Many organizations today have mature Service Desks and Support Centers. Service Desks for many companies begin as a one person IT shop or a customer relations person. For a small entity, a walk over to their desk or a quick phone call is all it would take to get a new workstation or to answer a product related question from a customer. One challenge many small companies encounter as they grow larger is how to scale their services without detracting from the customer experience or the quality of service. What used to be a stroll down the hall to the cubicle of the IT person and a sticky note placed on their monitor now goes unanswered. A call from a customer now gets routed to an automated phone system where they must listen to a recording and press zero to bypass all the options given to them by the recorded voice. How can you continue to deliver great customer service and keep up with the higher volume of requests?
Track everything – Offline sticky notes, emails, phone calls, and verbal walk-ups must be kept to a minimum. This can be a hard habit to break if your staff is used to this personal touch. It becomes difficult to prioritize different requests coming in and notify your customers when their order has come in. Using a tool such as Jira Service Desk enables a consistent intake for both internal and external customers. You should direct customers to use an easily accessible service desk portal. If you must continue to take phone calls and walk-ups, tickets can be created by agents to document the customer’s request in Jira. As a best practice, you should document how many of these offline requests you receive to recognize the need for training opportunities or better access to the customer service portal.
Promote Self-Service – While it’s always good to have a support specialist ready to handle customer requests, creating a knowledgebase with a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) will empower your customers and free up your Service Desk team. An important metric to track for self-service are view counts of these knowledge articles. Low view counts and high ticket counts for a related issue may indicate that your team must update your knowledgebase to make an article easier to find. Confluence, when integrated with Jira Service Desk, provides a searchable knowledge base which can provide these metrics in reports so that agents can make the best use of their posted knowledge articles for customers.
Create Realistic Service Level Agreements (SLAs) – As the adage goes, “Under promise, Over deliver”. Setting turn-around goals for your support team ensures that your customer is aware of the length of time a request takes to fulfill. This creates expectations around when something will be delivered to them. Many times, customers will try to get around these SLAs by going around the system (i.e. phone calls / walk-ups) or by stating that their own request takes precedence over others. It’s important to think about the types of requests that your service desk agents receive and try to create reasonable SLAs based on priority. One best practice is to calculate the impact (number of users affected) and urgency (how quickly something is needed) as part of a priority calculation. Creating a Priority Matrix with these factors is a good way to look at this. Jira has automation that can be created to calculate priorities using these variables.
After years of utilizing the Rational Suite extensively across programs and projects, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is looking at other options for their DevOps and project management capabilities. Increasing collaboration across teams within OIT, and enabling the ability for teams to quickly adopt to change is key for DevOps to be successful within the VA and OIT. How can the VA do this? DevOps is not a quick implementation or a “quick fix” to challenges encountered across multiple organizations. Instead, it requires three components working together in order for a successful DevOps strategy to be implemented across an agency: policy & life cycle updates, cultural adaption, and tools to ensure enablement.
Policy & Life Cycle
The VA Veterans Integration Process (VIP) software development methodology was implemented in the summer of 2016 replacing PMAS. VIP was an attempt to establish an agile process environment that unfortunately continued to require the Rational process. The most positive aspect of VIP is allowing enhancement Release the freedom from Rational compliance. Post go-live release, e.g. Releases 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 4.1, can use Agile, SCRUM, and modern tools. Now, whichever tools and approach the respective vendors have internally within their respective development environments is acceptable for VA project enhancement releases.
Cultural Adaption
Within the VA, there are innovators such as Bill James, the Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, who support a swift transition away from the Rational suite and the adoption of modern tools to help transform their DevOps and project management capabilities. Most projects supported by the various T4NG vendors, are performing Agile with modern tools for Agile development, e.g. Epics, User Stories, Test Cases, Defects, Backlogs re: the SCRUM process. The new world of DevOps will likely be dependent on the adoption, implementation and administration of automated testing, deployment and monitoring tools. The administration of the Department’s Tools and Workflow is the opportunity to seize upon. Such as a Center of Excellence (COE) established and supported by the vendors for the VA.
