IBM RTC (EWM) to Jira Migration
- Atlassian Gold Solution Partner
- IBM Rational sales, support & migrations since 1999
- Delivering since 1999
- Public & private sector
IBM Rational Team Concert is still the name most engineering teams use, but the product itself was renamed a while back: as of the 6.0.6 release it ships as IBM Engineering Workflow Management (EWM), part of the IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) suite built on the Jazz platform. Whichever name your team uses, ReleaseTEAM sells, implements and supports the IBM Rational and ELM product families as well as Atlassian’s, and we run the migration from either name to Jira.
This page covers moving work item tracking and planning from RTC/EWM into Jira. Source control is a separate decision covered below, and if your program is also on IBM DOORS or DOORS Next for requirements, see our companion DOORS to Jira migration guide for the traceability side.
The short answer: RTC/EWM’s work items, plans, iterations and categories all map to Jira issues, boards, sprints and components reasonably closely. The parts that do not move with the tracker are Jazz Source Control (streams, components and change sets, which move to Git separately) and OSLC links to DOORS Next or Engineering Test Management, which need a traceability plan rather than a straight import. There is no first-party RTC-to-Jira importer from either IBM or Atlassian; commercial integration platforms exist and we name them below without endorsing one over a custom export.
Why teams are moving off RTC/EWM
Two drivers show up most often. First, consolidation: organizations already running Jira for other programs would rather administer one planning tool than two, and would rather have one dashboard across engineering rather than reconciling status between EWM plans and Jira boards by hand. Second, ecosystem: Jira’s Marketplace and its Atlassian-native integrations with source control, CI and service management are broader than what most IBM ELM shops have built or bought for the Jazz platform.
Neither of those is a knock on RTC/EWM as a tool. IBM continues to develop it as part of the ELM suite, and it remains a capable work-item and iteration-planning platform, especially for organizations that also depend on OSLC-linked traceability to DOORS Next or Engineering Test Management. The decision to move is almost always organizational consolidation, not a defect in the source tool.
When not to migrate yet
Live OSLC traceability chains
If work items are OSLC-linked to DOORS Next requirements or Engineering Test Management test cases for audit or certification purposes, moving the work-item tracker without a traceability plan breaks the chain that regulators or customers may require. Plan this move with the requirements and test tooling, not ahead of it.
Jazz Source Control not yet planned
Work items commonly reference RTC change sets and streams. If the source control migration to Git isn’t scoped yet, those cross-references will point at a system you’re about to retire. Sequence the two migrations together.
Deep build/process integration
Jazz Build definitions and RTC process templates tied tightly to work item state (build gates, approval-driven promotion) need to be re-expressed in your new CI and Jira workflow before cutover, not discovered after.
How RTC/EWM concepts map to Jira
| In RTC / EWM | In Jira |
|---|---|
| Work item (Story, Task, Defect, Epic, or custom type) | Issue, with issue type matched to the work item type |
| Workflow (states and actions on a work item type) | Jira workflow (statuses and transitions) |
| Plan (iteration plan, release plan, backlog) | Jira board (Scrum or Kanban), backlog |
| Iteration | Sprint (Jira Software), or a plain iteration/version if not using Scrum boards |
| Timeline | Release/version timeline, or Roadmaps for cross-team timelines (Premium) |
| Category (routes work items to a team/iteration) | Component, or a team-scoped board and swimlane configuration |
| Jazz Source Control (streams, components, change sets) | Not a Jira concept — migrates separately to Git, with change sets becoming commits |
| Jazz Build definitions | Not a Jira concept — migrates separately to your CI platform (e.g. GitLab CI, Jenkins) |
| OSLC link to DOORS Next requirement or ETM test case | Jira issue link, if the linked tool also moves; otherwise an OSLC-to-Jira bridge is needed to keep the link live |
Source control is a different migration, not this one
Jazz Source Control is a separate system from the RTC/EWM work-item tracker, and it does not migrate as part of a Jira move at all — there is no Jira equivalent for streams, components or change sets. Most teams doing this migration are also moving source from Jazz SCM to Git, typically to GitLab or GitHub, as an independent project run in parallel. See our full list of tool migration services for that side of the move; we did not link a specific SCM migration pair page here because the source-control target and the tooling to get there depend heavily on which Jazz SCM export path you’re starting from.
What the tooling does, and where we come in
Neither IBM nor Atlassian ships a first-party RTC/EWM-to-Jira importer. What exists instead, without our endorsing any one of them over the others:
- OpsHub Migration Manager, which lists Jira and Azure DevOps as migration targets with reverse sync and phased migration support. See our OpsHub sales and support page if this is a path you want to evaluate; ReleaseTEAM sells and supports OpsHub as well as Jira.
