Efficiently managing and migrating data within Jira can significantly improve productivity and project management. Bulk cloning epics to populate a new project is one such task that, when done correctly, ensures consistency across projects. This article will explore the advantages of bulk cloning in Jira, how to do it using Jira automation, the limitations of Jira’s native capabilities, and how Elements Copy & Sync addresses these limitations.
Advantages of bulk cloning in Jira
Time efficiency: Bulk cloning allows you to duplicate multiple epics and their associated issues in one go, significantly reducing the effort compared to manual cloning. This can be especially beneficial for large-scale operations where setting up new workflows can be prone to errors if done manually. By automating this process, teams can focus on more critical tasks rather than repetitive administrative work.
Consistency: Ensuring that all necessary epics and issues are copied accurately maintains the integrity of data. Consistency is important for maintaining the quality of tracking and reporting. Inconsistent data can lead to misunderstandings, missed deadlines, and ultimately, failure.
Streamlined project templating: Quickly setting up new workspaces with pre-existing epics and tasks allows teams to hit the ground running, focusing on execution rather than setup. Project templating ensures that all teams start with the same structure, making it easier to manage and track progress.
How to bulk clone epics using Jira automation
Jira’s automation capabilities allow for cloning issues and epics, though with some limitations. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Create an automation rule:
- Navigate to your settings and select “automation”.
- Click on “create rule”.
- Set the trigger:
- Choose a trigger that suits your needs, such as “issue created” or “scheduled”.
- Add a condition:
- Add a condition to ensure the rule applies only to epics. For example, use a JQL condition like
issuetype = epic.
- Add a condition to ensure the rule applies only to epics. For example, use a JQL condition like
- Clone the epic:
- Add the action “clone issue”.
- Configure the clone action to specify the target workspace and any fields that need to be copied.
- Clone related issues:
- Add additional actions to clone issues related to the epic. Unfortunately, Jira automation requires a separate rule for each issue type if you need to maintain the hierarchy.
- Run the rule:
- Save and enable your rule.
- Run the rule to see the epics and issues copied to the new workspace.
Limitations of Jira automation
While Jira automation is powerful, it has limitations:
- Hierarchy maintenance: Jira’s native automation cannot bulk clone an entire epic hierarchy in one go. You have to create separate rules for each level of the hierarchy, making the process cumbersome.
- Manual effort: Setting up multiple rules and conditions can be time-consuming and prone to errors. This manual setup can become tedious, especially for large-scale operations with complex structures.
- Date management: Jira does not allow bulk editing of dates during cloning, which can be crucial for timelines. Proper date management is essential for ensuring that schedules remain accurate and tasks are completed on time.
Overcoming limitations with Elements Copy & Sync
Elements Copy & Sync is a Jira cloud app designed to address the limitations of Jira’s native automation. Here’s how it can help:
- Bulk cloning with hierarchy: Elements Copy & Sync allows you to clone an entire epic hierarchy in one go. This ensures that all dependencies and relationships are preserved, maintaining the structure and flow of your workflows.
- Bulk cloning all the elements of an issue: The app allows you to clone all the elements of the issue, including the description, labels, attachments, comments, and other relevant details. This comprehensive cloning ensures that no critical information is left behind.
- User-friendly interface: The intuitive interface simplifies the process of setting up bulk clones, reducing the chances of errors and making the process more efficient. A user-friendly interface can save time and reduce the learning curve for new users.
With Elements Copy & Sync, you can also sync cloned issues to keep teams aligned and updated and improve support and development collaboration with efficient comment sync.
Implementing bulk cloning for different scenarios
When implementing bulk cloning, it’s essential to consider the specific requirements and scenarios of your operations. Here are a few common scenarios and how to address them:
- Creating templates:
- Use Elements Copy & Sync to clone and sync your templates with predefined epics and issues.
- Ensure that all necessary fields and dependencies are included in the template.
- Migrating workspaces:
- When migrating from one Jira instance to another, bulk cloning can help maintain the structure and data integrity.
- Elements Copy & Sync can clone the entire workspace, including all epics, issues, and their relationships.