Tools for Enablement
With the establishment of new policies around lifecycles and culture, comes the adoption of new tools that enable DevOps capabilities across the VA. The ideal tool for the VA would include integration capabilities with the current software tool suite utilized by the VA (i.e. Rational), along with the ability to support the entire DevOps process. Integration with the current toolset is key, as many tasks, stories, requirements and configurations will need to be translated from one tool to another. The DevOps tool suite will need to be customized to include stage gate reviews and processes as required by the VIP. Fields, configurations, permissions and notifications will be standardized across all of the projects, with only minor customizations added if required by the program or project manager. The tool should also require minimum training for users, most users should after only one or two training sessions, be able to begin utilizing the tool for their teams.
Next Steps for the VA
Implementing a new lifecycle policy, culture, and tools at the VA will ensure a consistent and repeatable approach to DevOps is taken within the agency. One tool with an extensive suite of capabilities utilized across multiple agencies is the Atlassian Tool Suite, Jira / Confluence / Bitbucket / Bamboo. Combining these tools provides users with a powerful, DevOps and Project Management focused tool suite highly customizable and flexible enough to meet the constantly changing needs of the VA. What do you think about enabling agencies to adopt DevOps practices?
Co-Authored – Michael Brown & Cavin Clayton of Ascend and Carahsoft
We were pleased to attend the Atlassian Summit this year, what a great turn out! Summit is a great way for Atlassian specialists, partners, and users to discuss the use of the Atlassian Tool Suite, along with reviewing up and coming functionality and capabilities of the tool suite. Here were some major announcements we saw and participated from Summit:
Renewed Focus on Server
Atlassian emphasized its focus on server, with the recent release of Jira 8, and its upcoming release of Confluence 7. New releases include added functionality, improved searching & reporting capabilities, and performance enhancements. The server includes enhancements already built into the Cloud.
Expansion of the Cloud
The Cloud is becoming the key product utilized by Fortune 500 firms. Recognizing this, Atlassian has increased the functionality capabilities of the Cloud. Atlassian announced an expansion of the Cloud capabilities to include ADFS integration, new integration capabilities, and an increased user count from 5,000 to 10,000.
Industry days – what specialists are seeing
Ascend Integrated participated in a number of the industry days, including the Education / University and Government Industry session. We found many of the attendees were interested in understanding how to migrate from their server / data center instances to the cloud, and what it would entail.
OpsGenie > A Great Way to DevOps
New integration with Jira Cloud and Server were announced with OpsGenie. One of our specialists, Shaun Jones attended and participated in an OpsGenie session, and explained several use cases for OpsGenie, including text integration capabilities. A special Thank you to all those who visited our booth. We’re looking forward to the Government Symposium, and Summit 20! Have a great Summit experience? Contact Us!
Last week, Ascend Integrated accompanied Atlassian and Carahsoft and attended the AFCEA West 2019 event in San Diego, CA. The conference is an excellent event to attend, whether you are an IT professional or working in some way with the United States Military / Department of Defense. The conference was attended by many ranking officers, leaders, and program / project managers.
Vice Admiral Mathias “Mat” Winter, Director of the Joint Strike Fighter Program, emphasized the importance of being agile, and its applicability across the DoD. With new equipment coming online utilizing a combination of IT systems and the implementation of Open System Architecture (OSA), the necessity to “Adapt or Die” to changing political and military climates has never been more important. Bug fixes, new features / capabilities, and maintenance must be tracked and managed in a centralized and secure repository.
While attending, Atlassian (and specifically Jira / Confluence) were referenced repeatedly by multiple programs in speeches and working sessions, including Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) and members of the United States Air Force (USAF). Many enjoyed using the tool for project and requirements management, but spoke directly to us regarding ways they would like to see it improved, adapted, and implemented across multiple teams.
