Come for content -
Stay for the conversation
Make your wiki come alive!
Per Fragemann, Confluence Team Lead,
Atlassian

How we use Confluence
inside Atlassian
Overview: Our electronic watercooler
Example A: Crowdsourcing specifications documents
Example B: Discussing real time reporting

Sure, we write
documentation too...
Guidelines, process overviews, job descriptions, code
conventions, meeting minutes, department goals,
troubleshooting guides, FAQs, personal quarterly
objectives, product feature explanation, customer
information, hardware topology, etc. etc.
But everyone does that. Not exactly exciting to go to
your wiki to look up content

... but Change matters!
We blog:
• Serious stuff: Product updates, future hiring plans,
upcoming pricing changes, marketing campaigns
results, feedback from customers, conference
outcomes...
• Fun stuff: Humor, sports and activities, book
reviews, worst code ever, best coffee in town...
No one needs to tell us to use the wiki - we just want to
know the latest buzz.

Need RSS to keep up

Need RSS to keep up
Social Engineering
know-how
News
Humor

Discussions like Usenet
was supposed to be
You post, and someone will know how to improve things
even further
The better your initial proposal/observation/question,
the better feedback. Virtuous cycle!
At the same time self-regulating. No one will waffle
everything, or just whinge. Their boss would notice. It is
not Usenet after all

The blogging leaderboard

88 comments. Not
even counting pages...
The blogging leaderboard

Example A: Crowd-
sourcing
May prepare a draft with a closed group of experts
But at some point you “go public” on our intranet
Get amazing feedback from people you never expected
to care
E.g. specifications, the domain of product management

Specification
Public Feature Specification

Specification
39 comments
so far from....
Public Feature Specification

Actual Feedback

Quality Engineer
Actual Feedback

Quality Engineer
Developer
Actual Feedback

Quality Engineer
Developer
CEO
Actual Feedback

Exhibit B: Discussing
Real Time Reports
Reports are is too valuable to be locked into
warehouses or hidden on obscure web-servers
We include reports right into our internal Confluence
whenever possible
Top 3: SQL macro, RSS feed macro, JIRA issues macro

Turning gibberish...
{chart:type=line|dataOrientation=vertical|width=600|height=300|domainAxisUpperBound=125|title=Cumulative
Sales by Hour|xLabel=Hours into promotion|yLabel=# Licenses|showShapes=false}
{sql:datasource=wwwDS}
select hours.hour, sum(case when po.created < timestamp '2009-04-20 00:00' + (hours.hour * interval '1 hour')
then 1 else 0 end) as \"Sales\"
from persistedorderitem poi, flat_orderable fo, persistedorder po,
(select generate_series(0, 125, 5) as hour) as hours
where
poi.orderableitem_id = fo.id and poi.order_id = po.id
and fo.licensetype = 'starter' and poi.usdtotal > 0
and po.status = 'PAID' and po.processinvoice
and timestamp '2009-04-19 23:00:00' + (hours.hour * interval '1 hour') < now()
group by hours.hour, (timestamp '2009-04-20 00:00' + (hours.hour * interval '1 hour'))::text
order by hours.hour
{sql}
{chart}

... into Campaign Reporting

Regular
SQL Macro
... into Campaign Reporting

Regular
SQL Macro
SQL in Chart
macros
... into Campaign Reporting

And a discussion board too!
... and a discussion board too!

122 comments within days!
And a discussion board too!
... and a discussion board too!

122 comments within days!
And a discussion board too!
Serious suggestions
... and a discussion board too!

122 comments within days!
And a discussion board too!
Serious suggestions
Fun comment turned reality...
... and a discussion board too!

Cost and benefit
Keeping up with discussions takes time
But everyone needs a break now and then anyway.
Better read and discuss work on the company wiki than
on Facebook or Twitter!
Some comments may indeed not be useful
Great transparency and knowledge transfer between
departments

Thank you

Product Documentation
Powered By Confluence
Making InDorse Tech Manuals
As Good as Atlassianʼs

Using Confluence for Documentation
Follow Atlassianʼs documentation organization
o Guides for different roles
 Installation
 Admin
o Separate guides for different products & versions
o Online and PDF
Using Confluence for collaboration
Accessible via Internet
Easy security
o Permissions
o Compliance
o DLP

Organizing InDorseʼs Documentation
Product & Version = Confluence space
o Installation Guide
o Administratorʼs Guide
o Userʼs Guide
o API Programmerʼs Guide

Accessing Confluence
Separate permissions per space
o Groups
o Named users
o Anonymous users
Licensing
o Additional named users cost money
o Hybrid approach possible
Public IP address

Employee View
Customer View

Include Macro: Reuse & Roles
“Frame” pages include “content” pages
o Hierarchy of “frame” pages easy to copy
o Reuse “content” pages
o Include (macro) from other spaces
Macros can include separate content based on
user or role
Include confidential documentation from separate
spaces to reuse Confluence roles