- Setting up parallel workspaces:
- For organizations running parallel workspaces, bulk cloning can help replicate the setup quickly.
- This ensures that all teams follow the same structure and standards, making it easier to manage and track them.
Best practices for bulk cloning in Jira
To ensure the best results when bulk cloning in Jira, follow these best practices:
Monitor and review: After cloning, monitor to ensure everything was copied correctly. Review the setup and make any necessary adjustments to align with the project’s requirements.
Plan ahead: Before starting the cloning process, plan the structure and requirements of the new project. Identify the epics and issues that need to be cloned and any specific configurations required.
Test before cloning: If using Jira automation or a tierce app such as Elements Copy & Sync, test the rules on a smaller set of data to ensure they work as expected. This can help identify any issues before applying the rules to the entire project.
Regularly update templates: Keep your project templates updated with the latest best practices and standards. This ensures that new ones are set up with the most current information and configurations.
Bulk cloning epics in Jira is a powerful method for enhancing management efficiency. By leveraging tools like Elements Copy & Sync, organizations can overcome the limitations of Jira’s native capabilities and ensure consistent, accurate setups. Implementing bulk cloning can save effort, reduce manual work, and improve overall productivity, making it an essential practice for modern management.
Effective pre-sales management is crucial for closing deals and maintaining customer satisfaction. Integrating your CRM system with Jira Service Management (JSM) can significantly streamline your processes, improve data accuracy, and enhance collaboration among team members.
The challenge: streamlining RFP management
Pre-sales engineer often juggle multiple tasks, from managing Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to ensuring all necessary information is captured accurately. This process becomes cumbersome without a seamless integration between the CRM and JSM. Manually transferring data between systems can lead to errors, missed details, and inefficiencies that delay the RFP process.
The solution: Integrating your CRM with JSM
Integrating your CRM system with JSM can revolutionize your pre-sales process by ensuring that all critical information is centralized and easily accessible.
Benefits of integrating your CRM to Jira Service Management:
- Automated data syncing: Automatically synchronize data from your CRM to JSM. This ensures that all relevant customer information, such as contact details and communication history, is readily available in JSM without manual input.
- Enhanced collaboration: Facilitate better collaboration among team members by providing a unified view of customer interactions and RFP statuses. This can lead to more informed decision-making and a more cohesive approach to proposal management.
- Improved accuracy: Reduce the risk of errors by eliminating manual data entry. Automated data syncing ensures that the information in JSM is always up-to-date and accurate, which is crucial for creating effective and timely proposals.
- Time efficiency: Save valuable time that would otherwise be spent on manually transferring data. This allows pre-sales representatives to focus on more strategic tasks, such as crafting compelling proposals and engaging with potential customers.
Unlock seamless CRM integration with Elements Connect!
Streamline your pre-sales operations by integrating your CRM data directly into Jira Service Management withElements Connect.
Save time, reduce errors, and ensure all critical information is centralized and accessible. Empower your pre-sales team to focus on crafting winning proposals rather than searching for data. Learn more and optimize your workflow!
Integrating your CRM with Jira Service Management can transform your pre-sales management process. By automating data synchronization, enhancing collaboration, and improving data accuracy, this integration enables your team to work more efficiently and effectively. Invest in a seamless CRM-JSM integration to elevate your pre-sales operations and drive business success.
Elements Connect is a powerful app for Jira that enables seamless integration between your CRM and JSM. Here’s how Elements Connect can enhance your pre-sales management:
- Direct access to CRM data: Elements Connect allows pre-sales teams to access CRM data directly from within their Jira Service Management tickets. This includes customer contact information, communication history, and associated deals.
- Auto-populated fields: With Elements Connect, you can configure fields in your JSM request forms to be auto-populated with data from your CRM. This ensures that all necessary information is included in the RFP without manual input.
- Customizable integration: The app provides flexibility in retrieving and displaying data, allowing you to tailor the integration to meet your specific needs. This can include setting up custom queries to pull the most relevant data from your CRM.
Practical steps to integrate your CRM with JSM
- Install Elements Connect: Begin by installing the Elements Connect app in your Jira instance.
