Understanding Conflict Management Behavior in ConnectAll

Products

• ConnectAll On-Prem
• ConnectALL
• ConnectAll SaaS

Issue/Introduction

This article explains the behavior of ConnectAll during concurrent updates when Conflict Management rules are active. It addresses scenarios where updates in the source system (e.g., Rally) are not reflected in the target system (e.g., Jira).

Symptoms

• Updates made in the source system (e.g., Rally) do not synchronize to the target system (e.g., Jira).
• Changes made in the target system persist, overwriting the changes initiated in the source system.
• Synchronization logs may indicate that the update was skipped or that the target record remains unchanged despite a successful synchronization cycle.

Cause

This issue typically occurs when concurrent updates are performed on the same record in both systems within a short time frame. When a Conflict Management strategy is configured, ConnectAll enforces a "prevailing record" (the system of record).

If the Conflict Management rule is set to favor the target system (e.g., Jira), ConnectAll will prioritize the target system's data. If an update is detected in the source system (Rally) simultaneously with an update in the target system (Jira), the integration will respect the prevailing record's state, resulting in the source system's changes being ignored or reverted to match the prevailing record.

Resolution

To ensure data consistency and prevent synchronization conflicts, please follow these best practices:

1. Avoid Concurrent Edits: Avoid modifying the same fields in both the source and target systems simultaneously. Ensure that a single system is used for updates to a specific record or field set whenever possible.
2. Verify Conflict Management Settings: Review your automation configuration in ConnectAll to identify the designated prevailing record.
   • Navigate to Automations > [Automation Name] > Conflict Management.
   • Confirm whether the configuration is set to "Jira Prevailing," "Rally Prevailing," or "No Conflict Management."
3. Check Sync Logs: If an update fails, review the ConnectAll activity logs. Look for error messages or status indicators that confirm the system skipped the update due to the conflict management policy.
4. Sequential Updates: If updates must be made in both systems, perform them sequentially. Allow the synchronization cycle to complete for the first update before initiating changes in the second system.