Process for New Versions
Follow Atlassian process for copying
previous versionʼs space
Update hierarchy of “frame” pages to
reflect added or removed product
functionalities
Update “content” pages to reflect
specific product updates
o Example: updated screen shots
Give permissions when product
launches

PDF Export
Post updated PDFs regularly
Enforcing parent-child relationships
eases PDF export

Integrated Enterprise
Security and Compliance
InDorse solution validates Confluence
compliance
o Enforces enterprise DLP rules
o Protects both wiki and attachment content
Attachment uploads & downloads
o Reported on (activity log)
o Digitally tagged or password-protected
based on content & policy

Example: Confluence Attachment
Upload & Download Activity Report

Example: Enforcing Enterprise DLP Rules

Example: Tagging & Password-Protecting Attachments
Password‐protec-on and digital
tagging automa-cally applied based
on a7achment content

Questions & Feedback
Daniel Pohl
VP, Engineering
InDorse Technologies
daniel.pohl@indorse-tech.com

Atlassian
Conference
2382 Faraday Ave, Suite 250-30, Carlsbad, CA 92008
Phone: (877) 696-5959
sales@cpoconsulting.net

About CPO Consulting
At CPO Consulting, we offer solutions to your IT problems. Our company
provides configuration, customization, and development solutions by
using analytics, collaboration tools, and process improvement.
We use Six-Sigma techniques, which include: define, measure, analyze,
improve, and control, along with the proven 4C's methodology: collect,
consolidate, condense, and communicate.
These verified techniques help us to optimize your company’s work flow
and provide the vital information that enables executives and work groups
to make informed decisions.

Examples of CPO Customers

Challenge to Responsiveness
When new projects start or business changes,
such as mergers, new products, or new
business processes occur, an ever stretched IT
organization is pressed to research and
implement new applications that do not fit into
the scheduled work load.

How to Fill the IT Resource Gap
• Inexpensive wiki business applications
• Rapid deployment
• Low learning curve for users
• Start doing business while IT concentrates
on strategic long term solutions
• Short or long term solutions

Current Metrics Process
• Manual collation of metrics from different
quality systems
• Not all sites on automated systems
• Time consuming merging of
spreadsheets
• Email routing of large spreadsheets
• Metrics not real time and reports could
be up to two weeks later

The Solution
• Implement quality metrics dashboard
• Integrate with complaints and quality systems
• Provide forms for manual data entry for sites without
systems
• Provide global collation of metric data
• Present in easy to view format

Business Health at a Glance

Global Dashboard

Real Time Management Reporting

Merging Data from Desperate Systems

Compliance and Metrics

The Results
• Global real time view of
quality status
• Reduced costs in collating
Data and commenting.
• Management visibility to
corporate metrics
• Department and site incentive for quality improvement real
time feedback
• Departments use the wiki to track to targets and achieve
greater compliance to targets
o

Phase II Enhancement Tools Used
• Confluence
• Theme Builder
• Community Bubbles for
discussion groups and
communities
• Frevvo Forms
• Jasper Reports

Easy Data Entry Forms from Frevvo

Creating a Form is Simple

Wiki: Not Just a Pretty Facebook
• Wiki is not just a social tool for
social networking
• Real business uses
• Corporate wide collaboration-
the new way to do business

Future Applications
• Virtual consultations with attorneys and health care
providers
• Electronic patient records
• Contract negotiations
• Community projects
• Special interest groups and lobbying
• Education class discussion forums

Killer JIRA & Confluence
Examples to Root
Your Deployment
R.Mazzarella
Killer JIRA & Confluence Examples to Root Your Deployment

JIRA & Confluence:
Force Multipliers For Program Management
• Program Managers Can Exploit Collaboration Workspaces For:
– The Short Term,
To Build Solutions And Satisfy Customers
And
– The Long Term,
Build “Process Assets” for Longer-Term
Support Of Products And Customer
• Case Study Approach:
– Integrated JIRA and Confluence installations,
where:
• JIRA tracks latest status of issues, tasks, and project management
information
• Confluence provides webpage environment that persists beyond
lifecycles of individual projects
2

Agenda
• Confluence: For Information Layering & Collaboration
• JIRA: For Point Issue Tracking And Project Mgmt.
• Communications Planning With JIRA & Confluence
• Information Transfer Challenges
• Tailoring JIRA Workflows
• Best Practice: Handling Long-Duration Issues
• Metrics
• Adoptions Steps And Recommendations
3

Confluence: For Information Layering & Collaboration
Confluence Collaboration Site For Group’s Structure, Caseloads, Critical Issues,
…
Pareto
MTBF
 


WW 
WIKIs allow websites to be
MTBF
quickly constructed & maintained
by end users for dashboard views,
WW 
Pareto
Accept.s
current metrics, org. info., …
4
WW 

Confluence: For Information Layering & Collaboration
Confluence - JIRA Synergy
MTBF
Product
Install.s
WW 
Pareto
WW 
Confluence:
• Group Collaboration space
• Easy to layer, customize
pages to individual projects
JIRA:
• Tracks individual issues
Web-based Issue
Tracking Tool
Issue 1001
Confluence – JIRA
Integration:
Desc.
• Enables rollup of macro trends
Attach.s
• Enables drilling down to core issues
E-Mails
5