2. Configure data sources: Set up Elements Connect to link to your CRM. This involves configuring the data sources and specifying which fields should be retrieved in Jira.
3. Customize request forms: Modify your JSM request forms to include Elements Connect fields. These fields will pull data directly from your CRM, ensuring that all necessary information is available.
4. Train your team: Ensure that your pre-sales team is trained on how to use the integrated system. Provide guidelines on how to access and utilize CRM data within JSM to maximize efficiency.
5. Monitor and optimize: Regularly monitor the integration to ensure it is functioning as expected. Gather feedback from your team and make adjustments as necessary to improve the workflow.
Discover how Elements Connect can revolutionize your pre-sales management. Learn More.
By leveraging the full capabilities of Elements Connect, your pre-sales team can operate more efficiently, focus on building strong customer relationships, and ultimately drive more sales. Start optimizing your CRM and JSM integration today with Elements Connect and see the difference it makes in your business operations.
Conversing with IT teams and employees often reveals a disconnect between perceived operational success and the true experiences of end-users. This discrepancy, famously known as the “Watermelon Effect”, is not an inevitable problem.
In this article, we’ll explore how integrating Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) alongside traditional Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in Jira Service Management can help identify and remedy this phenomenon.
What is the Watermelon Effect?
The Watermelon Effect occurs when IT services appear green (good) on the outside, typically shown through compliance with SLAs, but are red (problematic) on the inside due to underlying issues that affect user satisfaction.
Essentially, while services might meet operational metrics, they fail to meet the actual needs or expectations of the end-users, leading to dissatisfaction and inefficiencies that are not immediately apparent from the surface metrics.
What causes the Watermelon Effect in ITSM?
In ITSM, the Watermelon Effect can stem from several factors. Root causes vary from organization to organization, but three factors emerge as frequent patterns leading to this disconnect:
- Misalignment of metrics: Often, IT teams focus on operational metrics such as uptime and ticket closure rates, which do not necessarily translate to user satisfaction
- Lack of end-user feedback: Without regular and structured feedback mechanisms, it’s challenging for IT teams to understand the user’s perspective
- Overemphasis on quantitative metrics: Prioritizing quantitative data over qualitative insights often leads to overlooking user experiences and satisfaction
Solving this challenge requires a paradigm shift that traditional approaches do not permit. The emergence of user-centric IT frameworks and tools, such as Experience Level Agreements, can help IT teams move the needle in the right direction.
The Case for using Experience Metrics (XLAs) on top of SLAs
Experience metrics, or XLAs, serve as an essential complement to the traditional SLAs by focusing on the satisfaction and experiences of the service users. XLAs help move the focus from just meeting technical benchmarks to enhancing the actual service experience. By integrating XLAs, organizations can:
- Enhance user satisfaction: Directly address what end-users value most in their interactions with IT services
- Improve service quality: Foster a deeper understanding of the qualitative aspects of service delivery
- Drive operational excellence: Align operational goals with user expectations, leading to services that are not only efficient but also effective and well-received
Ready to take the plunge? Let’s have a look at how you can tackle this challenge and set-up XLAs in Jira Service Management.
How to implement and monitor XLAs in Jira Service Management
What you can do with native Jira Service Management features
Natively, teams can opt to enable CSAT surveys: a single question with a one-to-five star rating emailed to the reporter when a ticket is resolved or closed. This method of surveying is transactional and prioritizes operational efficiency over experience. It serves one purpose: how did ticket MyTicket-34567 go? Jira Service Management presents the results as an time series and average of those surveys.
Also natively, SLA success metrics are present stand-alone as single reports.
However, neither of these on their own have a strong connection to the overarching goals of the organization are a reflection of a service goal or an experience ambition. The goals of an organization are not respond to a ticket within 30 minutes or 2 hours. For instance, a service management team or organization seeks to provide prompt and high-quality services when onboarding new employees so they can be productive on their very first day.
Elements Pulse: the app that makes running a user-centric IT team easy
At Elements, we believe there’s a better way, and we want to empower IT to connect with its users on a level that creates value and delight beyond expectations.
We designed Elements Pulse as the central hub for IT managers and their teams to measure and improve customer satisfaction with IT services directly in Jira Service Management.
