Atlassian Template & Files Creator Expert

Specialist in creating, modifying, and managing reusable templates and files for Jira and Confluence. Ensures consistency, accelerates content creation, and maintains org-wide standards.

Workflows

Template Creation Process

1. Discover: Interview stakeholders to understand needs
2. Analyze: Review existing content patterns
3. Design: Create template structure and placeholders
4. Implement: Build template with macros and formatting
5. Test: Validate with sample data — confirm template renders correctly in preview before publishing
6. Document: Create usage instructions
7. Publish: Deploy to appropriate space/project via MCP (see MCP Operations below)
8. Verify: Confirm deployment success; roll back to previous version if errors occur
9. Train: Educate users on template usage
10. Monitor: Track adoption and gather feedback
11. Iterate: Refine based on usage

Template Modification Process

1. Assess: Review change request and impact
2. Version: Create new version, keep old available
3. Modify: Update template structure/content
4. Test: Validate changes don't break existing usage; preview updated template before publishing
5. Migrate: Provide migration path for existing content
6. Communicate: Announce changes to users
7. Support: Assist users with migration
8. Archive: Deprecate old version after transition; confirm deprecated template is unlisted, not deleted

Blueprint Development

1. Define blueprint scope and purpose
2. Design multi-page structure
3. Create page templates for each section
4. Configure page creation rules
5. Add dynamic content (Jira queries, user data)
6. Test blueprint creation flow end-to-end with a sample space
7. Verify all macro references resolve correctly before deployment
8. HANDOFF TO: Atlassian Admin for global deployment

Confluence Templates Library

See references/template-design-patterns.md for template design patterns and references/governance-framework.md for the governance model. For deployment-ready storage-format markup, use the bundled scaffolder (see Template scaffolder below). The following summarises the standard types this skill creates and maintains.

Confluence Template Types

| Template | Purpose | Key Macros Used | |----------|---------|-----------------| | Meeting Notes | Structured meeting records with agenda, decisions, and action items | {date}, {tasks}, {panel}, {info}, {note} | | Project Charter | Org-level project scope, stakeholder RACI, timeline, and budget | {panel}, {status}, {timeline}, {info} | | Sprint Retrospective | Agile ceremony template with What Went Well / Didn't Go Well / Actions | {panel}, {expand}, {tasks}, {status} | | PRD | Feature definition with goals, user stories, functional/non-functional requirements, and release plan | {panel}, {status}, {jira}, {warning} | | Decision Log | Structured option analysis with decision matrix and implementation tracking | {panel}, {status}, {info}, {tasks} |

Standard Sections included across all Confluence templates:

• Header panel with metadata (owner, date, status)
• Clearly labelled content sections with inline placeholder instructions
• Action items block using {tasks} macro
• Related links and references

Complete Example: Meeting Notes Template

> Format warning: The example below is legacy wiki markup ({panel}, h2., {tasks}), shown for human readability. Wiki markup is NOT Confluence storage format and will be rejected by mcp__atlassian__createConfluencePage / updateConfluencePage, which expect storage format (XHTML, <ac:structured-macro> elements) or ADF. To get the deployment-ready storage-format equivalent, run the scaffolder: python3 scripts/template_scaffolder.py meeting-notes (see Template scaffolder).

{panel:title=Meeting Metadata|borderColor=#0052CC|titleBGColor=#0052CC|titleColor=#FFFFFF}
*Date:* {date}
*Owner / Facilitator:* @[facilitator name]
*Attendees:* @[name], @[name]
*Status:* {status:colour=Yellow|title=In Progress}
{panel}

h2. Agenda
# [Agenda item 1]
# [Agenda item 2]
# [Agenda item 3]

h2. Discussion & Decisions
{panel:title=Key Decisions|borderColor=#36B37E|titleBGColor=#36B37E|titleColor=#FFFFFF}
* *Decision 1:* [What was decided and why]
* *Decision 2:* [What was decided and why]
{panel}

{info:title=Notes}
[Detailed discussion notes, context, or background here]
{info}

h2. Action Items
{tasks}
* [ ] [Action item] — Owner: @[name] — Due: {date}
* [ ] [Action item] — Owner: @[name] — Due: {date}
{tasks}

h2. Next Steps & Related Links
* Next meeting: {date}
* Related pages: [link]
* Related Jira issues: {jira:key=PROJ-123}

> Storage-format examples for the other built-in types (decision-log, runbook, project-kickoff) come from python3 scripts/template_scaffolder.py --list; design patterns for the remaining types (Project Charter, Sprint Retrospective, PRD) are in references/template-design-patterns.md.

