effort. ClearQuest hook code can call out to email, external databases, or other schemas — none of that transfers automatically. Every hook has to be read, understood and rebuilt as an explicit Jira Automation rule or script, which is also your opportunity to retire logic nobody actually needs anymore.
Record type inheritance, ClearQuest’s stateless-versus-state-based record model, and cross-schema references between record types do not have a direct Jira analog and get redesigned rather than translated line for line. ClearQuest MultiSite replication topology also has no Jira equivalent; Jira Cloud and Data Center each handle distributed teams differently, which is its own decision (see below).
Jira Cloud or Jira Data Center?
Atlassian has announced that Data Center products reach end of life on March 28, 2029, with new-subscription sales to new customers having already ended on March 30, 2026. If you are migrating off ClearQuest now, that timeline is worth factoring into the target platform decision rather than treating it as a separate project later. We run Atlassian Cloud migrations and, for government customers, Atlassian Government Cloud; see our Data Center end-of-life guide for the full timeline either way.
How we run a ClearQuest to Jira migration
Schema & hook inventory
Every record type, field, state and hook documented and reviewed with the people who actually use the schema day to day.
Field & workflow mapping
ClearQuest concepts mapped to Jira issue types, workflows, screens and fields, signed off by your teams before anything moves.
Pilot migration
One record type or queue migrated end to end, hooks rebuilt and tested, before the rest of the schema follows.
Full migration & reconciliation
Remaining record types migrated in phases, with record counts and field values checked against ClearQuest before anything is retired.
Parallel run & coexistence
ClearQuest kept live, read-only or synced during transition, so nothing is a one-way bet on day one.
Training & licensing
Hands-on training on the new Jira workflows, plus Jira licensing sized to what your teams actually use — we are an Atlassian Gold Solution Partner as well as an IBM Rational partner, so the decision isn’t distorted by who sells which license.
See our IBM Rational ClearQuest sales and support page for what we offer teams staying on ClearQuest, and all our tool migration services for the rest of the toolchain moves we run.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a direct ClearQuest to Jira importer?
No. Neither Atlassian nor HCL/IBM ships a packaged one-click importer between the two. Atlassian’s own Jira Cookbook for this migration is built around a CSV/JDBC bulk import of the data plus hand-built workflow and scheme configuration. That is also the approach we use, with the hook rebuild and reconciliation work added around it.
Is ClearQuest being discontinued?
Not on any announced date we could verify. IBM’s own support pages still list ClearQuest 9.1.x and 10.0.x as generally available and supported. What has changed is that ongoing development of the product line moved to HCL Software, which now ships it as HCL Compass and publishes migration guides from ClearQuest to Compass. Teams are moving to Jira for consolidation reasons more often than because of a hard end-of-life notice.
What is the hardest part of a ClearQuest migration?
The hooks. ClearQuest’s state-transition hooks can run arbitrary code, and none of that logic transfers automatically. Every hook has to be read, understood and rebuilt, usually as a Jira Automation rule, occasionally as a ScriptRunner script when the logic is more than a rule engine can express.
We also run ClearCase. Does this page cover that too?
No, ClearQuest and ClearCase are different tools with different migration paths. This page covers the change-management side. If ClearQuest drives ClearCase UCM activities or baselines, see our ClearCase to Git migration guide and plan both moves together.
Should we migrate to Jira Cloud or Jira Data Center?
Given Atlassian’s announced Data Center end-of-life of March 28, 2029, most teams migrating off ClearQuest today are sizing for Jira Cloud or Jira Government Cloud rather than a fresh Data Center deployment. We’ll help you weigh that against your compliance boundary before you commit.
Can we run ClearQuest and Jira side by side during the transition?
Yes. Atlassian’s own cookbook describes customers doing exactly this during evaluation, and coexistence add-ons exist on the Atlassian Marketplace for keeping the two in sync. We use a parallel run as the default rollback plan rather than a one-way cutover.
ClearQuest and HCL Compass support status verified 26 September 2026 against IBM’s ClearQuest support pages and HCL Software’s Compass documentation and migration guides. Atlassian’s Jira Cookbook for ClearQuest migration verified against Atlassian’s Enterprise Data Center documentation. Atlassian Data Center end-of-life dates verified against Atlassian’s Data Center end-of-life page. Partner status per the Atlassian Partner Directory. ReleaseTEAM is an Atlassian Gold Solution Partner.
Moving off ClearQuest? Let’s map the schema first.
We inventory the record types, fields and hooks before we quote the migration, so the estimate reflects your schema and not a generic one.
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