Tales of Implementation: Navigating the Path from Failure to Success

We’ve all heard the saying: “Don’t go it alone.” It could not be more true when it comes to deciding how to implement collaboration software.

As solution providers, we have heard numerous horror stories of software implementations gone wrong. The journey to find and implement a new work tool can be a complex and, at times, arduous process. Depending on the resources involved during configuration and deployment, the process of implementing these powerful tools can be a breeze—or a months-long headache with long-term repercussions. Misled configuration can even hurt your ability to use your tools at scale.

So, how can you ensure that your business receives the greatest value from your software suite based on your unique needs? Informed by Valiantys Federal experts’ takeaways from real Atlassian use cases, these three customer stories showcase common implementation journeys that we have seen time and time again. All customers arrived at an ideal solution after partnering with Valiantys Federal, but each took a very different approach. 

The Independent

Would you attempt to install new wiring in your house without a professional’s guidance? Probably not, and you should exercise the same level of caution when implementing new software solutions. 

At one mid-stage technology startup, can-do optimism created initial success but ultimately resulted in configuration mishaps. This team shared the following story:

"As a growing startup, we knew we would benefit from the automation and support for scale that Atlassian tools offer. Yet, our whole team was under pressure to deliver results while minimizing costs. So, when we started our Atlassian journey, we were initially determined to handle everything in-house. Following this sense of independence, we made our first major decision: hosting our tools on a self-owned server instead of Atlassian's recommended cloud adoption. "

This critical decision sets the foundation for the rest of the team’s Atlassian experience. With new features, including Atlassian Intelligence, being released solely on the cloud, teams that opt for a self-owned server over cloud may be missing out on increased performance and functionality.

"We learned from online guides and forums that the Atlassian setup had to align with our specific business requirements for optimal results. However, while we rallied together around our long-term strategy, business operations continued as normal. As we juggled implementation alongside our existing duties, the implementation process began to drag on, stretching our capacity for process improvement and proactive thinking. "

Handling implementation entirely in-house can strain internal resources, causing the process to drag on and creating snowballing waste of time and cash. Pressure to finish this dragged-out process can also result in teams overlooking essential security and compliance measures, including safeguards against critical vulnerabilities, and missed opportunities to utilize Marketplace Apps.

"Despite these challenges, we eventually did launch the Atlassian platform to our team. However, lacking sufficient resources for onboarding and training, our employees gradually and haphazardly adopted the platform, resulting in underutilization. Fielding user questions independently, we struggled with troubleshooting issues, leading to frequent downtime and frustration. When audit season rolled around, the messy environment made it difficult to determine where to start. "

Eventually, this team realized it was time to seek help from an external partner. The Valiantys Federal team started the engagement with a fact-finding session to fully understand the business’s unique needs and challenges, and reevaluate its priorities for Atlassian tools. Through concierge-level support and customization, Valiantys Federal helped this business streamline their Atlassian environment, allowing it to finally break away from its on-premise box, to an all-new secure cloud environment that aligned with best practices and security measures. Through a comprehensive onboarding and training program for our employees, Valiantys Federal helped create a more widespread and effective adoption of the platform. 

"With Valiantys Federal's valuable support, our system downtime significantly decreased, and user satisfaction improved. By implementing their recommendations and best practices, we navigated audit season with confidence and clarity. Their partnership enabled us to realign our focus on process improvement and forward-thinking strategy, leading to an overall improvement in our business operations. We are grateful for the positive outcome that was achieved through Valiantys Federal's expertise and support. We even went ahead and added additional support hours to enhance our system further later this year. "

The Enthusiastic Go-Getter

Excited to experience all the flexibility and customization that Atlassian tools have to offer, many teams hit the ground running. But while testing out the tool can help you get a sense of its capabilities, jumping straight into implementation has its pitfalls. 

One mid-size healthcare company shared its experience:

"We chose Atlassian tools for their flexibility and customization capabilities. When we first got into Jira, we immediately began building custom workflows, issue types, and fields: this seemed like the best plan to take full advantage of the tool’s customizability. We sketched out basic workflows and onboarded our dev team, thinking Jira would be most useful."

