A suitable ERP system is needed to optimize and simplify the management of a company. When it comes to finding suitable project management software, most entrepreneurs who are using an SAP system primarily think of waterfall methodologies. However, there are many ways to improve the quality of SAP projects by for instance using an agile project management tool that is intuitive enough to be used without the need for time-consuming training beforehand.
When selecting a project management tool for any project, it is crucial to ensure that it is simple to use, that tasks can easily be assigned and administered and that it has a simple user interface. One tool that has shown immense levels of success and acceptance among users is Jira by Atlassian.
What is Jira?
Jira is a very popular project management software used by both, large and small companies. It was designed to work based on agile principles, whilst having total visibility, automated workflows, and easily distributed tasks. Due to its very simple, intuitive interface, it enables project managers to define clear workflows that allow the team to stay on track and improve the overall productivity.
What makes the platform unique is the fact that it offers flexibility through its ability to support scrum, kanban, and scrumban methodologies. Unlike many other project management tools, Jira is a very easy and self-explanatory tool that enables companies to use it across several different departments outside of IT.
In almost every SAP project, internal as well as external employees are involved in the project, many of which are not part of the IT department. Precisely because Jira offers the ability to manage other company processes alongside SAP projects, it has proven to be well accepted among users from any kind of team.
What makes Jira better than other Project Management Tools?
Even though there currently is a huge variety of applications available on the market that focus on agile project management, Jira seems to be the most suitable software to take on complex and multi-dimensional projects and manage complicated workflows by making them simple to understand. There is no other tool like Jira that can be used flexibly and can be integrated into the surrounding systems as well as Jira can.
Jira was initially designed particularly for software developers and aimed at helping them to control their activities. It, therefore, offers high adaptability to any type of process, which in turn is why Jira has massively expanded its usability and is used by any kind of team instead of just developers today.
Cross ALM’s Jira / Solution Manager Connector Tools
Recently, the boundaries between traditional teams have started to break down, allowing for more and more collaboration across teams. Just like any other team, the software developers are no longer separated from the rest of the business and similar needs and requirements are now being distributed across all teams. Instead of having different teams working with several different tools and needing to coordinate all tasks separately and manually, the use of connector tools appears to be highly beneficial. Through such connector tools, two systems, like SAP Solution Manager and JIRA, can be connected, making it possible to manage IT and business in a centralized and straightforward manner.
The range of Cross Connector Solutions that Cross ALM has recently introduced to the market, offers you a seamless link between the SAP Solution Manager and Jira systems. Our Cross-Connector Jira/ Solman allows you to link your Atlassian Jira board to SAP’s Solution Manager. With our solution, you have the option to connect either your ChaRM or Focused Build or Transport Management System (STMS) to Jira. The Cross Connector guarantees the maintenance of your Solution Manager as a central tool for building an ITIL-compliant application lifecycle management on the one hand and makes it easier for you to collaborate agile and interactively in the digital workspace with Jira on the other.
Feel free to also read our success story with BSR (Berliner Stadtreinigung) to get more details about the mentioned connector. The Cross Connector that we implemented for BSR, enabled their team to use its Jira Board in an agile manner while at the same time being able to fall back on proven Solman processes.
You can benefit from our connector tools in the following ways:
A collaborative and agile approach to manage different teams
Agility ensures transparency, effectiveness and safety
Work progress can be visualized through Jira Boards
Added value & higher quality of R2D process for introducing S/4HANA
Saving time and costs during implementation
Automated and easy synchronization of data
Our Conclusion
More and more companies are starting to recognize the potential of the Atlassian products for managing SAP projects. However, it is also worth mentioning that in most SAP projects, processes are already so established and regulated that the use of SAP systems is inevitable. While Jira offers many benefits, some have criticized the lack of for instance test and requirement management. By combining the two systems, you can continue to work with the established and familiar processes in your SAP systems and at the same time benefit from the user-friendly interface of new software like Jira.
Sources
Jira vs SAP Jam 2021 Comparison | FinancesOnline
Jira Software Reviews & Ratings 2021 (trustradius.com)
Jira Project Management Tool | Benefits of using Jira Connectors (educba.com)
Why Jira is better than Trello (even for non-developers) – idalko
Besser Jira und Confluence als SAP Solution Manager? (rz10.de)
