Modern IT service management using Atlassian tools at the Plansee Group

Replacement of an existing system for 10,000 users

With 46 international sites and its headquarters in Reutte (Austria), the Plansee Group, with around 11,000 employees, is one of the largest companies in the field of powder metallurgy. It is therefore not surprising that users are supported by over 300 IT service agents.
Although the internal processes are designed to be efficient, the ITSM tool introduced in 2019 was to be replaced to ensure greater future-proofing. The implementation focused on key functions such as updating service requests, incident management, hardware provisioning, the service catalogue and configuration management. The aim was to ensure a smooth transition from an existing legacy system to a modern ITSM system.

Future-proof and flexible working in service management

The project involved the implementation of Jira Service Management as an ITSM solution and the replacement of the existing service management system. Naturally, the scope of work also included the migration of legacy data and the development of the necessary interfaces to third-party systems. The scope was described in detail in the project plan during the requirements workshop and tailored to the organisation’s needs in order to ensure the optimal implementation of the technological integration.

Implementation of an ITSM solution using Jira Service Management and Confluence

Before the integration began, the existing Jira application was streamlined, whilst business-critical configurations were retained. Following the installation of Jira Service Management and the setup of the Communardo ITSM base configuration, an asset database was integrated in addition to the migration of legacy data. Through numerous consultations on configurations, standard apps and test migrations, scripts and test cases were developed in collaboration with the Plansee team. As a result, thanks to the professional implementation, the final data migration was able to take place at the touch of a button.

In parallel with the project, stakeholders and users were kept continuously informed about the progress and status of the integration. To meet the tight deadline, training sessions on the apps in use supported the Plansee project team with configuration and set-up. This enabled the transfer of know-how for operating the service management platform and the knowledge base to take place whilst the project was still ongoing. Furthermore, shortly after the first test migration, the service agents were trained and empowered to ensure better acceptance within the test environments.

With the system’s user-friendly interface, scalability, the implementation of numerous use cases using standard apps, right through to the automation of service queues and SLA management, a solution based on ITIL® was developed for the Plansee Group. The aim was to make it straightforward to create service requests and manage them efficiently. This is now possible for the Plansee Group thanks to the intelligent backend processes: mission accomplished.

The project approach:

  1. Conducting a requirements workshop with over 100 requirements for implementation.
  2. Kick-off event featuring team-building activities and an overview of project governance.
  3. Management and implementation of the requirements in Jira Software, organised into topic clusters and workstreams; schedule integrated via Advanced Roadmaps.
  4. Deployment of the Communardo ITSM base configuration on the test environment.
  5. Effective 30-minute weekly meetings over a period of three months, following the Jeff Bezos principle.
  6. Regular workshops with the project team.
  7. Collaborative configuration of Jira Service Management and Confluence (as a knowledge base).
  8. Transfer of the configuration to the production system, migration of existing tickets and go-live.
  9. Supporting the roll-out with training and adoption and change management measures.
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In particular, the close and pleasant collaboration with the Communardo team contributed to the project’s success. The fact that we were working remotely and were physically apart did not pose a problem. The numerous and well-prepared workshops were a key part of the project. This meant that many unanswered questions were clarified right at the start of the project. The documentation was then compiled jointly in the project tickets.
Stefan Arnold, Global Head of IT Sales & Marketing Applications, Plansee Group

Results and benefits for the Plansee Group

  • Implementation of Jira Service Management and replacement of the existing service management system.
  • System with access for 10,000 users to the service desk.
  • Implementation of Confluence as a knowledge base for customers and service staff.
  • Use of the Communardo implementation methodology for ITSM with Atlassian.
  • Implementation of processes: Service Request Management, Incident Management, hardware ordering, software ordering, service catalogue, and much more.
  • Seamless migration of around 86,000 existing tickets from the source system to Jira Service Management.
  • Integration of an interface between the in-house asset database (approx. 16,000 objects) and Jira.
  • Go-live 16 weeks after the project start.
  • Development of an interface between LUY and Jira.

The Plansee Group at a glance

  • 46 production sites
  • Sales offices in 50 countries
  • more than 11,000 employees
  • turnover in excess of 2 billion euros
  • New products account for over 30 per cent
  • Focused on the materials molybdenum and tungsten
  • Products and tools for semiconductor manufacturing, the automotive and aerospace industries, medical technology, consumer electronics, mechanical engineering and the construction industry
Find out more about Plansee

Take your ITSM to the next level with Jira Service Management!

As an Atlassian Platinum and Enterprise Solution Partner, we’re your go-to partner for implementing Jira Service Management. Whether you’re already using an IT service management tool that you’d like to replace or are setting up a new system, we’ll find the perfect solutions for you.

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Marlen Kaiser, Team Leader Customer Acquisition bei Communardo Software GmbH

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