Here’s a brief overview of the app capabilities:
Fixing the Watermelon Effect with user-centric IT
To truly smash the Watermelon Effect, IT departments must adopt a user-centric approach.
By embracing XLAs alongside SLAs in Jira Service Management, IT leaders can move beyond the facade of operational success and drive genuine improvements in user satisfaction and service quality. This approach not only resolves the hidden issues within IT services but also aligns operations with the true needs and expectations of the end-users, fostering a more effective, responsive, and user-focused IT environment.
After all, to quote Maya Angelou:
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Understanding automation in Jira
Automation in Jira helps teams focus on important tasks by simplifying repetitive tasks and complex workflows. Users can easily create automation rules using a simple, no-code interface. These rules can handle everything from basic tasks to more complex processes. This feature is available in both Jira Cloud and Confluence Cloud.
Key elements of automation Rules
Jira automation rules consist of three main parts: triggers, conditions, and actions.
- Triggers initiate the automation rule. They could be set off by various events within Jira like issue creation, or changes in field values, or could be linked to external triggers from services like GitHub.
Conditions serve to refine the automation by setting criteria that must be met for the rule to proceed. If these conditions are not met, the rule stops.
Actions are the tasks carried out by the rule, such as modifying an issue, sending notifications, or creating sub-tasks.
These components work together to automate complex workflows, improving efficiency and consistency in task management.
Advanced features in Jira Automation
- Branching: This enables actions to impact both the issue that activated the rule and any related issues, like sub-tasks or linked issues. For example, if a rule is triggered by an issue being marked as ‘Done’, it can also automatically carry out different actions on that issue’s subtasks.
- Smart Values: These allow dynamic access and manipulation of data within issues. For example, you can automatically add days to the current date or retrieve issue summaries.
- Rule Actor: The individual or system executing the rule must have the necessary permissions to perform the defined actions.
Limitations of Jira Automation and how Elements Copy and Sync app enhances capability
While Jira Automation offers a strong framework for task automation within the Jira environment, it has some limitations, particularly with complex issue relationships. The Elements Copy and Sync app enhances Jira by offering capabilities not covered by Jira’s built-in automation:
- Advanced issue copying: The app enables more precise settings for duplicating issues, covering custom fields and other configurations that aren’t usually managed by Jira’s built-in automation.
- Greater control over syncing: Users can choose which data to sync. When changes are made, the synchronization happens automatically. This is very helpful for teams that manage projects, as it keeps everything up to date.
To understand how Elements Copy & Sync improves capability, let’s see how to create a new project from a template using the app:
Jira Automation streamlines workflow management and boosts productivity by automating routine tasks. However, for organizations that need advanced synchronization and copying capabilities, the Elements Copy and Sync app provides a comprehensive solution that enhances Jira’s native automation features. By integrating such app, companies can achieve a more interconnected and efficient workflow system.
Understanding these tools and their capacities allows teams to better structure their workflows and leverage automation for optimal operational efficiency.
What is a project template in Jira?
Jira Software supports diverse team needs with a variety of project templates. These templates are practical; they include pre-configured issue types, workflows, and more. Jira’s project templates enable teams to start quickly with setups that fit their workflows and needs.
Why use Jira’s native templates?
Jira’s native project templates help teams get started quickly. They cut down setup time, letting team members focus on their tasks sooner. This makes starting projects easier and helps everyone work more efficiently right away. These templates are essential for any team that wants to speed up their projects while still doing great work.
What are project template limitations in Jira?
Jira’s project templates can be rigid. Once set up, altering their structure, such as workflows or issue types, can be challenging. This rigidity may limit teams that frequently need to revise their processes.
Customization is another concern. While Jira offers many templates, they may not fully suit all specific needs. Often, teams find they need to make additional adjustments. For example, a team might need to manage customer issues that are similar across multiple projects. Standard templates do not support seamless sharing of issues between projects, which complicates tracking and consistency. This challenge often necessitates additional apps to streamline issue management across multiple projects.