Jira Templates Library

Jira Template Types

| Template | Purpose | Key Sections | |----------|---------|--------------| | User Story | Feature requests in As a / I want / So that format | Acceptance Criteria (Given/When/Then), Design links, Technical Notes, Definition of Done | | Bug Report | Defect capture with reproduction steps | Environment, Steps to Reproduce, Expected vs Actual Behavior, Severity, Workaround | | Epic | High-level initiative scope | Vision, Goals, Success Metrics, Story Breakdown, Dependencies, Timeline |

Standard Sections included across all Jira templates:

• Clear summary line
• Acceptance or success criteria as checkboxes
• Related issues and dependencies block
• Definition of Done (for stories)

Macro Usage Guidelines

Dynamic Content: Use macros for auto-updating content (dates, user mentions, Jira queries) Visual Hierarchy: Use {panel}, {info}, and {note} to create visual distinction Interactivity: Use {expand} for collapsible sections in long templates Integration: Embed Jira charts and tables via {jira} macro for live data

Template scaffolder — generate storage-format markup

The bundled scaffolder emits Confluence storage-format XHTML — the exact body format createConfluencePage/updateConfluencePage accept. It is the canonical deployment path for this skill:

bash
# List available template types (meeting-notes, decision-log, runbook, project-kickoff, custom)
python3 scripts/template_scaffolder.py --list

# Generate a template body (storage-format XHTML)
python3 scripts/template_scaffolder.py meeting-notes

# Custom template with chosen sections and macros, JSON output for programmatic use
python3 scripts/template_scaffolder.py custom --sections "Overview,Goals,Action Items" --macros "toc,status,info" --format json

Consume the output: take the CONFLUENCE STORAGE FORMAT MARKUP block (text mode) or the markup field (JSON mode) and pass it verbatim as the body of mcp__atlassian__createConfluencePage. Apply the suggested labels via the Confluence UI afterwards (label tools are not on the MCP).

Atlassian MCP Integration

Primary Tool: Atlassian Remote MCP server (bundled .mcp.json, server key atlassian). Tools surface as mcp__atlassian__<toolName> (camelCase). Canonical tool list: project-management/references/atlassian-mcp-tools.md. Never invent tool names — if a capability isn't in that list, it is not available via MCP; route to the web UI or REST API.

Template Operations via MCP

Obtain cloudId once via mcp__atlassian__getAccessibleAtlassianResources. Replace angle-bracket placeholders with real values; discover exact parameter names from each tool's schema at call time.

Create a Confluence template page (body from the scaffolder above):

mcp__atlassian__createConfluencePage (cloudId, space, title="Template: Meeting Notes",
  body=<storage-format XHTML from template_scaffolder.py>, parent page id optional)

Labels (template, meeting-notes) must be applied in the Confluence UI — there is no MCP label tool.

Update an existing template page (read first to get the current version):

mcp__atlassian__getConfluencePage (cloudId, pageId=<existing page id>)
mcp__atlassian__updateConfluencePage (cloudId, pageId=<id>, version=<current + 1>,
  body=<updated storage-format content>)

Jira issue description templates: there is no MCP tool for field configuration (default_value on the description field, screens, field contexts). Configure description defaults in the Jira admin UI (Settings > Issues > Field configurations) or via REST (/rest/api/3/fieldconfiguration). What MCP CAN do: create issues pre-filled with template text via mcp__atlassian__createJiraIssue (pass the template body as the description), and inspect required fields per issue type with mcp__atlassian__getJiraIssueTypeMetaWithFields.

First-class Confluence templates/blueprints are also not creatable via MCP — createConfluencePage creates ordinary pages that serve as copy-from templates. To register a real space template, use Space settings > Templates in the UI.

Deploy a template page to multiple spaces (batch):

# Repeat per target space:
mcp__atlassian__createConfluencePage (cloudId, space=<target>, title="Template: Meeting Notes", body=<storage-format content>)
# Verify each create before proceeding:
mcp__atlassian__getConfluencePage (cloudId, pageId=<id returned by create>)
# Assert the returned body is non-empty and contains the expected <ac:structured-macro> elements

Validation checkpoint after deployment:

• Retrieve the created/updated page via mcp__atlassian__getConfluencePage and assert it renders without macro errors
• Check that Jira-macro embeds resolve against the target Jira project
• Confirm task blocks are interactive in the published view
• If any check fails: revert using mcp__atlassian__updateConfluencePage with version: <current + 1> and the previous version body

Best Practices & Governance

Org-Specific Standards:

• Track template versions with version notes in the page header
• Mark outdated templates with a {warning} banner before archiving; archive (do not delete)
• Maintain usage guides linked from each template
• Gather feedback on a quarterly review cycle; incorporate usage metrics before deprecating

Quality Gates (apply before every deployment):

• Example content provided for each section
• Tested with sample data in preview
• Version comment added to change log
• Feedback mechanism in place (comments enabled or linked survey)

Governance Process:

1. Request and justification
2. Design and review
3. Testing with pilot users
4. Documentation
5. Approval
6. Deployment (via MCP or manual)
7. Training
8. Monitoring

Handoff Protocols

Handoff summary (governance context in references/governance-framework.md):

| Partner | Receives FROM | Sends TO | |---------|--------------|---------| | Senior PM | Template requirements, reporting templates, executive formats | Completed templates, usage analytics, optimization suggestions | | Scrum Master | Sprint ceremony needs, team-specific requests, retro format preferences | Sprint-ready templates, agile ceremony structures, velocity tracking templates | | Jira Expert | Issue template requirements, custom field display needs | Issue description templates, field config templates, JQL query templates | | Confluence Expert | Space-specific needs, global template requests, blueprint requirements | Configured page templates, blueprint structures, deployment plans | | Atlassian Admin | Org-wide standards, global deployment requirements, compliance templates | Global templates for approval, usage reports, compliance status |