Atlassian: how to effectively choose an add-on and expand a system in your organization?

Atlassian gives you this option with the Atlassian Marketplace add-on store. The producer offers more than 5,000 add-ons, which makes it possible to find extensions that respond to the needs of any enterprise. However, the wealth of extensions on offer can also be a challenge. In such a situation, it is important to follow several rules and rely on trusted advisors.

What are add-ons and what do they offer when implemented in an organization? How to manage them effectively and how to match them to an Atlassian system?

What are add-ons?

The Australian producer continues to develop its brand and also provides others with development opportunities. Its users have access to the Atlassian Marketplace platform, where they can find add-ons that extend the functionality of software. These add-ons are created not only by Atlassian developers, but also by its partners. This is why the extensions can be used for a wide range of applications, and their collection is constantly growing. They are designed by developers from different companies with a variety of requirements in mind. The add-on designers are quick to respond to user needs. The most popular add-ons help to personalize the software provided by Atlassian by offering the ability to customize the appearance of the tool. In addition, these tools support users’ work with new reports and data analysis, significantly speeding up operations and making the system even more convenient to use.

What should you look for when choosing an add-on?

Together with our Atlassian experts, we prepared a list of the most important issues to consider when choosing add-ons.

1. Is the system standard really insufficient to meet the expectations of business users? Is there another application with the same/similar functionality?

Often business users are not familiar with every functionality of the add-ons already installed or of the system itself. In such a case, the best way to help a user is not to install an additional add-on, but to provide a short training session on how to use the tool in a specific way. Every new application is an additional administrative cost – configuration from the administrator’s side or time spent on upgrades in the case of On-Premise systems. In such situations, it is a good idea to explore the possibilities offered by the existing system, and install add-ons only if deficiencies are detected.

2. How many users will use the add-on?

This is a particularly important question when it comes to optimizing system maintenance costs. Regardless of whether we are talking about Atlassian Cloud or On-Premise systems, the cost of an add-on is not based on the number of people actively using it, but on all licensed users in the system. Therefore, it is reasonable to ask whether, for example, in an organization with 1000 users, it is worth installing an application for a team of 5 people? The answer is never unequivocal, as it depends on many factors. With such an undertaking, it is worth considering the financial aspect.

3. How will the new add-on affect the work of other users?

This question is particularly important in the context of applications that affect the entire system instance. Sometimes users are unaware of a new add-on because access to it is restricted by name or it is only visible to the administrator. However, an application that leaves its mark on the user interface, for example by adding new action buttons in a request or extending other functionalities from a UI perspective, can be disruptive to other users. That is why it is always important to test a newly installed add-on to examine the impact of the application on the comfort of each user and to manage communication accordingly.

4. What support does the producer offer?

Please note that, as with any system, Atlassian tools may require professional maintenance from time to time. Despite the best efforts of software designers, it sometimes happens that a user creates a test case by performing a certain sequence of actions in the system. This may cause the add-on to malfunction. In such a situation, the support of the producer or a trusted specialist becomes important in order to solve the problem efficiently. It is therefore worth checking what support the producer offers. All information about the add-on can be found in its description on the Atlassian Marketplace.

Producer’s support is not only useful for reporting bugs and defects. It also proves important in relation to the development of add-ons suggested by users. Many creators of the available add-ons allow you to submit ideas for extending them with functionalities needed by their users. Such solutions often inspire developers, who decide to further extend their tools. It is also worth mentioning the programs introduced by Atlassian. They are designed to verify add-ons in terms of application security. Thanks to them, users also receive support from their producers, such as: Bug Bounty Program, Security Self-Assessment Program, and Cloud Fortified. You can find information about these programs in their descriptions on the Atlassian Marketplace.

Know your add-ons

Regardless of the needs of users and the number of installed applications, it is worth having some practical knowledge of the add-ons in your Atlassian system. It is also important to determine why they were installed and which teams are using them. If you want the system to remain operational, it is good to keep up to date with changes in functionalities and modifications in system documentation. This will certainly make it easier to work and manage the system, and also make business users feel that all their needs related to working with the system are being met.

Free consultation

We are proud of our Atlassian implementations. We support dozens of companies in the implementation of solutions from the Australian manufacturer. Our organization also has some first-hand experience with these tools. They allowed us to maintain continuous development and we decided to support others on their journey as well. After many years of working on extending the functionality of these tools in our own organization and elsewhere, we expanded the scope of our services and created the Atlassian Consulting team. The team oversees all implementations of JIRA, Confluence, and other Atlassian products.

We decided to go the extra mile and expand our offering in this area even further. We introduced a free consultation service for Atlassian products. During the consultation we will analyze the nature of your business and within 2 days* you will receive a solution proposal covering all your needs, saving you the time you would otherwise spend researching the market, analyzing functionality, and comparing available solutions.

For more information, go to our offer or contact our consultants directly!

*2 days: this is the time we usually take to prepare the analysis, but particularly demanding studies may require more time.

Hicron supports organizations in the selection and implementation of add-ons from the Atlassian Marketplace

Are you wondering how to improve an Atlassian system to meet the needs of a growing organization? Do you need a solution that will extend the functionality of the tools used by a team in your company? Contact the Atlassian consultants at Hicron who will support you in developing an implementation tailored to your company’s business processes.