One of the most important metrics for IT and Customer Service teams that solve problems and answer customer questions is mean time to resolution, commonly referred to as MTTR. Atlassian defines MTTR as the average time it takes for an issue to reach a resolved state, as measured from the time the ticket was created. It’s an exceedingly important metric to track, especially for IT teams because it is one of the few great ways to quantify team productivity. When tracked and reported over time, it becomes possible to determine the efficacy and ROI of business process improvements. While Jira gives us an easy way to track service level agreements (aka SLAs), there is no great built-in tool for tracking MTTR (yet).

Fortunately, as with most desired features in the Atlassian ecosystem, there’s an app for that. We’ve discussed eazyBI quite a bit in the past, and for good reason: it is simply one of the best data aggregation and reporting tools available for Jira. Period.

To track MTTR, try using the Issue Resolution Days report. This report can roll up all of your issues and report average MTTR, broken down by issue type and time period. As with most eazyBI reports, you can customize this one just about any way, including which additional metrics to report on (such as median, min, and max time to resolution) and total or average hours logged. You can even set up your data visualization exactly how you want it.

If you’d like to learn more about the Issue Resolution Days report, eazyBI has some excellent documentation. 

One important thing to keep in mind when a team begins tracking MTTR is to make sure you properly define when an issue is resolved in your Jira instance. Without this clear definition, you may have trouble collecting data, or worse, you report on the wrong information. Tracking your MTTR to learn more about how you can reduce this metric can help your organization save time and resources, as well as contribute to generating a better user experience. 

If you want to get more out of reporting with Jira, let us help! As an Enterprise Platinum Atlassian Solution partner, Praecipio Consulting has spent over a decade working with the Atlassian suite to build, implement, and activate best-in-class solutions. When it comes to Jira and other Atlassian tools, we've got you covered!

SmartGrid technology is the effective future of the electric power industry. Just consider the numbers: the US SmartGrid market is expected to double in size between 2009 and 2014, from $21.4 billion to $42.8 billion, with global SmartGrid spending exceeding $200 billion in 2015. With significant aid from federal stimulus funding, SmartGrid development and implementation has already begun across the US. Experts expect SmartGrid technology to become the electric industry standard within 20 years.

You’re probably familiar with what SmartGrids can do. If you’re not, think improved energy consumption information + customer empowerment. SmartGrids leverage automated power systems that monitor and control grid activities, ensuring a constant two-way flow of electricity and information between plants, consumers, and points in between. That information will originate from millions of data points scattered among system devices, enabling utilities to adapt electricity delivery to usage patterns. Demand-response software will enable utilities and consumers to turn high-demand appliances on and off during peak demand periods, improving efficiency. Technology can allow consumers to monitor their home’s energy consumption at the appliance-level (dishwasher, refrigerator, etc), and adjust their thermostats and other power-consuming devices via computers and mobile phones. Basically, SmartGrids will allow consumers and grid operators to understand what’s going on demand-side and make grid management more intelligent.

Information technology (IT) is the driver of SmartGrid technology. Custom software, data management, systems integration, and data security are critical to SmartGrid operations. We bring these solutions to utilities en route to SmartGrid deployment. If you’re making the move, talk to us. We prepare companies for the switch.

We recently heard a traffic analyst from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) speak about traffic analytics. Living in a city with the fourth-worst automobile traffic in the US, the topic was particularly engaging.

The analyst spoke about the need for data management in traffic analytics. Using traffic-counting devices placed strategically along Austin’s freeways, TxDOT collects data at fixed intervals each day. These data points can be programmed to collect relevant data – in this case, average vehicle speed and highway capacity – allowing the business to know more about their problems and facilitating more appropriate solutions. TxDOT’s data points help them analyze Austin traffic patterns and identify consistent problem spots. They can then, with clarity, allocate funding toward the most effective solutions.

On a smaller scale, we spoke with an insurance agent last week who mentioned the wealth of documents he stores online for his firm’s clients. The firm stores every piece of client information in a digital content management suite – which in the insurance practice equals a lot of documents. While the initial process of digitizing client forms and documents might have been tedious, the firm can now intelligently access (or allow their clients to securely access) client information almost instantly. Moreover, the digitization process was designed and tested at the beginning, making the regular digitization tasks repeatable, predictable, and fast – thereby making the business more intelligent.

Businesses have always found ways to make their processes more efficient to improve their bottom line. These examples show us how businesses are doing so with technology – and how footing the bill for it now can earn a healthy ROI later. Whether you’re a large enterprise (like TxDOT) or a small one-shop business (like the insurance agency), technology can help you save cash by saving you work. In the same way organizing your desk may help you be more productive, saving your employer money, organizing your business information may help your business be more productive, saving the business money. And in the same way TxDOT uses data points to identify problem spots, you can use data points to analyze problem spots in your own business.

Process management applies to the business at all ends. And the profit’s in the process. Good technology can improve process; good process can improve profit; good profit is just plain great. For the transportation firm, custom technology prevents them from having to mine through data every time a particular piece of traffic data is needed. For the insurance agency, a well-built content management system (CMS), or a software that holds and manages your business information, saves employees a wealth of time and money by merely making their information easier to find on the fly – in addition to making it available anywhere and reducing overhead.

Good technology, good process. Good process, good profit. We love improving business process – and since it’s relevant anywhere, it’s a little hard to keep our minds off it sometimes…

Want more? Contact us here.

Image courtesy of Patrick Lane Photography.