Overcoming limitations with third-party apps
To overcome these limitations, teams can use third-party apps like Elements Copy and Sync. This app enhances Jira’s templating abilities. It lets teams clone and sync issues across different projects. This is useful for teams in a scaled agile framework or large projects across multiple teams.
Explore how Elements Copy and Sync can transform your project management by trying it out today.
The ability to duplicate entire projects and synchronize updates ensures consistency and customization, streamlining operations and adapting to the specific needs of any team.
Read more on how to clone an entire project in Jira with Elements Copy&Sync
In conclusion, while Jira’s native templates provide a solid foundation for project management, they often require additional flexibility to meet the diverse and evolving needs of dynamic teams. Leveraging third-party tools can address these gaps, enhancing Jira’s functionality and adapting its capabilities to serve your organizational requirements better. By integrating these solutions, teams can transform a static project setup into a versatile and scalable system, ensuring it progresses and adapts alongside their growth. This strategic approach not only optimizes workflows but also maximizes the potential of your project management ecosystem.
As the dynamics of IT service management evolve, so does the need for a more nuanced approach to measuring success. Traditional operational metrics IT has relied on for years tell only part of the story. In a role where success hinges not just on systems running smoothly but on users feeling supported, Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) have emerged as an instrumental tool in gauging the true quality of IT services.
Join us as we explore how XLAs can be effectively utilized within Jira Service Management to enhance customer experience, ensuring that services not only meet operational standards but also deliver genuine satisfaction and value.
What are XLAs?
Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) are a transformative approach to IT service management agreements that prioritize the end-user’s experience over the conventional metrics typically found in Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Unlike SLAs, which focus primarily on the quantity and efficiency of service delivery (e.g., response times, issue resolution times), XLAs measure the quality of the interaction and the satisfaction of the user with those services. They aim to encapsulate the subjective elements of service delivery, ensuring that the services provided are not only efficient but also effective and enjoyable.
SLAs vs XLAs: when IT is a victim of the Watermelon Effect
Traditional Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are often celebrated for keeping things running smoothly — at least on the surface. Yet, they can be deceptive, presenting a facade of efficiency while hiding underlying user dissatisfaction. This disparity is known as the watermelon effect, where metrics look good on the outside (green) but are problematic on the inside (red). XLAs challenge this by measuring what really matters to users — their actual experience and satisfaction, thus providing a truer representation of service effectiveness.
Indeed SLAs, by their very nature, encourage a focus on meeting predefined technical targets, often leading service teams to prioritize compliance over user satisfaction. This can result in scenarios where, although the technical aspects of a service are within agreed parameters, the users may still be dissatisfied due to factors such as poor communication, lack of empathy, or inefficient processes that are not captured by traditional SLAs.
Experience Level Agreements (XLAs), on the other hand, are designed to combat the watermelon effect by shifting the focus from purely operational metrics to the actual experiences of the end-users. XLAs assess the impact of IT services on user productivity, satisfaction, and overall experience. They help organizations measure what really matters to the end-user, such as how supported they feel, how effectively their issues are resolved in context, and their overall engagement with the service team.
Satisfaction Maturity levels: why you should go beyond traditional CSAT surveys
Collecting user feedback through Customer Satisfaction surveys is a good start, and Jira Service Management offers a simple, built-in mechanism to collect CSAT ratings and comments on resolved issues. However, these transactional Customer Satisfaction surveys provide only a snapshot of customer sentiment post-service, which does not accurately represent the overall experience.
XLAs fill this void by offering a continuous, in-depth analysis of user interactions over time, thus providing a more comprehensive view of the service effectiveness across different touchpoints and journeys.
Moving beyond traditional CSAT surveys to a more mature model of satisfaction measurement empowers IT teams to not only react to, but anticipate and meet, user needs more effectively, thus enhancing the overall service quality and user satisfaction.
Satisfaction Maturity levels in IT: The 4 levels
The concept of satisfaction maturity in ITSM can be seen as a journey of evolving focus, from basic operational metrics to a comprehensive, strategic embrace of customer experience. This journey is marked by distinct maturity levels, each representing a deeper integration of customer satisfaction into the service management framework.
