“Literally a screenshot of a configured BigPicture module is good enough for reporting up to the board of directors. So that saves me a ton of time.”
Doug Robinson, Product Development Operations Manager, Synapse ITS

The challenge: limitations with the native option

Synapse ITS, a transportation technology company, faced challenges with managing and visualizing its extensive product development process. After a series of acquisitions, the company was working to consolidate these processes across multiple companies. Doug Robinson, Product Development Operations Manager at Synapse ITS, sought a solution that could offer a clear, hierarchical, and detailed view of their workflow.

Initially, Doug and his team used the native tool, Jira Plans (previously called “Advanced Roadmaps”), but struggled with its limitations. Jira Plans only supported tasks, subtasks, and epics. Synapse ITS required a higher level of hierarchy to manage complex projects involving multiple teams and deliverables. The absence of this higher-level view meant Doug had to manually export data to Excel, create pivot tables, and compile reports - a time-consuming and error-prone process.

“Our executive team wanted to know “when is this product going to hit the production floor?” That's what they cared about. And native Jira didn't have a way for me to do that. Out of a sea of tickets, one of them is the latest one, but that was really, really difficult to see.”
Doug Robinson, Product Development Operations Manager, Synapse ITS

Doug knew they needed a tool that could provide an executive view of the project status across different teams and levels of hierarchy.

Enhanced project management with BigPicture

Doug discovered BigPicture while exploring the Atlassian Marketplace and was attracted to its flexibility and compliance with the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). BigPicture’s ability to create custom hierarchies above epics allowed Doug to establish a more comprehensive parent-child relationship structure, crucial for Synapse ITS’s complex projects.

Doug implemented BigPicture and began using the tool in various use-cases:

Detailed Hierarchy: Introduce levels above epics, such as initiatives and product families, to roll up statistics and provide a top-level view of the project status.
Real-Time Budget Management: Use BigPicture to create and monitor budgets in real-time, eliminating the need for manual data exports and pivot tables.
Enhanced Reporting: Generate high-level, real-time reports directly from BigPicture, streamlining communication with the board of directors and other stakeholders.
Focus Analysis: Leverage BigPicture’s hierarchical structure to analyze the team’s focus and allocation of efforts across various initiatives.

BigPicture quickly became an indispensable tool for Synapse ITS’s project and portfolio management. It helped streamline workflows, improve reporting accuracy, and achieve greater clarity in project management processes while also allowing them to further leverage Jira's capabilities.

“BigPicture has become our single version of the truth. It creates reportable information or insights that brings clarity to our communication and planning.”
Doug Robinson, Product Development Operations Manager

Resource management: achieving balance and efficiency

Effective resource management is crucial for the success of any project, and BigPicture proved to be an invaluable tool for Synapse ITS in this area. Doug highlighted how BigPicture helps monitor workloads across teams with core skills in software, hardware, electrical, and mechanical engineering.

“I can see for different teams generally whether or not they're overloaded or not, at least from a skillset perspective... I can say, over the next six months, this team has the capacity to complete the assigned work. Maybe it's too much in February, it looks a little light in March, but overall it can be done.”
Doug Robinson, Product Development Operations Manager

BigPicture enables a high-level view of resource allocation, essential for long-term planning. This broader perspective helps anticipate and adjust workloads as needed.

Accommodating hybrid methodologies

BigPicture's flexibility in supporting agile, waterfall, or hybrid methodologies is particularly valuable for complex organizations like Synapse ITS.

“We're not trying to be all agile. It's a hybrid approach, where overall I want to see what we're going to do this year and about when things are going to occur so that we know we have the people for it and the dates can be about right.”
Doug Robinson, Product Development Operations Manager

This adaptability allows Synapse ITS to visualize project timelines and resource allocation without being constrained by a single methodology, making BigPicture an essential tool for their project management and resource allocation needs.

Results: 91% time saved on project reporting

Automating the reporting process and visualizing work in BigPicture has saved 91% of Doug’s time previously spent on manual data manipulation & report creation.

“With BigPicture I'm no longer exporting, manipulating, and dumping into Word or PowerPoint. It streamlines communication and saves me a ton of time.”
Doug Robinson, Product Development Operations Manager

The adoption of BigPicture significantly improved Synapse ITS’s project management and reporting processes. Other key benefits include:

Improved Communication: A single source of truth in BigPicture ensured that all stakeholders had access to consistent and up-to-date information, improving overall communication and decision-making.
Better Resource Allocation: The resource module allowed for effective workload management and capacity planning, preventing bottlenecks and ensuring timely project delivery.
Increased Transparency: The ability to visualize project progress and resource allocation at multiple hierarchical levels provided greater transparency and control over the development process.

Conclusion

BigPicture has become an indispensable tool for Synapse ITS, enabling them to manage complex projects with ease and efficiency.

The ability to create custom hierarchies, real-time budget tracking, and enhanced reporting capabilities have significantly streamlined their project management process. As Doug continues to oversee and optimize product development across multiple companies, BigPicture remains a critical asset in achieving their organizational goals and delivering value to stakeholders.

About Synapse ITS

Uniting the industry-leading brands Polara Enterprises, Carmanah Technologies, Eberle Design Inc., and Diablo Controls, Synapse ITS is a comprehensive transportation technology platform focused on increasing roadway safety, accessibility, and efficiency through innovative infrastructure. From intersections to highways, crosswalks to parking areas, Synapse ITS products leverage durable, dependable hardware alongside state-of-the-art software and data collection to provide agencies with intelligent solutions to complex transportation challenges. For more information, visit synapse-its.com.

Synapse ITS saw a 91% reduction in time spent on reporting using BigPicture

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