Ascend Integrated reviewed this feedback and determined three ways we can best adopt the Atlassian Tool Suite to supporting our Warfighters.
Interoperability is a key objective of many of the military programs. This extends not only to the systems being implemented through these programs, but also the supporting systems and DevOps implementations, such as the Atlassian Tool Suite. With Jira and Confluence containing the majority of the project management components, other tools utilized for testing and deployment should integrate directly with the suite at both a system and process level. If you’re looking for integrations, try reviewing the Marketplace or REST API capabilities. Keep all your data centralized, secure, consistent and easily accessible for your team.
2. Lean Governance & Continuous Improvement
We all know, governance may add bureaucracy, but it’s important when implementing large scale implementations of any tool. Jira and Confluence have multiple ways of implementing lean governance to support continuous improvement and enhancements to the tool. One simple way of implementing lean governance and continuous improvement, is creating a specific Jira project to track, plan, and implement enhancements to the Atlassian Tool Suite based on feedback received by your users.
3. Training
For any software tool, training is key. Users will learn how to consistently administer, develop, or track / manage their projects and programs. Ensure your users are trained, using consistent training at both the administration and project levels. This can be completed by using a combination of Atlassian University courses and enlisting the help of Certified Training Partners.
Ascend Integrated is a U.S., DC based Atlassian Solution Partner providing support services to multiple branches of the DoD for Atlassian, FedRAMP and Security support. How would you suggest supporting the Agile Warfighter? Contact Us Today!
We know it is something you shouldn’t be doing, storing personally identifiable information (PII) or protected health information (PHI) in your Jira issues. But, mistakes happen, or maybe you are required by your organization to securely store / access this information. Throughout Ascend Integrated’s time as an Atlassian Solutions Provider, we’ve worked across Healthcare and Financial organizations looking to protect their highly sensitive information, including PII and in the case of Healthcare, PHI.
Here we explore several key factors to maintaining HIPAA Compliance with your instance, along with ensuring data is stored correctly.
How to keep PHI / PII secured?
HIPAA compliance is made up a group of safeguards, including Administrative, Physical, and Technical safeguards, defining processes and procedures for guarding and securing your PHI / PII. Atlassian has already come out and stated the Cloud is not meant for PHI / PII compliance. A server, or data center instance is absolutely required for maintaining this type of information (or if your Jira / Confluence system touches this data in any way).
What techniques can you use with the Atlassian Tool Suite?
Use a SSL Certificate
While its basic, installing and configuring a SSL certificate with your Jira / Confluence suite is an absolute necessity when implementing HIPAA compliance. Ensuring all data is encrypted and accessed only through a secure connection is step 0!
Control Access Tightly Using Permission Schemes and SSO
There are several options here, including restricting who can access projects / spaces using advanced permission scheme configurations, or implementing a SSO / Active Directory authentication and authorization step will ensure only those users within your organization will have access to your data. Ensure groups are properly set up and controlled across both applications.
Make use of Issue Security
Out of the box, Jira allows you to restrict the viewing of issues to specific individuals / team members or groups. Similarly in Confluence, ensure only specific users have access to any pages containing links to, or actual PII / PHI.
Explore Add-ons / Apps: PII Protector for Jira
A plug for the hard working folks at Enhancera, the PII protector will help you maintain PII securely, hiding data from users who are not required to view / manage the data. Auditability and traceability is built right into the tool as well. You can find additional information on this app here: PII Protector for Jira.
Enable Database Encryption
While not supported by Atlassian, Database encryption provides an extra layer of security. All Jira / Confluence applications sit atop a RDBMS (i.e. MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle). Enable encryption, and ensure backup / copies are maintained in a secure location.
Conduct Regular Security Audits
Regular security audits (monthly / quarterly, etc.) will help you determine where your flaws may be, and what you can do to alleviate / reduce the risk of exposure. Ensure your security team understands and documents the use of Jira and Confluence in your system.
What Next?
Interested in learning more, or have Ascend Integrated review your instance? Contact Us Today!