At Elements, we envision four levels:
- Level 0 – No Experience Measurement: At this stage, there’s little to no active tracking of user satisfaction or service quality. IT teams are mostly reactive, lacking any structured insights into user satisfaction.
- Level 1 – Reactive Measures: Basic surveys are used after ticket resolution, providing snapshot feedback that focuses on specific interactions. The key measurement is usually a simple rating scale (e.g., 1 to 5 stars), which reflects immediate user reactions rather than deep insights.
- Level 2 – Proactive Engagement: Advanced tracking mechanisms like XLAs begin to be implemented, considering broader user experience factors. This level involves continuous data collection and regular analysis, enabling IT teams to quickly identify and address service issues as they occur. However, the focus remains largely on rectifying negatives rather than creating positive experiences.
- Level 3 – Integrated Experience Focus: XLAs are fully integrated, with continuous improvement cycles and a deep focus on user-centric service management. Customer experience is fully integrated into the IT service strategy, and insights are used not only to address service issues but also to drive service design and delivery. Satisfaction measurement is continuous and multifaceted, involving both quantitative and qualitative data to capture a comprehensive view of user experience.
By advancing through these levels, organizations can ensure that they are not just solving immediate problems but are continuously enhancing the user experience, aligning IT services more closely with user needs and expectations, and fostering a culture of excellence in service delivery. This progression is essential for transforming IT from a support function into a strategic enabler that drives organizational success.
Measuring Experience in Jira Service Management: How to get started with XLAs
Implementing Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) in Jira Service Management involves a structured approach to integrate user experience metrics into your IT service framework.
While you could go the manual way, stick with the native Jira Service Management features and try to create some custom reports and dashboards, it would require a lot of work and provide a deceptive and incomplete solution. To help IT teams connect with their customers on a level that creates value and delight beyond expectations we’ve built Elements Pulse, the app for Jira Service Management that provides IT with a central hub for customer-centric insights and drives continuous improvement.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started on measuring and enhancing customer experience effectively with Elements Pulse so your IT team makes the leap from Reactive measure to Proactive Engagement.
Step 1: Define the scope of your analysis
Begin by determining the scope of your analysis: select the Jira Service Management projects to pull data from, specify the time period for your analysis, and choose the categories of indicators against which you want to measure your performance.
Step 2: Understand your performance
Start with a broad overview of your performance using the dashboard hub. Then, delve into each category of indicators—Customer Satisfaction, SLAs, Service Quality, and Productivity—to understand where you and your IT team can make improvements.
Step 3: Create a custom survey
To gather feedback from your users, utilize a survey template to craft a custom survey. Enable agents to initiate this survey from an issue upon resolution or at any significant point in the workflow. Aggregated survey results will be directly accessible within your Pulse survey module.
Step 4: Set Experience goals (XLAs) for each indicator
Establish clear targets for each indicator, drawing on insights from your previous performance, and unite your team around these objectives.
Step 5: Analyze feedback and adapt
Regularly review the feedback and data collected through Elements Pulse. Use this data to identify trends, pinpoint areas of improvement, and assess the success of recently implemented changes. Analysis should lead to actionable insights that drive continuous improvement in IT service delivery and user experience.
Step 6: Report and iterate
Create regular reports to share with stakeholders that highlight key findings, progress against XLAs, and areas needing attention. Use insights from Elements Pulse to create reports that will demonstrate the progress of your experience to key stakeholders. These reports are essential for ensuring transparency and for making data-driven decisions to refine IT services further.
Step 7: Foster a culture of Continuous Improvement
Promote a culture that values user feedback and continuous improvement. Encourage your IT team and stakeholders to regularly review XLA outcomes and to brainstorm solutions for enhancing service delivery. This cultural shift is essential for sustaining long-term improvements in user experience and for achieving the full benefits of implementing XLAs in Jira Service Management with Elements Pulse.
By following these steps, you can effectively measure and improve the customer experience in Jira Service Management using XLAs thanks to Elements Pulse. This approach not only enhances user satisfaction but also aligns IT services more closely with business objectives and user needs.
