Summary
Challenge: Address inconsistent and inefficient Atlassian tool configurations that led to unnecessary Jira setup work, limited user knowledge of Jira and Confluence, and the need to future-proof the platform to support rapid company growth.
Solution: Used Optimizer for Jira to assess technical debt and configuration, reviewed current project usage to identify improvement opportunities, and engaged stakeholders to understand key challenges. Established scalable solutions by creating template projects and workflows, while enhancing in-house Atlassian knowledge.
Outcome: Increased adoption of Atlassian tools across teams, improved work quality and visibility, introduced best practices for more effective project management, and accelerated product delivery by reducing time spent on configuration.
Challenge
So, here’s the scenario for you – you’re a rapidly growing company and you’ve got Jira and Confluence tools at your disposal. You suspect there’s a wealth of untapped potential in them but you’re not quite sure how to draw it out. Sounds like a classic growing pain, right? Well, that’s exactly what our client was dealing with.
Our client recognised that the level of adoption depended on the team – whilst some teams were super engaged with Atlassian tools, others didn’t find much purpose for them. Often, administrators had limited knowledge, and the ad-hoc project setups caused additional confusion amongst teams (as well as additional admin for managers).
On top of that, there was a concern about the lack of standardisation within the Jira instance, and a lack of know-how when it comes to Jira and its various capabilities.
So, it was easy to imagine why some of our client’s teams were hesitant to dive deeper into Jira.
This led to the decision for a health check – a step taken acknowledging that they needed some outside expertise to see the way forward.
Solution
Our team provided a detailed assessment and analysis for the client, including analysis of technical configuration, the Atlassian setup, and even how the client’s product development processes fitted into the Jira projects. We even employed Optimizer for Jira to single out any workflows or projects collecting digital dust.
In addition, we investigated the client’s Jira and Confluence setup for any possibilities of merging or changing items to standardise projects and cut down on technical debt.
But we didn’t just stop at system exploration, we also made time for conversations with stakeholders. These interactions were crucial in understanding what the teams aimed for, as well as the common pain points they experienced. For example, only by taking to people were we able to discover the underlying issues surrounding Atlassian toolset knowledge, and the lack of knowledge sharing.
Then came the tailored recommendations. Here, we made improvements to the Atlassian toolset by providing template projects that teams could follow, and ensured best practices would be easily accessible for all purposes – from system administration to everyday project use and management information visualisation.
Benefits
The outcome? The new best practice guidelines and templates facilitated smoother and quicker onboarding of teams and team members for Atlassian tools. Instead of teams having to attempt to find solutions themselves for new projects, they were able to follow the recommended standard, which made it easier to quickly made use of the advantages that Jira and Confluence can give.
For existing projects, the health check enabled teams to make better use of the available Atlassian solutions, such as having reporting on task progress. This meant improved task visualisation, better management capabilities, and enhanced requirement gathering for product development.
And here’s the real takeaway – the essence of using Jira and Confluence is to improve delivery rate and guarantee top-tier quality work. So, any time teams had to spend getting to grips with these tools or wrestling with complicated solutions was taking away from their real work. Our health check helped cut down that administrative burden by providing guidance and solutions on configuration and, crucially, how to fit these tools into their business processes.
