Client Onboarding/Implementation in Jira: Configuration Recommendations

[Erica Larson]

We are currently looking to improve our processes for tracking onboarding/implementation for our clients onto our software.  I am looking to see how others have done it, lessons learned, and pitfalls to avoid.

• Extra level in hierarchy above epics to represent client (using Advanced Roadmaps feature) OR new Jira project per client
• Whether one or many, which project type would you choose? Jira Software or Jira Work Management?

I am sure there are pros and cons to any path but would love to hear how you all of have implemented this process into your Jira tool suite.

[Sam Nadarajan]

I know you're doing client onboarding, but I helped implement an onboarding process for our new hires at my company using Jira Work Management. The different views are helpful with JWM b/c we have 30 day and 90 day checkins. So here's kind of how it works:

• Have a workflow with statuses for "orientation", "Post orientation", "30 day check in", and "90 day check in".
• Have custom fields to track some information, such as when the 30 day check in should occur and when the 90 day check in should occur, along with other fields
• Have an automation that runs whenever a ticket moves to the 30 day check in status, copy the date from the "30 day check in" date field to the "Due Date" field, so it shows up on the calendar view
• Have other automations that add a checklist using Issue Checklist for Jira that represents the tasks that need to be fulfilled before progressing through the status.

Given that you're onboarding clients, I am not sure if having a single issue type called "Client" and then having checklists within that ticket is too small, or if you need an Epic = Client and then tasks associated to that epic to track onboarding. My gut is saying don't extend the hierarchy and have this live in Advanced Roadmaps otherwise you won't be able to take advantage of many automations (well I guess you could by setting data that is automatically reflected on the plan, but our team finds value using the board and calendar JWM views specifically).

I am definitely curious to know what other people are doing in this realm!

[Wojciech Wardaszko _HeroCoders_]

Thank you @Sam Nadarajan for recommending our Issue Checklist for Jira :)

@Erica Larson if you decide to go that way and have any questions about Issue Checklist (either Free or Pro) and how can it be used with automation rules and workflows, please take a look at our documentation and/or just let me know :)

I hope you create a nice and easy-to-use client onboarding process with the guidelines from Sam - they look well thought out :) I definitely support the notion of keeping stuff together for easier use of Advanced Roadmaps. Between Epics, tasks, subtasks, and checklists you should have enough granularity not to have to use higher hierarchy levels.

Cheers!

[Erica Larson]

Thanks both for your ideas.  We currently have the Issue checklist add-on and use it for other processes in Jira.  For our implementation process, it takes several months on average and work from multiple teams so just using checklists will not solve the full problem. 

The automation piece is interesting and something we currently use a bit.  We have an automation that creates tasks based on custom fields entered on the epic.  But we are finding that we may need epics to capture the multiple phases and teams doing the work rather than just one giant epic.  Hence the conversation around an extra level or specific projects.

[Oleksandr Siryi_Railsware_]

Hey, @Erica Larson 

In my experience, checklists are an excellent tool for tasks like onboarding. They break down complex flows into manageable steps people can follow.

Smart Checklist's integration with Automation for Jira and JMWE allows you to add and append checklists based on your triggers or workflow transitions. The mandatory items feature ensures important steps aren't being overlooked. Feel free to look through our app documentation. 

[Erica Larson]

Thanks for the idea.  We currently have the Issue Checklist add-on from HeroCoders but the length and complexity of our implementations lean towards using tasks and epics rather than checklists specifically.  I think they could play a roll but not solve the whole problem.

[Aaron Geister]

So there are templates in both JSM and JWM for onboarding which could be use for clients or internal employee situations. The other thing I was thinking about is using assets to onboard and have all the attributed data you need if your using JSM premium it could be a valid use case.

The new JSM customer support feature also allows you to use a attribute type field in the organizations to add data for your clients.

Today I am using Tempo to add client data but I think it would be great if we used a asset scheme also to add contacts and specific users of the client.

Lots of ways to do this. Let me know your thoughts. I think JWM is a great start to use that as a base and build on.

[Erica Larson]

Definitely like the Assets ideas. We don't use JSM for external clients.  I am hoping to make that a next phase for some JSM work I am doing but I do think it could also play into this process down the road.  

[Erica Larson]

Thank you for the comments so far.  Here are some more thoughts I've had as I continue to determine how to implement a solution.

We do not use JSM for external communication.

We don't use JSM for external communication with our clients.  This would be to track all the tasks associated with getting our clients onto our system but not used for communication with them.  We would probably share want to share a visual with the client which is why Advanced Roadmaps seems like a good option but that doesn't necessarily require an extra level in the hierarchy.  

Months long onboarding/implementation process

Our implementations on average take several months to complete.  It varies on the size of the client and their complexity but it takes a significant amount of work from multiple teams.  For this reason, a checklist add-on is not an option to solve the whole problem.

No dedicated admin or team for Atlassian administration

There are a few of us across the company who pick up administrative work for Atlassian tools but most of us have other work on our plates.  This is my biggest concern with the idea of one Jira project per client.  If each one uses the same project configuration, the burden is minimized but introduces the risk of variations being introduced. Creating and maintaining 100's of projects a year is a lot of admin work and how/when would I be able to archive them.

No approved budget for add-ons at this time

As with many companies right now, we are doing our best to minimize expenses and use what we have to it's best ability.  I appreciate the notes on how add-ons could help but definitely looking for ways to use Atlassian's tool set as it comes out of the box at this time.

Love to continue to get people's thoughts and ideas.