BlackRock is a firm of 12000 employees rocking about 500 software deployments per week. (Yes: you read that right.) Learn how BlackRock installed and customized JIRA to manage software enhancements from idea inception to production release. The presentation highlights challenges of the implementation, usage and key integrations between JIRA, iPad, and BlackRock's Trading Platform software.

1. Release Management with
JIRA at BlackRock
GABRIEL TIU • DIRECTOR • BLACKROCK JP PARAMOR • DIRECTOR • BLACKROCK

2. Agenda
BlackRock and our Challenges
Process Solution
Technology Solution
ReleasePath - JIRA

3. BlackRock & our Challenges
BlackRock & our Challenges
Process Solution
Technology Solution
ReleasePath - JIRA

4. Family of exchange-traded funds
(ETFs)
We’re the world’s largest Asset Management firm with
over 4.77 trillion dollars under management
End-to-end investment platform
Investment and Risk Management:
Delivering unbiased advice and
customized solutions

5. Technology Alignment to Business
Product Group A Product Group B … X.Y.Z Development Services
Product Group Owner
Team Owners
Teams & Developers
Business Group A Business Group B … X.Y.Z
Finance Gurus
Low Risk
High Risk
Medium Risk

6. Aladdin at BlackRock
Client A Client B Client C Client D … Client Z
Development &
Testing
Environments

7. 500 Wkly Deployments
81 M Lines of Code
4k Technical Staff
By the
numbers
65 Distinct Clients

8. DOG FOOD, eat it
Leverage and integrate existing
BlackRock technologies
Holistic SDLC
WAgilefall
Idea inception to production
deployment
Support any development
methodology
Bespoke
Needs

9. Key Process Requirements
Multi-level reviews &
approvals
Dynamic risk-based
impact of change
One Release through
multiple deployments,
tracing the origins of
rollbacks
Transparency of
changes across
BlackRock and Clients
Volume & Change
Types
Interface with existing
process
Useable by all
Development Methods
ControlRelationships &
Dependencies
Visibility ScalabilityExtensibility

10. Technology Solution
Technology Solution
Process Solution
BlackRock & our Challenges
ReleasePath - JIRA

11. Key Technology Solution
Workflow, Issuetypes,
Screens
Subtasks, Links Dashboard, Filters,
Subscriptions,
Notifications
Flexible & Scales in
volume of issues and
users
SDK, Plugin library, APIs
ControlRelationships &
Dependencies
Visibility ScalabilityExtensibility

12. ReleasePath Plugin
Developed our own functionality via
Atlassian’s JIRA SDK. E.g. Voting field
Integrations
Alter JIRA Terminology
Aladdin Dashboard, Software Release
Tool validation via REST API,
ReleasePad (iOS)
With language packs, Issues became
Packets, Injected a Help Menu
Extensibility

13. JIRA … ReleasePath
Software Development
Life Cycle
Intelligent Voting
Talking our language

14. ReleasePath Technology Solution
ControlRelationships &
Dependencies
Visibility ScalabilityExtensibility

15. Release Packet
Parent Issue Types represents the
release concept
Deployment Packets
Subtask automation
Subtasks represent individual
deployments to given clients on
specific dates
Bob Swift’s, Clone Plus and Create on
Transition streamlines issue creation
Relationships
and
Dependencies

16. JIRA … ReleasePath
Type your annotation here,
the dotted line can be
moved and/or re-sized.
Type your annotation here
Release Packet Vs
Deployment Packet
Controlled Cloning

17. ReleasePath Technology Solution
ControlVisibilityRelationships &
Dependencies
ScalabilityExtensibility

18. Email Templates
Customisable emails via velocity
templates
Dashboard Publishing
PDF View
Dashboard Distribution plugin
(catWorkX) allows instant setup for
new starters
PDFView (Midori) plugin provided
scriptable templates for custom PDF
generation
Visibility

19. JIRA … ReleasePath
Embedded Attachments
Concise PDF Digest

20. ReleasePath Technology Solution
ControlScalabilityRelationships &
Dependencies
VisibilityExtensibility

21. Actionable Notifications
EBF Approvals via email and Jelly
scripts
Packet Templating
Speed of Delivery
A Dashboard of existing templates for
regular release, using the Clone Plus
plugin
From prototype to polished solution in
hours not days or weeks allows us to
be agile to ever evolving requirements
Scale

22. ReleasePath

23. ReleasePath Technology Solution
Scalability ControlRelationships &
Dependencies
VisibilityExtensibility

24. Workflow Controls
Branch workflow based on risk and
need for co-ordination or SME review
Issues Types
Appropriate Controls
Different types of releases requiring
different workflow approvals
Fast track Workflow Options for low
risk changes
Control

25. Plugins
Clone Plus !
Bob Swift!
Toolkit Plugin!
Atlassian!
Create on Transition!
Bob Swift!
Misc Custom Fields!
Innovalog!
Dynamic Forms!
Intenso!
nFeed !
Valiantys!
JIRA SU!
Plugin People!
Dashboard Distribution!
catWorkX!
Misc Workflow Extensions!
Innovalog!
Suite Utilities!
Beecom!
Script Runner!
Jamie Echlin!
PDF View!
Midori!
Calendar Plugin!
Atlassian!

26. Lots of Interfaces
Although making changes in JIRA is
quick and easy, having lots of
external dependencies increases the
Risks involved with change.
Upgrades
Version Control
API dependencies and customizations
makes JIRA upgrades are non trivial.
Metadata changes are manual and
remain comingled with JIRA issue data.
Challenges
building on
top of JIRA

27. ReleasePath - JIRA
ReleasePath - JIRA
Process Solution
Technology Solution
BlackRock & our Challenges

28. !!

29. Packet Approval
Packet Review
Voting Approval Tracking
ReleasePad – JIRA integration with iPad

30. Critical Mass
Identify enough need for the change
Support
Timing
Listen to your business and users,
they will tell you what is needed
Process is ever changing. Do what
you can when you can
Final
Thoughts

31. Thank you!
GABRIEL TIU • DIRECTOR • BLACKROCK JP PARAMOR• DIRECTOR • BLACKROCK