Taking the hassle out of finance

What they needed

At the request of their Finance Business Partner, Tonia, this was to build a new customer portal, to handle all financial-related requests and reviews. As a trusted partner already supporting the Bede Gaming Enterprise IT team and IT infrastructure, Jira expert Danny Harris and his skills were called upon.

The system needed to handle anything finance-related from purchase order requests and invoice reviews to the management of recruitment budgets.

What we did

Working directly with Tonia, a project scope was decided, but it wasn’t long before complexities were identified.

Danny said: “Bede Gaming’s Jira estate is huge, and while it’s used across many departments, there were definitely elements that could be utilised better.

“Being able to work with the team both onsite and online to validate requirements, demonstrate, train and sense check the system, fully  understanding their needs and challenges, meant we were united every step of the way.

“This also gave every team member the opportunity to ask ‘Is it possible to do this?’ which gave problems to solve and a chance to bring real value to the client – exactly what I love doing!”

Using proven expertise, the software team mapped out the needs, built in fallbacks where errors may occur, and created a system that automatically runs depending on the user, need, and service.

Audit-proof

The portal already existed which gave a strong foundation for us to build on, but also make the current Jira Service Management portal robust and stringent, meaning we made sure it could withstand the test of any audit.

Danny explains: “I had to do a lot of unpicking to make sure changes were positively impactful, but that also meant that the way we built on the system resulted in very minimal human interaction, leading to very little human error. This was regularly tested with me implementing changes and Tonia testing them as an end-user before rolling out to the wider team.

“The automation elements meant all actions could be tracked and what little human input was allowed, was restricted to short questions, tick boxes or evidence uploads.

“That way, when it comes to audit time, the data is readily available, readable, and trackable.”

The art of the possible

Bringing in an expert like Danny meant that the Jira estate could be looked at holistically, and within the remit of the project.

As the system was already in use for their software projects and managing service requests, Bede Gaming, there was already a portal for the use of the finance team.

The aim was to utilise what was already there as much as possible, but audit and clean it up to make it efficient for the finance team only.

In doing so, the team discovered the art of the possible, and through regular in-person consultations and training, understood the challenges and needs as the use increases.

Trusted partnership

“I’ve been absorbed into the Bede Gaming team – both finance and PMO – as I spend so much time with them,” explains Danny. “I’m even part of the Slack channel which means I’m only a direct message away, and I’m always on hand.”

Due to the nature of the relationship that has been built, Danny is on hand to run training sessions on-site with the team making sure new and existing colleagues are up to speed with everything, meaning he can ensure everyone is using the system as it was intended.

This project was just the start for our Jira relationship with Bede Gaming, as we are now looking at two more initiatives with much more complex teams.

Tonia Toole from Bede Gaming said: “No matter what the project, working with Waterstons is just like adding an extension to our own team.

“We can confidently rely on their expertise to create the best solutions that will have the biggest impact – even if that’s not what we thought we needed!

“The team isn’t shy to tell us what they think and what they know will be better for us in the long run. Having that trust and faith between us makes such a difference as we know they’ll use their incredible technical skills to deliver excellent results.”