The Future of ITSM is Customer Centric
By embracing XLAs, companies can ensure their IT operations truly support their most important asset: their users. The transition from SLAs to XLAs does not mean abandoning traditional metrics but rather complementing them with experience-focused measurements. This dual approach ensures that while the service continues to meet operational requirements, it also excels in delivering a superior user experience. This shift not only helps avoid the pitfalls of the watermelon effect but also aligns IT services more closely with broader business goals and user needs, fostering a more supportive and responsive IT service environment.
When managing IT services, the focus often leans heavily towards operational efficiency—how quickly issues are resolved and how many tickets are processed. However, if you’re aiming to truly enhance service delivery, it’s crucial to shift your attention from operational outputs to the actual experiences of your users. After all, the fundamental purpose of IT is to support its customers – employees of the organization- so that they are in the best conditions to do the ‘real job’.
In this article, we’ll explore how you can improve customer experience in Jira Service Management by focusing on the right metrics.
Why measure Experience
In the context of IT Service Management, where user interactions are often problem-driven, a positive experience can significantly mitigate the frustration associated with technical issues.
The quality of the experience your department provides to employees directly impacts the perception of IT in your organization, but it doesn’t stop there. When employee experience with IT is positive, it boosts productivity and promotes a culture of excellence. This can lead to higher engagement, increased employee loyalty, and thus better business performance.
XLAs vs SLA: What’s the difference
Traditionally, Service Level Agreements (SLAs) have been the backbone of IT service contracts, focusing on the timeliness and accuracy of services delivered. SLAs are about the ‘what’ of services—what gets done and when. Experience Level Agreements (XLAs), on the other hand, shift the focus to the ‘how’—how users feel about the service they receive, emphasizing the outcome and value over the output.
While SLAs track metrics like uptime and response times, XLAs might look at user satisfaction scores, ease of use, and how effectively issues are resolved from the user’s perspective. Integrating XLAs into your ITSM framework means prioritizing these human-centric metrics, which more accurately reflect the health and effectiveness of your IT services.
To better understand how Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) differ from traditional Service Level Agreements (SLAs), let’s look at a side-by-side comparison.
The below table illustrates the core distinctions, shedding light on how each type of agreement measures service delivery and success.
| SLAs (Service Level Agreements) | XLAs (Experience Level Agreements) | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Operational outputs such as uptime, response times, etc. | User experience, satisfaction, and perceived value. |
| Metrics | Quantitative (e.g., number of tickets resolved, uptime) | Qualitative and quantitative, focusing on end-user feedback and overall satisfaction. |
| Objective | Ensure services are delivered within agreed parameters. | Improve and enhance the end-user’s interaction and satisfaction with services. |
| Measurement | Based on predefined technical or operational targets. | Based on outcomes that affect end-user satisfaction and service perception. |
| Feedback Loop | Often limited to operational performance reviews. | Continuous, incorporating user feedback to drive service improvements. |
| Impact | Focuses on service efficiency and reliability. | Aims to create positive user experiences and foster loyalty. |
| Implementation | Standardized across many organizations. | Tailored to specific user needs and organizational goals. |
To sum up, while SLAs focus primarily on quantifiable operational metrics, XLAs emphasize the overall experience and satisfaction of the end-user, aiming to enhance the perceived value of IT services.
The challenges of measuring customer experience in Jira
Implementing and tracking experience-focused metrics in Jira Service Management can be challenging. The tool is inherently designed around operational efficiency, and while it offers robust functionalities for tracking SLAs, it lacks a module to effectively measure and analyze customer experience metrics.
Challenges include integrating user feedback directly into the service workflow, correlating this feedback with service performance data, and ensuring that this data influences IT service strategies for the better.
Customer experience in Jira: the metrics that matter and can actually be tracked
To truly gauge customer experience in Jira, you need to consider metrics that reflect not just the efficiency but also the effectiveness and emotional response to the service provided.
