Introduction to GitHub integration
Ally’s GitHub integration allows you to update your OKR progress automatically depending on the progress of issues in your GitHub repositories. Let’s say you use GitHub to track the status of issues, and you have an objective in Ally.io for resolving 30 issues every quarter. When you link this objective to the corresponding repository in GitHub, the status of your OKR will be updated as the issues under the associated repository get resolved. You can also track the progress of issues being handled by a specific user for objectives that are user-centric. Ally.io will automatically sync the values for you and chart your progress toward the goal, thus saving time while keeping your OKRs current.
Enabling the GitHub integration
Admins can enable this integration, and here’s how it can be done:
From the sidebar, click on Admin > select the Integrations tab.
Against GitHub, you will have an option to Enable the integration. If a connection has been made previously or if the integration has been enabled already, you will have the option to Manage the enabled integration.
This integration can also be disabled from the same section by clicking on Change, and choosing Disable integration from the dropdown.
Configuring the GitHub connection
After enabling the integration, the first step is to configure a GitHub connection.
Select New Connection, and sign into your GitHub account.
Provide a name for the connection.
It is optional to share this connection with other users in the organization. Click on Next to get up and running with this integration. You can edit the saved connection at any time.
Note: Ally.io allows you to connect with multiple repositories. Select New Connection to fetch data from another repository. You can differentiate these connections using names, and the names will be displayed to other users when they link their OKRs with GitHub data.
Connecting the GitHub connection to an OKR
Once you have configured the connection, the next step is to start linking OKRs to the GitHub repositories.
While creating or editing an OKR, click on Connect data source to auto-update progress. From the drop down menu, select GitHub.
If you have already created a connection, or if your administrator has shared a connection with you, that connection will be selected automatically. Ally.io will prompt you to create a new connection only if there are no connections created or shared.
Choose the method using which you want to measure the progress — percent complete or KPI (success metric). If you are choosing KPI, provide a metric, starting value, and target value.
Select a connection, and all the associated repositories will be available in the drop-down. Choose a repository and select a Milestone.
Select an Assignee to keep tabs on the issues being handled by a specific user. Select the custom labels as applicable.
You can track the status of issues that are closed, and open. Choose an appropriate status.
The progress will be computed based on the count of issues (if you have chosen KPI metric to track progress), or will be calculated based on the percentage of issues closed (if you have chosen percent complete to track progress).
Note: If you choose percent complete to track progress, the progress will be computed only based on the percentage of issues resolved. On the other hand, if you want to keep track of the issues that are open as well, you will have to choose a KPI metric to track progress.
Click Next > Save.
You have successfully linked your objective to a repository in GitHub to track the progress of your issues, and update the status of the corresponding OKR automatically.
The colors of the progress bar indicated the status of the objective.
If the progress is 0 - 25% less than the expected progress at any given point in time, the OKR status is Behind, and the progress bar color will be Orange.
If the progress is over 25% less than the expected progress at any given point in time, the OKR status is At Risk, and the progress bar color will be Red.
To learn more about Ally’s other integrations, please visit our Integrations page.