An article by Burak Erol | Ambassador for AI & System of Work at XALT
If your organization uses Atlassian products like Jira or Confluence, you've probably already pushed the standard features to their limits. You've configured workflows, set up automation rules and maybe even explored the Marketplace. But at some point, out-of-the-box solutions reach their limits.
This is where Forge comes into play: Atlassian's platform for developing individual extensions.
"Having recently attended Team’25 Europe in Barcelona and discussed this topic with experts at Atlassian, I want to provide clarity on when you should actually develop something customized - and which approach makes sense for your situation.
Burak Erol, Ambassador for AI & System of Work at XALT
At XALT, we help customers make these decisions every day. The key is to understand what Atlassian's standard features can't do."
The simple version
The easiest way to think about it is like this:
- Forge Apps add custom functionality and logic that does not exist in Atlassian by default.
- Forge Rovo Agents add AI-powered conversation and intelligent assistance.
In other words, apps solve problems that cannot be solved by configuration, while agents allow you to interact with your systems in natural language.
When to build a Forge App
You have outgrown the Atlassian standard if the following scenarios exist.
1. Your business logic is too complex for integrated automation
The standard automation in Jira can cover simple „if-this-then-that“ scenarios. But what if you need intelligent routing that analyzes text content, checks external databases, calculates risk scores or applies rules that change depending on context? That requires custom code.
Practical example: A financial services provider requires an approval routing in which the system automatically excludes all persons from the approval pool who have previously touched the process. Two reviewers from different departments are to be randomly selected based on current workload and a blind review is to be ensured in which the approvers do not see each other's decisions. This level of intelligent, context-aware logic requires a Forge app.
2. You need data that is outside of Atlassian
Maybe you need to validate information against your organization's master data system, retrieve real-time pricing from your ERP, check customer rates from your CRM, or enforce policies based on external compliance databases. Forge apps can address these systems and integrate the data into your Atlassian workflows.
3. Standard fields and forms do not fit your process
You need forms where fields are shown or hidden depending on previous responses, where dropdown options come from external sources, where validation rules check complex business logic, or where submission triggers a multi-step process across different systems.
Practical example: A healthcare organization needs intake forms with questions that dynamically change based on patient type, regulatory requirements for the procedure, current insurance coverage (from an external system) and available specialist capacity - and validate all of this before the request is even created.
4. You need a custom UI that does not exist
Standard Atlassian offers panels, dashboards and reports. But what if you need a specialized visualization, an interactive chart that updates based on ticket relationships, a custom sidebar that displays information in a unique way, or an entirely new way to interact with your data?
5. You build something reusable
If several teams or customers require similar functionality that cannot be covered by configuration, a Forge app becomes a scalable investment. Build once, deploy everywhere.
Other examples of requirements that need a Forge app:
- Customized reports that aggregate data from Jira, Confluence and three external systems with company-specific KPI calculations
- Bidirectional synchronization between Atlassian and specialized industry systems with complex field mapping and transformation logic
In short: The Atlassian standard can't do it - and neither can Marketplace apps.
When you should build a Forge Rovo Agent
1. Your team needs answers, not just actions
People don't want to learn complex queries, click through dozens of tickets or puzzle together information from multiple sources. They just want to ask: "What's blocking the Q4 release?" or "Show me all critical incidents from European customers this month" - and get a clear answer.
2. Information is scattered and difficult to find
If the data is available in Atlassian, but finding and understanding it requires expertise, a Rovo agent can close this gap. They can search across projects, analyze patterns, summarize results and present insights - all via simple conversation.
3. You want AI to do the analysis
Instead of people reading 50 comments to understand what happened, a Rovo agent can synthesize that information, identify themes, spot trends and provide actionable summaries.
4. Non-technical users need access to complex data
Not everyone in your team knows JQL, advanced filters or where to find certain information. A Rovo agent democratizes access - everyone gets what they need simply by asking (in natural language).
Practical examples:
- What are the common themes in customer feedback from the last sprint?
- Summarize the status of all marketing initiatives for next week's leadership meeting.
- Which team members are currently overloaded and need support?
- Show me the history of how we have solved similar technical problems in the past
- Create a draft for a stakeholder update for the migration of the payment system.
In short: you need intelligence and conversation, not just functionality.
Which option do you need?
Ask yourself: "Do my tools need to do something they can't do today - or does my team need to understand what's already there more easily?"
If the Atlassian standard cannot execute the logic, integrate systems or provide the necessary functionality → build a Forge app.
When the data exists, but finding, analyzing and understanding it is the challenge
→ Build a Forge-Rovo agent.
Can you have both?
Absolutely. Many sophisticated solutions combine both approaches: a Forge app that implements complex logic and integrations, paired with a Rovo agent that overlays an intuitive, conversational interface.
Example: A Forge app handles complex, multi-system approval routing with external validations, while a Rovo agent answers questions like „What is the status of my request?“ or „Why is this stuck in approval?“ intelligently and context-aware.
XALT can help you with your decision
Deciding whether you need a Forge app, a Rovo agent or both is not always trivial. It requires an understanding of what Atlassian can do out of the box and what your organization actually needs to work effectively.
At XALT, we specialize in identifying the boundary between standard Atlassian and custom development. Our team will help you evaluate requirements, design the right solution and integrate it seamlessly into your existing system landscape.
Ready to explore the possibilities? Let's talk about how we can extend your Atlassian environment to fit the way you work.