By now you have heard of our latest free app to reach the Atlassian Marketplace, “Color Queues for Jira Service Desk”: Color Queues for Jira Service Desk. If not, Color Queues is a free app developed by Ascend Integrated enabling users to highlight and focus on queues in their Service Desk project. Using Color Queues enables your agents / teams to organize their queues using color coding, ensuring a faster response and resolution time for your customer’s requests.
In this blog, we’re going to cover three major use cases for Color Queues and leveraging existing Jira Service Desk functionality so you can get the most out of our app. Note, you will need to be a Project Administrator to enable and configure Color Queues.
Identify Your Tasks
Do you have a specific queue you work within? Quickly and easily identify your queue from the list, especially if your team is working with A LOT of queues. Working with your Project Administrator, create a queue with issues assigned only to you (i.e. assignee = currentUser() and resolution is empty) and assign a color. Now, you (and all your fellow Service Desk Agents) will be able to focus on which queue identifies your current, open tasks / requests.
Figure 1: Creating the “My Open Requests” Queue
Figure 2: Viewing the “My Open Requests” Queue with “Color Queues” enabled
View Critical / High Priority Requests
When your customers enter high-priority requests or issues, you want to identify these right away in your large list of queues. To configure, create a new queue and set “Issues to Show” to only high priority issues where there is no set resolution (i.e. priority = “Critical” and resolution is EMPTY). Identify a color, click “Create”, and your queue will appear!
Figure 3: Creating the High Priority Requests Queue
Figure 4: Viewing the High Priority Request Queue in the Queue List
View Expiring SLAs For Powerful Reporting
Does your organization monitor SLAs closely? Use Color Queues in Coordination with your SLAs! Create a queue showing all open requests / issues that are expiring in 1 hour or less (i.e. use a JQL query like “Time to resolution” < remaining (“1h”).
After you create this queue, assign a color to it, and easily identify all requests whose SLA’s are expiring:
Figure 5: Creating a SLA Expiration Queue using Color Queues
And now your service desk team can easily identify those requests expiring in 1 hour or less!
Figure 6: Viewing the Expiring SLAs Queue
How are you using Color Queues? Let us know in the comments section or drop us a note: Contact Us!
Sometimes, you need to get more out of what you’re viewing in your issue. Out of the box, Atlassian provides a powerhouse of options and field customizations available to the user. However, users of Jira often get hung up on the terminology and vocabulary introduced through a Jira issue (i.e. Summary = Title of an issue).
Enter Copy & Sync, a versatile and powerful app developed by Elements allowing administrators to add custom data panels (and more) to your issues. You can find the app and further details here: Copy & Sync.
Why Copy & Sync?
Copy & Sync enables you to display data the way you would like your users to read it in an issue view. Users will be able to view everything they need out of an issue screen, and will not need to cycle / navigate between multiple issues. Overall, this app increases the overall usability of your Jira instance, enabling users to have all the data points they need at their fingertips.
Custom Display & Data Panels
Copy & Sync allows users to display custom data panels directly in the Jira issue. A perfect example would be to display a data panel on a story issue type displaying bugs related to that user story. To create this panel, navigate to the Add-ons section, and find the Configuration link for Copy & Sync. You will need to be a Jira Administrator to configure this panel.
Synchronisations – under the “Synchronisations” tab, select the information you’d like to synchronize with (it will be with your local Jira instance).
Fields Mapping – map fields you would like to display in your panel.
Data Panel – select the following information:
Display JQL Condition – determine which issues will display this panel
Hide Panels – hide any standard issue panels (see my example input below)
Issue to Display – displays issues which match a specific JQL and Link Type
Linked Issues Filter – displays the specific issues in the panel, here I want to display all bugs (issuetype = Bug)
Link Type – display the linked issue type you would like to have on the panel. Here I’m going to only show blocked issue links.
Table – Display any custom headers (explained in more detail below)
Actions – This section allows you to further refine the panel, data displayed, etc.
