ECS – Cutting Costs With Customized Jira Workflows

ECS Federal, a segment of ASGN Incorporated, needed a centralized solution to manage complex processes that required collaboration from different departments. Modus Create’s Atlassian experts built a customized workflow on Jira for ECS in four weeks, which reduced processing time and operational costs.

Our Work Involved

• Conducting client interviews
• Customizing workflows using ScriptRunner
• Creating flexible templates with Issue Templates

Impact

• Lower costs due to workflow automation
• Improved security from consolidating workflows
• Reduction in project processing time

ECS is a leading provider of solutions in science, engineering, and advanced technologies including cloud, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and IT modernization.

Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, ECS has more than 3,000 employees throughout the U.S. It has built successful customer relationships with some of the world’s leading agencies in both the public and private sectors. 20% of ECS’s employees have served in the armed forces.

Understanding the Problem

ECS was already using two Atlassian tools – Jira and Confluence, to organize projects across different functions such as software development, IT operations, and infrastructure.

However, the team was struggling to get access to the right information and communicate updates to the clients. Additionally, they lacked a proper understanding of the entire process because it was so complex.

This complexity was due to the lack of a centralized organization-wide workflow. Although various teams were using the same collaboration tool, they were all using it inconsistently, which made it challenging for the top-level management to get a strategic overview of the entire process.

Modus Create’s Atlassian experts ran a series of sessions with different ECS teams to better understand their requirements. This helped create a formal definition and shared understanding of their processes. Everyone was aligned on the need for a centralized process and had started envisioning how it should look like.

Now that the foundation for a centralized process had been laid, it was time for the heavy lifting.

Creating a Centralized Workflow

After understanding the requirements, the team started crafting the workflow. The goal was to accommodate most, if not all of the requirements from different stakeholders. For the project to be successful, it was important that each department benefitted from the centralized workflow.

Although Jira is an extremely powerful tool, it became apparent that the final solution would require some customization with technical add-ons. After looking at various options, the team picked two tools from the Atlassian marketplace to craft the right solution:

• ScriptRunner by Adaptavist – A leading app to automate and customize Jira workflows.
• Issue Templates by Deviniti – An app to create flexible templates on Jira.

Then, they visualized the workflows separately for Cloud, VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) and On-premises build.

Modus Create’s Atlassian consultants worked closely with multiple ECS teams to fine-tune the process with real-time feedback. This ensured that everyone’s expectations were aligned before the process was automated in Jira.

Next, using the add-ons and Jira’s workflows, the team replicated the approved process in Jira, with all the required business rules. You can learn more about setting up workflows on Jira in this short video from our Youtube channel.

The entire process, from gathering requirements to Jira implementation took less than 4 weeks.

ECS’s customized workflow on Jira

Impact of the Engagement

The end solution baked actual business processes into the system and helped simplify workflows along the way. Now, technical teams at ECS can execute on actionable tickets that are automated throughout the process, while providing updates to Project Managers and other stakeholders.

Transform Your Business With Atlassian

Atlassian is the world’s leading provider of collaboration tools. Their tools helps teams work smarter and faster, together. Their robust suite of tools help different stakeholders of the software development lifecycle. From Jira, to Bitbucket, to Confluence, and more, Atlassian helps teams succeed.

As an Atlassian Platinum Enterprise Solution Partner, we solve strategic business problems with Atlassian’s products. Our official partnerships with Atlassian and other leading technology companies like AWS, Cloudflare GitHub, InVision, and Ionic, create a unique ecosystem for your success.