It sounds like this team is checking all the boxes, right? Soon after onboarding, however, the team realized it had extensive reporting and documentation needs that would have been better met by Confluence. The team was able to cobble together a working system using third-party plugins, but these plug-ins didn’t interface perfectly, leaving them under-utilized and unable to produce a high return on investment. 

"With custom fields and workflows continuing to proliferate, the configuration became so crowded that it was difficult to navigate. At this stage, we thought we could fix the configuration by simply consolidating some custom fields. But an update to one of our third-party apps left our reporting workflow broken and unusable."

In an ideal scenario, the team would have stopped the custom fields train not long after it left the station. But in this story, custom fields continued to grow unchecked and further complicate the instance. It was time to face the music: this team required significant reconfiguration and support to get the system working correctly, so the company turned to an external partner for help. 

"We expected Valiantys Federal experts to hop right into the tool and clean up our mess, so we were surprised when they began with a listening session: we thought we already knew what we needed from our Atlassian toolstack, but they opened up so many possibilities to us in that first meeting alone. We knew then that we had made the right choice. "

Valiantys Federal experts showed this company how it had been missing several opportunities to generate more value from the tool, including onboarding more departments and offering more comprehensive training. Valiantys Federal helped the team implement cost-effective external plug-ins that were vetted to interface well, and also comply with HIPAA to allow the team to start using patient information in the system. 

With support from Valiantys Federal, the team was able to start from a clean slate through Jira configuration. One of the core takeaways was the ability to use custom fields more thoughtfully, and in a way that added more flexibility to create seamless end-to-end workflows. 

"Ultimately, we arrived at a much more usable Jira configuration with greater user adoption rates because it was configured with our business needs in mind. Using our business requirements and user workflow, the system was designed for true collaboration. Now our whole company is using Jira, and we’re more efficient because of it. "

The Careful Deployer

Our final Atlassian user, a financial services enterprise with federal clients, decided to invest in its Atlassian tools by partnering with Valiantys Federal for the implementation process. The client chose an external consultant not only to support implementation at scale, but to get it done right the first time. 

Here’s the company’s story:

"Valiantys Federal kicked off the implementation process with a thorough consultation to understand our unique needs and requirements. Working in collaboration with the business team, they showed us the different types of Atlassian tools and helped us pick Jira, Confluence, and Bitbucket for our needs."

In financial services, security and data privacy are top concerns. The Valiantys Federal experts working with this client had years of experience standing up Atlassian tools for high-security teams, helping them build trust and ensure that our toolstack didn’t just meet compliance and governance standards, but took advantage of every available security measure.

"Valiantys Federal experts trained us in configuring workflows and fields to create efficient business operations. They used the treasure trove of app data contained in the MARS Database to select reliable, high-performing Marketplace Apps that fit together seamlessly. Additional apps, like project management, reporting, live chat, and automation tools, offered functionality we hadn’t even known our tool could include. "

Valiantys Federal offered onboarding and training services that helped this team ensure its entire user base, not to mention its admin team, was equipped to make the most of its toolstack. Additionally, as part of our services, Valiantys Federal added a bank of service hours to this project, which allowed the organization to troubleshoot any of the issues that arose after the system was live, and stay up to date with the latest and greatest developments in Atlassian software. 

"As a result of our work with Valiantys, communication, and collaboration are happening faster than ever in our new Atlassian environment. Where our previous work tool got slower with time, this implementation laid the groundwork for a scalable, functional solution long-term. Now, we’ve seen increased efficiency and cross-functional collaboration, thanks to our tailored, secure, and well-supported Atlassian environment. "

Your next steps in your Atlassian journey

As an Atlassian Solutions Partner, we strive to make it as easy as possible to evaluate your needs and choose the solutions that fit your business, providing the best experience for your implementation team and end users. As your organization continues on its journey to agile success with Atlassian tools, consider exploring the other valuable support an external partner can offer to enhance your toolstack. 

Engaging with experts who specialize in Atlassian solutions can provide tailored insights and practical assistance, ensuring that your tools are optimized for maximum efficiency and productivity. Solutions providers can even handle licensing, compliance, and maintenance, ensuring that your system remains secure and fully functional. 

Curious to learn more about what an external partner can do for your Atlassian toolstack? Reach out to Valiantys experts today.