After you completed these configurations, click save and navigate back to your issue. You will see a new panel, with the custom Summary field pointing to ONLY bugs with the “Blocked” link type in your User Story. Note the “Issue Links” panel is now hidden:
Display Custom Headers
If you want to remove or re-name fields in your Data Panel, you can update this in the “Table” section of the Data Panel. Under Columns, select the field you would like displayed, check “Custom Header” and type a custom title / field name.
In this example, I have set the value of “Summary” to “Title” in the Header column. Note the order of the fields. With “Summary” (i.e. Title) being at the bottom, this will display first in the issue on the left-hand side.
Collaborate With ScriptRunner to Hide Noise in your Issue
Looking to hide some of those other Data Panels and just display the panels you created using Copy & Sync? Out of the box, Copy & Sync allows you to hide Linked issues, Sub-Tasks, and Issues in Epic. But, if you’re looking to hide other panels, this is the place!
Utilize the ScriptRunner “Script Fragments” functionality to show or remove web panels from an Issue view. Under Script Fragments, select “Hide system or plugin UI element” and search for the panel / UI component you’re looking to hide in your issue.
Copy & Sync provides even more customization / capabilities than mentioned in this blog. We encourage you to check it out, and find some excellent workarounds and new methods to display your data consistently across Jira issues.
Are you using Copy & Sync? Interested in learning more? Contact us!
There are many ways to use Color Cards, a free app for Jira Software server available through the Atlassian Marketplace. In this blog, we are going to focus on three ways you can use Color Cards for your agile team, or just to improve visualizations in your Kanban or SCRUM boards. Note: You will need to be a board administrator to make the configurations below.
View Cards Coming Due
There is an easy way to view all the cards your team has coming due by using the “Queries” selection in the Color Cards Board Administration screen. If you use the Due Date field with Jira, using a query such as due <= 3d will yield all issues / tasks / bugs due in the next 3 days. If you reverse the operator to show due >= 3d will yield all issues that are overdue by at least 3 days. To set up this board configuration, perform the following:
Go to the Color Cards Board Admin Screen.
Select “Queries” from Colors Based On drop-down.
Write the JQL query (due <= 3d).
Select a color for the query.
Click “Add”
Now you will be able to see all issues highlighted coming due in the next 3 days. You can also create ranges of due dates as well using JQL. We recommend using the Search function in Jira to test / craft advanced JQL functions.
View Issues Assigned to Different Versions
Boards can quickly become cluttered with custom card layouts, Swim lanes, and quick filters. Your team may be responsible for working on issues / stories / tasks that will be released over multiple versions. If so, you can easily view issues assigned to different versions on the same board and / or backlog. We recommend using Queries to identify versions and releases, i.e. fixVersion = 1.0.0 will provide a color for all versions related to / assigned to version 1.0.0. To set this up, perform the following:
Go to the Color Cards Board Admin Screen.
Select “Queries” from Colors Based On drop-down.
Write the JQL query (fixVersion = 1.0.0).
Select a color for the query.
Click “Add”
You will see issues assigned to different versions in your backlog, Active Sprints, and Kanban boards.
Prioritizing And Identifying Issues
Looking to tackle those high priority bugs first? Easily view your high priority tasks / bugs / stories by selecting colors associated with Priorities assigned to your project.
For instance, to view all blocker issues with a Red color, perform the following:
Go to the Color Cards Board Admin Screen.
Select “Priorities” from Colors Based On.
Assign a color to the priority “Blocker” (or your priority of choice).
Click “Back to Board” and you will see the colors assigned to all your blocking issues.
If you are already using complex JQL queries for your board, you can still achieve this functionality by using “Queries” to base your color. Use a query, such as priority = Blocker, select the color next to the query and click “Add”.
How are you using Color Cards in your organization? Let us know! If you have questions, feel free to reach out to us: Ascend Integrated Contact.
