Integrating IBM DevOps Plan with Slack using Webhooks

You can configure IBM® DevOps Plan to automatically broadcast updates and lifecycle state modifications of your work items to collaboration platforms such as Slack. You do this by creating notification webhooks that point to the target platform's incoming webhook URL.

Generate an Incoming Webhook URL in Slack before you begin configuring IBM DevOps Plan.

Generating a Slack Incoming Webhook URL
  1. Open the Slack API Apps page and sign in to your Slack account.
  2. Click the Create New App button.
  3. Select From scratch, give your app a descriptive name (example: IBM DevOps Plan Bot), and select your target Slack workspace and then click Create App.
  4. In the left-hand navigation menu, under the Features section, click on Incoming Webhooks.
  5. Toggle the Activate Incoming Webhooks switch to On.
  6. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Add New Webhook to Workspace button.
  7. Select the specific channel where you want DevOps Plan notifications to post, then click Allow.
  8. You will be redirected back to the settings page. Scroll down to find your newly generated Webhook URL (format: https://hooks.slack.com/services/T.../B.../...) and then click Copy.
  1. Assign Webhook Administrative Permissions

    Only users who belong to the SCMIntegrationAdmins group can create and configure system-level webhooks.

    1. Log in to IBM DevOps Plan with administrator user credentials.
    2. From the main dashboard, select your Application/Tenant.
    3. Click the Navigation menu and select User Management.
    4. Navigate to the Groups tab and select SCMIntegrationAdmins.
    5. Click Add User, search for the target user profile, and click the add icon to move them into the group.
    6. Click Save.
  2. Configure the Target Webhook Master Setup
    1. Log in with an account that has SCMIntegrationAdmins permissions.
    2. Open the New dropdown menu on the top-right toolbar and select WebhookMaster.
    3. Fill out the application form with the following criteria:
      Table 1. Application form
      Field Description / Value
      Callback URL Enter the primary application hostname or API endpoint pointing to your DevOps Plan deployment instance.
      Groups Allowed Search and add SCMIntegrationAdmins to grant maintenance and edit rights for this webhook setup.
    4. Click Save and Close.
  3. Create the Slack Integration Rule
    1. Open the New dropdown menu on the top-right toolbar and select WebhookConfig.
    2. Under the Details section, fill in the configuration details exactly as specified below:
      Table 2. Configuration Mapping Table
      Field Name Slack Setup Value
      Name SlackConfig (or any descriptive name)
      URL Paste your generated Slack Incoming Webhook URL. See Generating a Slack Incoming Webhook URL.
      Secret Enter your authorization token/secret key if applicable
      Tracked Record Select WorkItem
      Webhook Type Select Notification
      Format Select Slack from the dropdown menu

      Setting up State & Action Triggers

      1. Click the Controls block/tab within the form layout.
      2. Under Actions, click the drop-down tool and map the work item transition events you want to track (example: choose Add all or specific events like Backlog, Close, Delete, Duplicate, Modify, PutBack, Resolve, Rework, Start).
      3. Under States, click the drop-down menu and select the corresponding record lifecycles to trace (example: Active, Backlog, Closed, Resolved, Submitted).
      4. Verify that the Active checkbox is checked.
      5. Click Save and Close.
  4. Validate the Integration flow
    To confirm that data broadcasts properly to Slack, perform an end-to-end event check:
    • Create any new item (Story, Task, Epic or Defect) and update it.
    • To verify the result: Open the configured Slack channel. The DevOps Plan bot posts an automated notification that displays real-time card details, including the item ID, ownership tags, urgency level, and state changes.