Gothaer Systems (GoSys) is a wholly owned subsidiary and IT/telecommunications service provider of the Gothaer Group. Its tasks include the development and operation of future-oriented applications and innovative solutions.
The results at a glance
- Lean, efficient, and transparent workflow for the ordering process
- Unified view of all job data and user-friendly interface
- Two outdated IBM® Lotus Notes* applications replaced
- Improved order processing performance
Initial situation
In the past, Gothaer used two separate Lotus Notes-based systems to manage assigning work to GoSys. A request was created in the Gothaer system and forwarded to the GoSys system for further processing. The exchange of status information and documents was carried out by an agent that ran at periodic intervals.
In the previous solution, there were delays in processing orders. Data synchronization was only carried out periodically, which meant that the customer and contractor did not have the same view of the data. In addition, not all relevant information was exchanged. The legacy system was designed for specialists and was not intuitive to use for normal users. Changes to the workflow, for example, were hardly possible anymore because the software was outdated.
At times the system's performance was severely affected – “you could sometimes go and make yourself a coffee while an order was loading”. Furthermore, maintaining the existing role system was time-consuming.
Solution
A new solution needed to be developed in order to streamline the commissioning process and to make it more efficient and user-friendly. In the future, orders were to be processed in a shared system. In contrast to the existing solution, it had to be intuitive and user-friendly, with easy access for occasional users, too. Moreover, processes and workflows needed to be improved and simplified at the same time.
An initial workshop was held to analyze the existing system and develop a specific concept for the future solution. This concept served as the basis for agile development. The requirements were iteratively and incrementally developed and implemented in collaboration with GoSys experts. Continuous feedback from all stakeholders helped to ensure that the solution was adapted to customer needs from an early stage. The continuous prioritization process ensured that essential software functions were rolled out on time for the delivery date and that less important additional features were implemented in later releases.
“The agile approach took some getting used to at the beginning, but it ultimately convinced us – in particular, involving our customers (our parent company Gothaer) from the outset proved to be very effective, as it gave us early feedback on what the system would look like in the future. You don't develop in the background somewhere, you get involved early on,” says Claudia Weck, Deputy. Head of FI-AM.
The plugins were developed according to the proven agile process model SCRUM. In addition, great attention was paid to the quality of the software. This was ensured, among other things, by a high degree of coverage of the business logic through automated tests.
After evaluating five technical solution alternatives, GoSys favored an Atlassian®-JIRA®*-based solution. The flexible adaptability and expandability of the software as well as the low acquisition costs and the fact that Atlassian® JIRA®* was already being used in other areas of the company were convincing factors.
Result
The result was a solution based on Atlassian® JIRA®* with comprehensive configuration and a custom plugin developed by codecentric. Special workflow functions were implemented during development, e.g. for the implementation of the release processes. New field types and display sections were developed to improve handling and create a transparent view of the order data. In addition, imports and exports were realized for existing and third-party systems, e.g. to trigger orders in SAP®* and exchange status information or to display and export information from DB2®* databases.
The solution satisfied both the customer and the user. The procurement process became leaner, more efficient, and more transparent. There is now a standardized view of all order data and the application is intuitive and user-friendly for those involved in the process. Two outdated IBM® Lotus Notes* applications were replaced and the system delivers outstanding order processing performance. In addition, the error rate is low and acceptance by the users is very high.
“Together with codecentric, we made extensive changes to our existing process and cut out a lot of old habits. The production launch also went perfectly. We were able to roll out all the necessary features as planned on the delivery date and integrate less important functions in later releases after going live.”
Ms. Weck
Deputy Head of Order Management and Accounting
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