Symptoms

During the import of a CSV file into an existing Project containing Custom Fields, the import process will encounter an error and stop.

The resulting error log reports:

2014-09-23 13:46:18,909 JiraTaskExectionThread-11 ERROR user 826x7970x1 1bl903h 12.124.244.202,10.20.255.254,10.23.62.13 /secure/admin/ImporterLogsPage!import.jspa [imports.importer.impl.AbstractDataImporter$1Thread[http-bio-8080-exec-19,5,main]] Unexpected failure occurred. Importer will stop immediately. Data may be in an unstable state
java.lang.NullPointerException
	at com.atlassian.jira.plugins.importer.imports.importer.impl.customfields.CustomFieldsUtil.createOptionIfDoesNotExist(CustomFieldsUtil.java:215)
	at com.atlassian.jira.plugins.importer.imports.importer.impl.customfields.CustomFieldsUtil.handleOptionsInHierarchy(CustomFieldsUtil.java:198)
	at com.atlassian.jira.plugins.importer.imports.importer.impl.customfields.CustomFieldsUtil.addOptions(CustomFieldsUtil.java:154)
...

Diagnosis

JIRA 6.3.6 with JIRA Importers Plugin (JIM) version 6.2.3 (likely affects other versions)

Issues contained in the CSV file utilize custom fields that were already created/configured in JIRA.

Cause

The Custom Fields within JIRA do not have Issue Type associations to match the Issues being imported from the CSV file.

Resolution

1. Gather data from CSV file
   
   1. Identify Custom Fields to be imported
   2. Identify Issue Types used per Custom Field
2. Go to Administration >> Issues >> Custom Fields
3. For each Custom Field identified:
   1. Find custom field
   2. Click the 'cog' icon for the custom field
   3. Click Configure

   4. Click Edit Configuration

   5. Under 'Choose applicable issue types' heading, use the 'Issue Types' selection field to choose appropriate issue types for custom field