- Planview Hub (formerly Tasktop Integration Hub), which has supported IBM Rational Team Concert connectivity for years, including an IBM-OEM’d version, and can synchronize EWM and Jira bidirectionally for a coexistence period.
- A custom export via the EWM REST API, which is the option we reach for when the schema is heavily customized and a packaged connector’s field mapping doesn’t fit cleanly.
Whichever path fits, our migrations add the same disciplined steps around it:
- Work item type and workflow inventory, including any custom work item types and process template customizations.
- Field and workflow mapping to Jira issue types, screens and workflows, agreed with your teams before data moves.
- Traceability plan for any OSLC links to DOORS Next or Engineering Test Management, so requirement and test linkage survives the move or is deliberately re-established.
- Pilot team migrated end to end first, plans and all, before the rest follow.
- Reconciliation: work item counts, history and links checked against RTC/EWM before anything is retired.
What does not carry over cleanly
Work item history is preserved by the connectors above, but process-template logic — custom state-gating rules, role-based editing restrictions tied to the process template — is redesigned as Jira workflow conditions, validators and permission schemes rather than transferred automatically. OSLC links are live references, not static data, so once the linked system (DOORS Next, ETM) changes or moves, the link needs to be re-established on both ends; it is not something a one-time export captures permanently.
How we run an RTC/EWM to Jira migration
Assessment
Work item types, process templates, categories, plans and OSLC links inventoried against what your teams actually use.
Mapping
Work items, workflows and plans mapped to Jira issue types, workflows and boards, signed off before migration begins.
Pilot
One team or project migrated end to end — work items, history, and any traceability links — before the full rollout.
Full migration & reconciliation
Remaining teams migrated in phases with counts and links checked against RTC/EWM at each step.
Integrate or run in parallel
RTC/EWM kept live or synced via OpsHub or Planview Hub during transition, so the pilot’s lessons inform the rest before anything is retired.
Training & licensing
Hands-on training on Jira workflows and boards, plus licensing sized to your teams — we sell and support both Jira and the IBM Rational/ELM product family.
See our IBM Rational product family page for what we offer teams staying on IBM Rational tools, and all our tool migration services for the rest of the toolchain.
Related migrations: ClearQuest to Jira, ClearCase to Git.
Frequently asked questions
Is IBM Rational Team Concert the same product as IBM EWM?
Yes. As of the 6.0.6 release, RTC was renamed IBM Engineering Workflow Management (EWM), part of the IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management suite on the Jazz platform. The underlying work-item, planning and source-control capabilities carried forward under the new name.
Is there a direct RTC/EWM to Jira importer?
No first-party one from IBM or Atlassian. Commercial integration platforms including OpsHub Migration Manager and Planview Hub (formerly Tasktop Integration Hub) support EWM-to-Jira connectivity, and a custom export via the EWM REST API is the option for heavily customized schemas. We don’t endorse one over the others; the right choice depends on how customized your process templates are.
Does source control move as part of this migration?
No. Jazz Source Control (streams, components, change sets) is a separate system with no Jira equivalent. Teams doing this migration typically move source to Git as an independent project, run alongside the work-item migration rather than as part of it.
What happens to links between work items and DOORS Next requirements or test cases?
OSLC links are live references between systems, not static data carried in an export. If the linked DOORS Next or Engineering Test Management instance stays in place, the link can be re-established after the work item moves; if it’s also moving, plan both migrations together. See our DOORS to Jira migration guide.
Can we run RTC/EWM and Jira side by side during the transition?
Yes, and it’s the approach we default to. OpsHub Migration Manager and Planview Hub both support bidirectional sync for exactly this kind of coexistence period, so nothing is a one-way cutover on day one.
The RTC-to-EWM rename and its place in the IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management/Jazz suite verified 26 September 2026 against IBM’s Engineering Workflow Management documentation. OSLC traceability to DOORS Next and Engineering Test Management verified against IBM’s ELM documentation. OpsHub and Planview Hub capabilities verified against their own product pages; neither is endorsed over a custom export. Partner status per the Atlassian Partner Directory. ReleaseTEAM is an Atlassian Gold Solution Partner.
Moving off RTC or EWM? Let’s scope the whole chain.
Work items, source control and any OSLC traceability links are usually three linked decisions, not one. We’ll help you sequence them.
Speak With An Expert