by Mike Brown | Oct 15, 2018
Background:
Cleary Gottlieb is a global law firm specializing in multiple branches of law. Since 1946, they have a proven track record for accomplishing and providing successful legal advising services to individuals, small and large firms worldwide.
The Challenge:
Looking to update their current Jira and Confluence implementation to track and manage project tasks and timekeeping using the Tempo app/add-on. They needed detailed time tracking reports, and the ability to track multiple projects at the portfolio level without using the Portfolio for JIRA app.
The Solution:
Implementing a custom configuration, Ascend Integrated built out, tested and deployed a standard project template to be used for all IT projects undertaken at Cleary Gottlieb. Tempo Timesheets was deployed for Jira Cloud so employees may add and track time associated with each project they logged time against.
Outcome:
The Jira Cloud solution implemented by Ascend Integrated allowed Cleary Gottlieb to track and manage their IT projects. Time tracking reports have been set up and configured with Tempo Timesheets reporting. Increasing overall project management efficiency across the organization, Cleary Gottlieb continues to use this system today.
by Mike Brown | Oct 15, 2018
Background:
Located in Boca Raton, FL, Lynn University is a private university founded in 1962 providing bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees. The University supports upwards of 2,000+ undergraduate students, and has a well defined and mature IT infrastructure and team.
The Challenge:
Lynn University is going through an agile, support desk, and DevOps transformation. After investigating multiple project management software tools, Lynn University decided to implement the Atlassian Tool Suite (Jira Software, Service Desk, Confluence, and Status Page) across their organization. This will allow faculty and students to easily interact with help and technical support services, and enable development teams to easily track and manage their software development projects.
The Solution:
Ascend Integrated was brought in by Lynn University to discuss processes, develop processes and procedures based on the agile initiatives, and finally to implement these processes through Jira Software, Service Desk and Confluence. Ascend worked with Lynn University in installing, configuring, and implementing the Atlassian Tool Suite. Ascend Integrated ensured all requirements were met and delivered to Lynn University, and held beta testing / User Acceptance Testing (UAT) with multiple departments before rolling it out to the student and faculty bodies.
Outcome:
Ascend Integrated continues to support Lynn University in the capacity of an Atlassian expert and Agile / DevOps consulting specialist. The system is used by the faculty and students for tracking and managing trouble tickets / issues. The system is also used by both the project management team and development team to track and manage software development initiatives, projects, and upgrades.
by Mike Brown | Oct 15, 2018
Background:
Plasser American is a leading provider of heavy equipment used across many industries. They provide services for the Plasser and Theurer machinery distributed and utilized in the USA for the North American railroad transit systems.
The Challenge:
Plasser American’s IT department is looking to migrate and move from SharePoint using both Jira and Confluence for tracking and managing project documentation, charters, tasks, and general project layouts/templates.
The Solution:
Ascend Integrated worked with Plasser in migrating all their current instances of Jira, Confluence, and Bitbucket currently installed onto a PostgreSQL 9.6 database and updated each of the instances successfully. Following performance enhancements and updates, Ascend Integrated worked with Plasser in defining project templates using the template/blueprint capabilities Confluence provides. Ascend developed templates and blueprints using Macros, Custom Coding, and standard template requirements provided by Plasser.
Outcome:
Plasser American is now working on the latest versions of Jira, Confluence, and Bitbucket migrated from their MySQL databases to the new PostgreSQL 9.6 versions. These updates to the templates have improved efficiency in the development and updating of project documentation and project tracking across the organization. Ascend Integrated also provided training services for Confluence and Jira. Ascend continues to engage with Plasser American in setting up, configuring, and updating the Jira and Confluence instances.
by Mike Brown | Apr 13, 2018
Background:
The Catholic Health (CHS) is a large non-profit comprehensive healthcare system formed in 1998. The organization provides health services through its network of hospitals and healthcare practitioners. The system brings together more than 9,000 associates and 1,300 physicians in Western New York healthcare market.
The Challenge:
CHS is undergoing major IT transformations and is in the process of shifting multiple tools and services to new IT systems. CHS contacted Ascend Integrated to help define their software development processes and project management processes, but also to implement Jira, Confluence, and Jira Portfolio throughout the healthcare network. Jira and Confluence would be used to support software and IT development, along with project management support and documentation.
The Solution:
Ascend Integrated, in a week was able to install and begin configuring Jira, Confluence, and Jira Portfolio for CHS. Ascend provided installation and configuration support, including process management support for agile, hybrid, and waterfall project management. Ascend Integrated provided architecture support and layout, and also worked closely with CHS to ensure all requirements were implemented correctly and in a timely fashion.
Outcome:
CHS is currently using Jira, Jira Portfolio, and Confluence for project management and tracking. It is now used across the healthcare system, and has been used for tracking the implementation of new tools and software being integrated / implemented into the system. Ascend continues to support the implementation at CHS Buffalo.
by Mike Brown | Apr 13, 2018
Background:
Keystone is a nationally recognized, premier technology-industry consulting firm that delivers extremely novel solutions to the most challenging strategy and economics problems. Keystone utilizes tools to accurately track and manage knowledge and information across multiple projects.
The Challenge:
Keystone utilizes an Atlassian tool suite, the Confluence Wiki in order to track, manage, and update content internally and for external clients. The Confluence Site required updates and modification in order to accurately guide users through published content easily and effectively.
The Solution:
Ascend Integrated worked with Keystone to organize the current Confluence, including reorganizing existing content and information. After moving pages and organizing the Confluence sites, Ascend Integrated provided direct, custom development using the Confluence HTML plugin and the JavaScript Bootstrap Framework, HTML, and CSS to create a custom navigation platform for users. After developing and testing the new navigation platform, Ascend Integrated trained Keystone users to use the platform and also provided usage tips & tricks for creating, publishing and updating content on Confluence.
Outcome:
Ascend Integrated continues to work in partnership with Keystone, building on the initial success of the development efforts. Keystone continues to develop backend materials and will be launching the new access and user interface shortly.
