Synchronization with Tempo Apps is a BigPicture Enterprise feature.

Synchronization will only work if plugins are installed within the same instance of the Jira environment (this applies to Jira Server, Jira Data Center, and Jira Cloud).

More information on the differences between the Cloud and Server versions of the App can be found here.

To synchronize with Tempo Apps, make sure to have one of the following installed:

  • Tempo Timesheets for JIRA v. 7.9 (released on 2014-05-05) or later,
  • Tempo Planner for JIRA v. 1.3 (released on 2014-06-11) or later,
  • Tempo Budgets for JIRA v. 8.0 (released on 2015-05-01) or later.

What features can be synchronized?

The ‘Synchronize with Tempo’ buttons trigger the synchronization between BigPicture Enterprise and the Tempo plugin of your choice.

Bear in mind that a user ‘triggers’ the synch-up - the synchronization between our plugin and Tempo plugins can be achieved only at the user’s request.


FeatureSynchronized with Tempo?
Workload Plans

Yes (Tempo name used: Workload Schemes)

Holiday PlansYes (Tempo name used: Holiday Schemes)
Teams and team membersYes
SkillsYes (Tempo name used: Roles)
ResourcesAll of the above will be synchronized.

Workload and Holiday Plans synchronization

The Workload Schemes imported from the Tempo plugin can be distinguished by:

  • Tempo label,
  • Tempo code.

Codes of these external Workload Plans were automatically generated to describe the external (Tempo’s) WP. These codes also have Tempo attached to their name, so you cannot mistake them for our native codes. 

You might have also noticed that if before the synchronization in BP and in the Tempo plugin, there were two workload patterns recorded under the same name: a Workload Plan and a Workload Scheme named ‘Full-time,’ then after we proceed with the synchronization of a Workload Scheme -  a new ‘Full-time’ Workload Plan was generated. As a result, we have two Workload Plans named: ‘Full-time’ of which one is native, and one is external. This decision was made to avoid any unwanted mistakes and keep our project safer. This is why we do not merge any objects and do not alter any data or information in any of your Workload records (even if they carry the same name).  

The same rule applies to our Holiday Plans.

Synchronization performed on the Workload Plan page will ONLY perform full sync of Workload Plans / Schemes, leaving Holiday Plans and Resources untouched for further synchronization on pages dedicated to these records (modules).

Plans updated using Tempo

One-way sync at request if provided by the App. 

Will the plans in Tempo be synchronized to reflect BigPicture? The answer is: No, they won’t. And it is not an error - it is indeed a feature. A feature that intends to give a user as much control over a project as is possible. For the External Workload/Holiday plans to be synchronized correctly after implementing changes in Tempo Schemes, you will have to use the ‘Synchronize with Tempo’ button. This sort of behavior may seem to be far from intuitive, though (as we’ve mentioned) it is intended to give you as much control over the data flow between both plugins as it is possible.

Plans updated using BigPicture

What will happen if you decide to modify the synchronized Workload/Holiday Plan in BigPicture? Plans will be overwritten, and a pen icon will be added to the label.

Deleting plans

The App allows you to remove Workload/Holiday Plans that are synced with Tempo, so that you can remove the respective items:

  1. that no longer exist in Tempo, or
  2. are no longer needed at the Tempo synchronization,

from BigPicture.

What will happen when we decide to delete from Tempo Workload/Holiday Scheme synchronized with BP? It depends if the object which you’ve deleted is either Synchronized or Overwritten.

  • If the object is marked as Synchronized, then during the Synchronization with Tempo, it will also be deleted from BigPicture.
  • Suppose the object is marked as Overwritten (which means you’ve implemented some changes from the perspective of BP, which are only visible in BP), then during the next synchronization with Tempo. In that case, it WILL NOT be deleted and will become a Native object.

Synchronization rules

The synchronization rules are summed up in the table below:

Type of Action Performed in Tempo

What will happen during Synchronization in BigPicture

Adding Workload/Holiday Scheme

  • Creation of a new - external Workload/HolidayPlan with the data stored in Tempo.

Warning: An external Workload/Holiday Plan will be generated even if a native W/H Plan is already in place in BP (with the same name and/or the same daily workloads).

Modifying Workload/Holiday Scheme

  • If the corresponding Workload/Holiday Plan is synchronized, then all changes will be implemented.
  • If the corresponding Workload/Holiday Plan is overwritten, then all changes will be ignored.

Deleting Workload/Holiday Scheme

  • If the corresponding Workload/Holiday Plan is synchronized, the Workload/Holiday Plan will be deleted.
  • If the corresponding Workload/Holiday Plan is overwritten, then the status of that W/H Plan will be set to Native.

Type of Action Performed in BP

What will happen with the external Workload Plans (the ones pulled from Tempo)?

Adding native Workload/Holiday Plan

  • Nothing will happen with the external Workload/Holiday Plan. The W/H Plan will just be added as a native one.

Adding external Workload/Holiday Plan

  • Such an operation cannot be performed. In BigPicture, only native Workload/holiday Plans can be added, and the external ones are generated only through synchronization with Tempo.

