RECONFIGURATION

Strengthening Agile Practices and Optimising Jira for an Innovative FinTech Scale-Up

Case study at a glance

The Challenge

Lack of one standardised Agile approach
Diverse methodologies in place across multiple teams
Significant information silos
Reduced cross-team collaboration
Inability to scale successfully and with agility
Challenges around dependency management
Not fit-for-purpose Jira configuration

The Solution

Conducted a robust Agile Maturity Assessment
Gathered stakeholder data to understand Agile landscape
Developed a clearly defined target state that aligned with the organisation’s goals
Delivered a clear strategy for encouraging standardised Agile adoption
Provided Agile best practice recommendations
Reviewed and optimised Jira configuration to better foster alignment and encourage standardisation

The Benefit

Empowered Agile Framework: AC’s assessment and recommendations enabled the client to implement a scalable, cohesive Agile framework, boosting alignment and productivity.
Optimised Jira Environment: AC’s enhancements improved Jira usability and transparency, driving standardisation and stronger cross-team collaboration.
Strong Stakeholder Engagement: Achieved a 40% AMA survey response rate in six days. Delivered 15 targeted recommendations in a bespoke action plan.

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Background

Our client, a financial technology scale-up, engaged Automation Consultants (AC) to refine its Agile practices and optimise its Atlassian Jira environment.

With a dynamic team of approximately 200 engineers working across multiple product areas, our client aimed to elevate its Agile frameworks, enhancing alignment, communication, and productivity across the organisation.

Ultimately, our client’s key objective was to standardise Agile practices and optimise Jira for better visibility and alignment. In doing this, the client would be in a stronger position to address challenges around scalability, collaboration and strategic alignment.

The Challenge

As a rapidly growing company, our client faced a number of roadblocks on its journey to seamless collaboration and robust dependency management.

Perhaps the most significant challenge was the absence of an existing standardised Agile approach, leading to issues around cross-team collaboration, dependency management and scalability. This, in turn, made it difficult for the organisation to achieve strategic goals and maintain agility during growth.

It was clear that our client needed to harmonise its Agile practices across teams, in order to address the resulting misalignment and inefficiencies.

Alongside this standardisation work, our client also needed guidance around Jira configuration and optimisation, to ensure the tool could support the organisation’s Agile approach going forward.

With all this in mind, our client looked for a consultancy partner to deliver expert insights and actionable strategies. With proven expertise across the Atlassian suite and experience in Agile ways of working, including a specialism in Agile Maturity Assessments and Agile Coaching, AC was selected to guide the project to success.

The Solution

AC launched the engagement with a comprehensive Agile Maturity Assessment (AMA), led by our experienced Agile Coach, to understand our client’s current practices and identify key areas for growth.

Using a blend of workshops and surveys, AC gathered valuable insights from client stakeholders and team members, building a holistic view of the organisation’s Agile landscape. This assessment provided our client with a well-defined target state (a clear vision of optimised Agile practices), which aligned with its goals for operational agility, from stronger cross-team collaboration to enhanced operational efficiency.

Following the AMA, AC focused on optimising the client’s Jira set-up, where our consultants applied insights from the assessment to implement impactful adjustments. AC’s discovery phase included a thorough review of the existing Jira configuration to identify improvements that could be tailored to support the organisation’s Agile vision.

By enhancing workflows, board configurations, and incorporating Agile best practices, AC’s optimisations helped foster alignment and efficiency across our client’s teams

The Benefits

AC delivered a comprehensive report summarising the client’s Agile Maturity Assessment results, including a detailed gap analysis, actionable recommendations, and a roadmap with immediate and long-term strategies. Initial results included the Jira optimisation work, which ensured our client had the tools it needed to improve and align with Agile ways of working.

The project concluded successfully, with our client highly valuing the actionable insights provided through the AMA and the tangible improvements made to its Jira environment. Feedback highlighted the effectiveness of AC’s structured approach and the open, collaborative environment that we fostered through our workshop delivery.

With a focus on improving effectiveness and reducing wasted time and effort, AC provided a clear path to success for an innovative scale-up, with practical steps and best practice recommendations.

With our client in a stronger position for continued growth, AC was then appointed to deliver Phase 2 of this project, building on the recommendations we provided to better achieve its future objectives.