Our client, a global leader in intralogistics, enhanced its S/4HANA transformation by adopting an agile approach using Miro and Jira for better collaboration. BearingPoint provided a roadmap to properly integrate the tools, resulting in improved cross-functional planning and alignment, shortened planning cycles, increased transparency, and improved employee engagement.
Transitioning to S/4HANA requires a comprehensive and scalable IT framework that ensures data consistency and facilitates seamless internal collaboration. Our client, a leader in intralogistics and machine manufacturing, is currently undergoing this transition, so therefore aimed to adopt an agile approach to cross-departmental cooperation. Initially, the company relied solely on Jira for backlog management, work planning, and sprint execution. While Jira provided a structured approach at the team level, the increasing complexity of the transformation revealed critical gaps in collaboration, visibility, and alignment across teams. This highlighted the need for enhanced tools and strategies to support their digital transformation.
Operating in a high-stakes industry, the company was determined to use elements from the of the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), a set of organizational and workflow patterns designed to scale lean and agile practices, and synchronize multiple teams working on interrelated projects. Siloed teams hindered effective cross-functional planning and problem-solving, while limited visibility restricted leadership's insight into dependencies and overall progress, creating inefficiencies. Additionally, the lack of tools to connect strategic goals to day-to-day work led to frustration and disengagement.
Recognizing the need for better collaboration between teams, the company decided to add Miro to its toolset, marking a turning point in how employees managed planning and communication. BearingPoint designed a step-by-step roadmap to strengthen the company’s toolchain and expand agile practices effectively. Miro was introduced to enhance cross-functional collaboration, particularly in PI Planning and Reviews, providing a visual, interactive layer. Building on this success, BearingPoint gradually introduced additional tools and methodologies to scale agile practices effectively.
The project team built a strong foundation for agile transformation by integrating strategic planning, efficient ways of working, and team enablement to ensure sustainable results. BearingPoint also conducted training sessions to familiarize the company's employees with the new tools, enabling more than 500 people to use the new technology effectively.
In order to connect daily team-level activities with the overall strategic objectives of the organization, the next step is to implement Jira Align. This involves synchronizing Jira and Jira Align, followed by a phased rollout to validate benefits and refine the implementation approach. In addition, training will be provided to drive adoption of Jira Align.
By integrating Miro, our client significantly improved team collaboration by serving as a virtual whiteboard for brainstorming, dependency mapping, and PI Planning. This visual and interactive approach streamlined workflows and fostered better alignment between departments, making it easier for teams to plan and communicate effectively. Miro's integration with Jira ensured continuity and reduced data duplication by synchronizing tasks and user stories directly into Jira.
The intuitive design of the new toolkit empowered the client’s teams with a shared sense of ownership, resulting in a 30% reduction in planning cycles and a 50% increase in transparency. Also, both employees and leadership reported greater visibility into dependencies and overall progress. The new framework led to a 40% boost in tool usage. Real-time updates between Miro and Jira, with Confluence as a central hub for documenting decisions, significantly improved collaboration and efficiency.
The upcoming integration of Jira Align will ensure a comprehensive view of progress, dependencies, and risks across portfolios. This allows for proactive planning with real-time insights to address bottlenecks before they impact the business. Additionally, our client can further integrate AI into the toolchain to streamline workflows, gain insights faster, and maintain a competitive edge in their agile transformation. BearingPoint is committed to building an effective IT landscape by deploying tools that deliver the best value to the client, combining innovation and deep expertise to create a customized toolchain.