Confluence: For Information Layering & Collaboration
Program Management Dashboard For
<Customer X>
Links:
Main CPM Page
JIRA open issues list
6

JIRA: For Point Issue Tracking And Project Mgmt.
MS Project Task Tracking
Create JIRA issues to track/collect status on critical project tasks
7

Information Transfer Challenges
Information Transfer Challenges Before
JIRA And Confluence
Issue Workflow
Broken Support Chains
• Deficiencies in escalation \"Hand-off\":
Field
Issue ID’d
– Inability to recover past e-mails, analyses, data
Service
Hand-Off
collection logs, etc.
– Uneven analyses standards (some diamonds, many
Product
Data Collection
lumps of coal)
Support
& Analysis
• Analyses Results Sequestered onto
Hand-Off
individual staff’s desktops and laptops
Product
Issue
Management
Prioritization
Inadequate Foundation For Metrics
Hand-Off
• Basic metrics on caseload, closure times,
H/W, S/W
Engineering
Solution
Development
issue aging/process step unknown
Informal Hand-offs Result in:
• Incomplete e-mail histories, missing/inaccurate attachments
• Incomplete routing of issues to proper owners, stakeholders
8

Information Transfer Challenges
Resolving Information Transfer Challenges
Using JIRA And Confluence
Issue Workflow
Issue
Data logs, Root Cause Analysis
Issue Record
Tracking Sys.
E-Mail To Subscribers
Field
Issue ID’d
Service
Hand-Off
Data Collection
Compiled
Product
& Analysis
Data, Status
Support
Hand-Off
Product
Issue
Compiled
Management
Prioritization
Data, Status
Hand-Off
H/W, S/W
Solution
Compiled
Engineering
Development
Data, Status
9

Communications Planning With JIRA & Confluence
Program Management & Managing Communications:
Exploit WIKI Webpage Subscriptions!
10

Tailoring JIRA Workflows
Customizing JIRA To Different Groups Of Users
(Majority of setup effort = Customizing to your workflows)
Group 1:Product Support
Group 2: Product Engineering
These definitions show up
In JIRA as choices:
What change(s) in status are allowed?
11

Best Practice: Handling Long-Duration Issues
Best Practices: Handling Long Duration Issues
• Problem: Issues with long histories tend to over-
Desc.
burden JIRA with attachments, e-mails, comments,
Attach.s
etc.
E-Mails
Solution 1: Sub-Issue 1
Sub-Issue 2
Sub-Issue 3
Break-down Desc.
Desc.
Desc.
issue into Attach.s
Attach.s
Attach.s
“sub-issues”
Solution 2:
E-Mails
E-Mails
E-Mails
Layer Issue Across
WIKI Webpages
Issue
Post-
Problem Data Cause Solution Effects Standardize
mortem
Problem Statement
Root Cause
Data Collection
12

Metrics Reporting Systems For Continuous Improvement
13

Adoptions Steps And Recommendations
Installation & Adoption Steps
Evaluate
Select
Pilot Staff
WIKI Platforms
Engine
Training
Conduct
General Training
Conduct
Collect WIKI
Publish WIKI
End User
Metrics
Policy
Training
14

Adoptions Steps And Recommendations
Adoption Issues & Recommendations
Assuming Roles Of:
“Advocate” = Internal agents pushing for Confluence, JIRA
“New Group” = New groups considering adopting Confluence, JIRA
Topic Trade-Off Recommendation
1) New group conducts their pilot
with advocate’s server.
Servers Shared or separate? 2) If pilot is successful, new group
purchases dedicated server.
1) New group conducts their pilot
with advocate’s sw licenses.
Software Licenses Shared or separate? 2) If pilot is successful, new group
purchases dedicated software
licenses.
1) New group receives support
from advocate’s resources
Staff to support WIKI, during evaluation.
JIRA setup and Shared or separate? 2) If pilot is successful, joint
operations resources for maintaining sites
are put into plan.
15

Direct Results
• Decreased by 50% time-to-resolution rates for
product support issues
• Received Intel’s “Preferred Quality Supplier” Award
– Back-to-back quarters of 90%+ scorecard ratings
• Improved Installation & Warrantee Costs
– Reduced costs by > 15%
16

Questions & Answers
17

Backup Charts
18

Tailoring JIRA Workflows
JIRA Default Workflow (for Tasks)
19

Issue Resolution Workflow
20

CUSTOMER: <Customer Q>
[CPM Customer Dashboard]
Links:
Main CPM Page
JIRA open issues list
21

Web-based Issue Tracking Tools – Sample Issue
1
5
2
1 = Status Info.
3
2 = Issue Subscribers
3 = Customizable workflow
4 = Capability to layer info.
6
5 = Effort tracking
7
6 = Fully customizable fields
7 = Tagging for ad-hoc search
8 = E-mail capture of updates
4
4
8
5
22