Ascend Integrated: The Agile All-Rounders

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Michael Brown, CEO and Shaun Jones, C00, Ascend IntegratedMichael Brown, CEO and Shaun Jones, C00
Developing a product, especially software, is a collaborative effort. The Agile manifestoacts as a map that would help simplify any collaborative development process, helping the concerned ‘navigators’ or creators choose the most efficient route for the development journey. Agile, at its core,is a set of values and principles that allow teams to leverage it in a way to meet their unique objectives. Research indicates that Agile transformation can reduce time to market by at least 40 percent.

A good Agile-team’s objective is to organize a development process to move through varying project cycles faster and in sympatico. While many teams struggle to achieve this while staying true to the Agile approach, this is not the case with Ascend Integrated.

But why do many organizations fail to be Agile?

Interpretation and Scalability. The Agile Manifesto is open ended and there is no set Agile approach. Many enterprises lack the vision to know where to go next and the experience to get there. Scaling Agile requires extending Agile principles beyond software development and IT to the rest of the business, bringing tremendous benefits at every level of the organization.

Ascend Integrated, created by experienced consultants in Agile frameworks such as Scrum, Kanban, and others,identifies and addresses challenges and provides a fresh approach to software system implementation and Agile adoption. Ascend provides organizations with specialty IT consulting, Atlassian Tool implementations, DevOps management and implementations, and Agile project management expertise. The company offers custom Jira based solutions and DevOps frameworks to improve clients’ processes and scale operations through originality and creativity.

Be it implementing the Agile process on behalf of their clients, providing specialties, or deployment through tools like Jira, Ascend Integrated provides subject matter expertise across Agile and DevOps domainsto both the federal government and commercial entities.

We strategize what is actually possible with Agile for the client, and understand how their processes are going to fit into that tool. Then we work with them to determine the system that will benefit the most, and implement the processes in its entirety

As Michael Brown, the CEO of Ascend Integrated puts it, “We strategize what is actually possible with Agile for the client and understand how their processes are going to fit into that tool. Then we work with them to determine the system that will benefit [them] the most and implement the processes in its entirety.”

Delivering a more Objective Agile

Ascend Integrated provides clients with full transparency in everything they do. Coupled with a deep-set technical background, the company acts as a translator between development, project management, and the business strategy. The company’s partnership with clients begins with Ascend comprehensively gauging how the client’s product would be released and adopted in the market, its position in the development roadmap and life cycle, and potential delivery of newer versions. After this initial discovery phase, Ascend Integrated will determine a suitable plan of action, conduct demonstrations, and build specific Agile capabilities for a new development strategy.

Ascend Integrated will often counsel the build out and deployment of the Agile processes utilizing the Atlassian Tool Suite;Specifically, Jira Software, Advanced Roadmaps, and Confluence. Combined with the agile processes, these tools enable a successful feedback loop across the Agile lifecycle. Ascend Integrated also offers the training necessary to help the client adopt Agile techniques. They help clients create the associated documentation and materials, user manuals, Scrum courses, and any additional training to track and manage the sprint and milestone releases. After the training is complete, Ascend Integrated helps its clients on the operations and maintenance front by evaluating and determining how well they implemented Agile continuously. This entails testing, making updates, changing configurations, and ensuring everyone is on the same page when it comes to utilizing the lexicon of an Agile project.

In one such project, Ascend Integrated worked with the Department of Defense (DoD).

Part of the project consisted of a 1,900-person directorate. The Directorate was responsible for overseeing facilities management, spaces, and IT assets belonging to employees or service members. The USAF Facility Engineering Directorate had used Jira Software, Service Desk, and Confluence for tracking and managing issues. They were looking to expand Jira’s capabilities to include Configuration Management Database (CMDB) tracking and management capabilities, along with the ability to manage floor plans and movement of personnel between office locations. Ascend Integrated helped the client meet their demand by designing and implementing a new CMDB tool with floor plan traceability capabilities using Insight Asset Management, SmartDraw, and Confluence. Floor plans representing multiple floors, personnel, and IT assets were incorporated into the Confluence pages, with each page describing a specific floor. Reports were developed and incorporated into Dashboards for managers/executives to view and approve. The system provided excellent visualizations for USAF facilities personnel and has led to an immediate increase in efficiency across the USAF in accounting for and managing both IT assets and personnel. Ascend Integrated continues to support the USAF, providing additional updates and details to the application.

Over the Horizon, and Onto Streamlined Agile Implementation

Today, the company continues to grow its professional practice as Atlassian Enterprise Partners, including implementing Jira Software, Advanced Roadmaps, Jira Align, and Confluence across multiple Federal and Commercial organizations. Continuing to build expertise, Ascend Integrated is adding critical resources to their employee listing—adding staff with the certification and capability to implement the type of functionality across multiple larger organizations.

Ascend is also planning to grow geographically. The majority of their clients today are located across East coast,specifically in New York, Florida, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania with goals to continue expanding in Texas, California, and Arizona. A deep-set technical background and strong Agile capabilities will allow Ascend Integrated to grow exponentially and become “a Rosetta Stone of sorts to many organizations,” as Brown puts it.

- Joe Phillip
    November 18, 2020

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