Modifying native Workload/Holiday Plan

  • Nothing will happen with the external Workload/Holiday Plans. The W/H Plan will just be modified and stay in the native status.

Modifying external Workload/Holiday Plan

  • If Workload/Holiday Plan is synchronized, changes will be applied, and W/H Plan will change its status to Overwritten.
  • If Workload/Holiday Plan is overwritten, then changes will be applied without a status change.

Warning: It is possible to switch the Overwritten Plan back to its ‘synchronized’ state by clicking the ‘Re-synchronize with Tempo’ button in the detailed view of that specific W/H plan.

Deleting native Workload/Holiday Plan

  • Nothing will happen with the external Workload/Holiday Plans. The W/H Plan will disappear.

Deleting external Workload/Holiday Plan

  • Nothing will happen with the external Workload/Holiday Plans. The W/H Plan will disappear.

During the next synchronization with Tempo, the W/H Plan will be added back to BigPicture.

How does Resource synchronization work?

Which Resource attributes are synchronized with Tempo? When synchronizing Resources, what BigPicture does is synchronization of Resources in Workload and Holiday Plans. When it comes to Resource’s other attributes (name, surname, avatar, etc.), those are being pulled directly from JIRA as BP and Tempo are JIRA plugins and use the same pool of information.

Resource synchronization rules

Rules which apply to Resource synchronization are a bit different from the rules of Workload and Holiday Plans Synchronization. Still, the differences are subtle since, as we’ve already mentioned, both plugins use Resource data predefined in the user base in JIRA, and both pool the same data. This means that, for both Tempo and BP, we can find the JIRA user, which represents the same Resource. Below you can find a table that sums up and describes the rules of Resource synchronization. Those which differ Workload and Holiday Plan synchronization from Resource synchronization are marked with a blue color. 

As Resources are dependent on W&H Plans, the BigPicture performs the implicit synchronization of Workload and Holiday Plans during a Resource synchronization.

Action performed in Tempo

What will happen with the Data in BP during the synchronization?

Adding a Resource

  • Suppose in BP the Resource already exists for the same user in JIRA. In that case, the Resource will become synchronized. Its status will become synchronized with its counterpart in Tempo, meaning the Resource will be assigned to the Workload and Holiday Plan, which was predefined and assigned to in Tempo plugin.
  • If in BP the Resource does not exist for the same JIRA user, then with data pulled from Tempo, a new external synchronized Resource will be created.

Resource Modification 

  • If the corresponding Resource is synchronized, then changes will be synchronized.
  • If the corresponding Resource is overwritten, then changes will be ignored.

Deleting Resource

  • The corresponding Resource changes its status to ‘native’ (regardless if it was synchronized or overwritten)

Action performed in BigPicture

What will happen with the external Resource (coming from Tempo)? 

Adding a new Resource

  • Nothing will happen with the external Resource. It will be added as a native one.

Adding an external Resource

  • This operation cannot be performed

Modifying a native Resource

  • Nothing will happen to external Resources. It will be modified and will still hold a ‚native’ status. 

Modifying an external Resource

  • If the Resource is synchronized, then changes will be applied, and the Resource will change its status to ‚overwritten’.
  • If the Resource is already ‚overwritten’ then changes will be applied without a status change.

Warning: It is possible to switch ‚overwritten’ Resource back to its ‚synchronized’ state by clicking the ‚Resynchronize with Tempo’ button in the detailed view of that specific Resource.

Deleting a native Resource

  • This operation cannot be performed

Deleting an external Resource

  • This operation cannot be performed

Questions and answers

If I decide to overwrite a Workload/Holiday Plan, will that automatically overwrite Resources linked to that Workload/Holiday Plan?

You are probably wondering how would BigPicture act in a case when: 

  1. You’ve synchronized Workload Plan, Holiday Plans, and Resources with Tempo, which creates dependency in which in BP you have synchronized Resources which are assigned to synchronized Workload and Holiday Plans. 
  2. You’ve modified in BP one of synchronized Workload Plans (or Holiday Plans), which made it become ‘overwritten.’ 

Will that make Resources (which are linked to it) overwritten too? 

The answer is: No. Changing the status of W/H Plans from synchronized to overwritten will not affect the Resources assigned to them. It is possible then to have a synchronized Resource that is assigned to overwritten Workload / Holiday Plan.

How does the Team synchronization work?

Team names are used. 

The following Team Tempo attributes are synced:

  • Team Name 
  • Team Summary 
  • Team Members who are Jira users (including Team Members added via Jira groups). A Team Member is synchronized with all its Memberships, including:
    • Joining Date 
    • Leaving Date 
    • Skill 
    • Availability


The following Team Tempo attributes are NOT synchronized:
  • Team Mission Team Lead (a user who is the team leader) 
  • Team Program (Program in Tempo is a group of Teams; each Team Tempo can belong to a maximum of 1 such group) 
  • Team Members who are not Jira users (Tempo allows you to add such ‘virtual’ Members) 
  • Permissions Links to Boards and Projects

During Team Synchronization, all Skills with Tempo are also synchronized, and missing Resources are also created (as NATIVE).