Here are four essential categories of metrics to consider, each playing a key role in providing a holistic view of your IT operations performance:
| CUSTOMER SATISFACTION | Evaluates user contentment with support services through loyalty and satisfaction metrics like the Net Promoter Score and CSAT. |
| SERVICE QUALITY | Measures the effectiveness of support through request volumes, response times, resolution efficacy, and abandonment rates. |
| SLA | Tracks fidelity to service commitments, focusing on response and resolution timelines, but also any other SLA you will define in Jira Service Management. |
| PRODUCTIVITY | Assesses efficiency in resolving user issues, considering first-contact resolution and the frequency of follow-up interactions. |
Taking into account these four lenses enables a more strategic enhancement of your service delivery, ensuring that your IT services are not just functional but truly aligned with the needs of users.
At Elements, we aim to empower IT to connect with employees on a level that creates value and delight beyond expectations. We designed our app Elements Pulse to provide a central hub for monitoring and improving customer satisfaction in Jira Service Management.
The app includes a comprehensive visual overview dashboard that provides a clear snapshot of your current IT experience status. It offers detailed insights derived from your Jira data, an integrated survey tool for collecting user feedback, and a dedicated module for setting and tracking experience goals through Experience Level Agreements (XLAs).
This robust combination ensures that you have all the tools necessary to effectively measure and enhance user experience within your IT services.
Ready to craft IT experiences that leave a lasting impression?
By shifting focus from traditional SLAs to more reflective and comprehensive XLAs, and by carefully choosing and monitoring the right metrics in Jira Service Management, you can not only meet but exceed user expectations, thereby transforming the IT service experience.
Remember, in the digital age, great service is not just about solving problems—it’s about how your users feel when interacting with your IT service desk.
Discover Elements Copy & Sync: Your Ultimate Tool for Cloning and Synchronization in Jira
Have you explored what Elements Copy & Sync has to offer? Available on the Atlassian Marketplace, this tool is indispensable for enhancing your project management capabilities within Jira. Whether you’re looking to clone Jira projects, copy issues, or utilize Jira project templates for quick project setups, Elements Copy & Sync facilitates these tasks with ease and precision.
Why Elements Copy & Sync?
Elements Copy & Sync allows for seamless cloning and synchronization of projects and issues, ensuring that all team members have the latest updates. It’s perfect for:
- Support escalation: Enhances coordination between support and development teams by synchronizing Jira issues.
- Project synchronization: Keeps various teams aligned when working on shared projects or issues.
- Project templating: Enables the quick launching of new projects using predefined Jira project templates, making the creation of new initiatives as simple as a few clicks.
Elements Copy & Sync is your best ally to go beyond Jira cloning native features that can be limited and lacks of customs options.
Let’s see how to leverage Elements Copy & Sync for cloning an entire project effectively!
Step 1: Configure your cloning recipe
Before you can start cloning, you need to set up what we refer to as a “recipe” — a configuration within the app. This recipe specifies which issues to clone, which fields to synchronize, and where they should be mapped.
In the app section, you’ll need to create a new “Copy & Sync” recipe and to check that these options are activated:
- Copy full hierarchy
- Copy all fields in the field mapping area (you can also copy attachments, comments, web links…)
- Copy subtasks
Save and activate your recipe.
Step 2: Clone your project configuration
Let’s assume you want to clone a project named “Tellurian template” into a new project called “AirCleaner Software.” In Jira, create a new project and apply the Tellurian template’s settings. This approach clones the entire configuration of your project, saving time and reducing manual setup.
Read more about how to do bulk cloning with Elements Copy & Sync
Step 3: Use filter to locate issues and get the job done!
In your new project “AirCleaner Software,” navigate to the issue area and use a JQL query to identify the right issues for cloning.
For example if you want to clone all the epics with their child issues, you can insert this JQL query:
Once you locate these issues, activate Elements Copy & Sync with your configured recipe. The app will automatically clone the Jira issues and their child issues to the new project. This automation can be triggered manually or set up as a post-function or automated task.
Note that you can also decide to trigger your recipe with Automation or post-functions rather than with a manual action.
And that’s it, you’re all set: all your issues have been cloned with their fields and child issues.
Try Elements Copy & Sync for free
Starting a new project or managing ongoing ones in Jira doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. With Elements Copy & Sync, cloning Jira projects, issues, and utilizing project templates become straightforward processes that save time and increase productivity.
Try the demo here: