Custom Jira Solutions for an European Railway Giant - Case Study

Improving the Jira setup for the railway company in Central Europe? Let the journey begin! Trusted with over 300 million passenger trips and 95 million tons of freight annually, they are known for their eco-friendly approach. To catch up with these massive scales, they need to tailor Atlassian to their requirements. We brought our skills and flexible team extension model to make the best use of Jira.

The Challenge

The railroad company operates on a huge scale and requires an advanced Jira configuration to effectively manage large projects. Their goal was to extend the Jira application to fit their specific workflow. The challenge was even more complex because the company's team communicates in multiple languages due to the different regions they serve. There were several product owners involved, each of whom was responsible for specific segments of the rail system.

Our Approach

We began our collaboration by gathering the customer's requirements and maintaining regular contact. The team of 10 technology specialists and a strategic leader worked hand in hand with 4 Peakforce Atlassian experts. Together, they formed a solid unit equipped to handle the complexities of the project.

Using Java and Groovy, we developed improved scripts to help speed up operations. We implemented a custom pom.xml configuration file to optimize the coding process and established error-logging conventions for Jira scripts. We also integrated built-in unit tests from ScriptRunner to test and validate critical scripts.

How did we organize the work?

Our daily catch-up meetings were crucial in keeping the project on track. They allowed us to quickly address new challenges and ensure all team members were aligned with the project's evolving needs. This agile approach made it easy to adapt and verify progress regularly.

The results

Our work helped the client’s Jira tools get a lot more efficient. We made writing code easier and made sure everything worked well by implementing a testing approach. This resulted in better system operation and faster incident resolutions by more than 18%. The overall gain for the customer meant that they could serve their clients in a better way.

We made sure to cover all the important elements of the Jira setup with custom tests so that every part of the system was checked and working correctly 100% of the time. This means no surprises or issues during daily work for the client.

We also introduced ScriptRunner, a plugin for creating custom Jira scripts, which made everyday tasks a lot easier for the whole team. It let us set up the Jira platform just right for what the company needed, saving time and effort every day.

Why choose Jira?

Jira was the ideal solution for the railway company due to its adaptability to complex projects and the wide range of integrations available. This flexibility was instrumental in managing the operations of the railway system, resulting in organized and efficient project management.

To add a bit more to our story, we can say a few words about the practical benefits Jira offers, such as its ability to track all project details. Whether it's a new application, an onboarding project, or service management, Jira has a template for it. Even better, you can customize it. One of the plugins used in this case - ScriptRunner - allowed us to improve Jira to meet the specific needs of the railroad.

Conclusion

Our cooperation with the established railway company proves that working together in the agile way and using the right tech tools can make a huge difference. After the initial project we extended our collaboration and we keep looking for new ideas to continue improving their workflows. It's clear that tools like Jira, configured just for their needs, can help manage complex tasks more efficiently.

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