As Atlassian Experts and Solution Partner, Ascend Integrated uses many add-ons (apps) for implementing complex business requirements and scenarios. These add-ons / apps provide the ability to extend Jira further, either by adding scripts or configurations to meet evolving business needs. One add-on / app we’ve used with multiple clients to solve issues effectively and efficiently is Automation for Jira. Automation for Jira frees your team to focus on what’s important: development and releasing shippable products and serving your customers.
With limited scripting, you can get a full automation suite up and running. The app relies on Rules set up in a “When”, “If”, and “Then” structure. For instance, “When: Value changes for Field X, if field x = “Updated”, Then: Edit issue fields”. In this blog, we wanted to share with you 3 unique ways to automate your Jira instance using the Automation for Jira app.
When: “Value changes for” rule (Be sure to select the “Execute this rule immediately…” option)
If: set the JQL pointing to a specific field (i.e. Priority)
Then: “Edit Issue Fields” to choose which fields to edit. (This would be a read-only field for the users. Users will not be able to manually set this field, it will automatically set based on JQL parameters.)
An example of how this rule will be set up is shown below:
Combine with Dynamic Forms
Dynamic Forms another fan favorite, provides the ability for fields to display dependent upon selected values. While Dynamic Forms fields do not work directly with Automation for Jira, you can have other fields update based on a Dynamic Forms Field’s value through JQL. To do this, set up the following:
When: “Value changes for” rule
If: set the JQL pointing to the Dynamic Form field
Then: “Edit Issue Fields” to choose which field(s) to edit.
Managing Service Desk Tickets
If a user finds a verified bug, and they log it into Service Desk, Automation Jira can automatically create a cloned issue in your Jira development project, without agent intervention. To accomplish this, simply add a rule like the set up below:
When: “Issue Created” rule
If: set the JQL pointing to the field (i.e. customfield1000 = “X”)
Then: “Create Issue” and select what values should be in the fields.
This ensures both the development and agent queue for specific bugs / issues are always in alignment. Interested in checking out the app? Download it from the Marketplace here. It is available for Cloud, Server, and Data Center.
Have questions about building out automation in Jira? Reach us here.
How have you used automation in Jira?
The importance of training can never be underestimated, especially for the Atlassian Tool Suite. For all its ease of use (i.e. you can get a Jira project created and ready to go in under 2 minutes in many cases), there may be some functionality you and your firm are missing out on. Or, there may be a better way to build out the configurations your manager has asked. The Atlassian Training consists of a certified / authorized instructor providing training in the form of instruction and lab work / exercises for you or your organization. The full list of training can be found here: Atlassian Training Catalog.
Why should you check out Atlassian Training? Well, there are several reasons!
Consistent Practices and Configurations
Taught by certified instructors and authorized partners from Atlassian, these courses provide you with a consistent, step-by-step process to accomplish many configuration and functionality goals for your Atlassian Tool Suite. These configurations taught in the course instruction work across multiple versions of Jira, Confluence, Portfolio, and other tools, and ensure efficiency from both configuration and maintenance perspectives.
Industry Best Practices
Standards practiced, configured, and implemented are discussed in courses, with each course being tailored to meet the business goals and objectives of your organization. Multiple case studies, practices, and exercises based on real-life examples are taught and discussed throughout the course.
Discover New Functionality About Your Tools
The Atlassian Tool Suite is powerful with multiple configurations, functionality, and capabilities available to administrators and users. These courses are designed to walk you through both basic and advanced features of the tool suite. Advanced capabilities for Workflows, Dashboards and reporting, Portfolio, and Confluence – Jira integrations are taught across multiple courses. These new functionalities will help you determine new configurations / updates to be made to your instance. You may even be able to remove some of those extra add-ons / apps you have installed!
As Authorized Instructors and Certified Atlassian Training Partners, we provide training across multiple tools and functionalities provided through the Atlassian Tool Suite. Check out our site today and reach out to us if you have questions about training with the Atlassian Tool Suite: Questions? Feel free to reach out!
