Jira SLA Metrics & Custom Phone Call Notifications - Case Study

Company Overview

This case study features a company in the insurance sector that relies heavily on Jira and Jira Service Management (JSM) to manage both technical and business support requests. With a global client base, the company is committed to improving its processes and how it handles support tickets and feature requests.

The challenge 

The company approached us to help improve their Jira setup. With a small team of Jira users and many customers, they wanted to improve the customer experience and meet SLA requirements. The team's goal was to have a clear view of the SLA metrics in Jira that were negotiated for each customer.

Their Jira instance had been in place for two years, so it was time to implement more custom solutions. They were already tracking feature requests, but they needed a more structured way to manage and prioritize them. Additionally, since their support team handled a mix of technical and business issues, visibility and organization were even more important.

Another key requirement was the ability to receive critical Jira notifications via phone call. The goal was to respond quickly to a specific category of requests from one of their key customers. However, since this feature is only included in higher-tier Jira licenses, they needed a custom solution to enable it in the Standard version of Jira Service Management.

Our work

Reviewing the setup and adding key features

We started by reviewing the existing Jira configuration and workflows. To improve SLA tracking, we implemented the Time to SLA app by Appfire, which brings live SLA data directly into the issue view.

SLA configuration

We introduced SLAs metrics for both business and technical support requests to help prioritize issues and track the team's performance. From now team members can see SLAs of linked issues, bespoke to each customer's agreements. What’s more, we created automations that configure SLA parameters by organization.

Feature request management

To better handle incoming feature requests, we worked with the client to design a clear process for managing and prioritizing them. We also created reports to highlight progress and flag outdated or lower-priority requests.

Phone call add-on research and integration with a third-party vendor

To meet the need for phone-based alerts, we researched and evaluated more than a dozen vendors. We selected a provider that offered voice calls, SMS, and WhatsApp messaging at a reasonable cost. The integration with Jira used the provider’s REST API combined with Jira's built-in automation features. Creating a request in Jira that meets the selected conditions will attempt to establish a voice call to the phone numbers of the selected employees. If there is no response (i.e., the ticket in Jira didn’t change status), connection attempts are repeated every 15 minutes.

Despite limited documentation, we successfully configured a system where specific Jira issues trigger automatic phone calls to designated team members.

Results

The client is now able to track the service quality of each of its customers according to their individual SLA parameters. The support team can make improvements and respond more quickly and effectively to customer issues. What’s more, we implemented a reporting template that allowed the client to better track performance metrics and make informed decisions based on real-time data. 

Finally, the phone call integration means high-priority issues now receive immediate attention, improving the response time for key clients and strengthening overall service quality.

Is Jira right for your team?

While Jira is now used by all teams, it has its roots in software development. Moving your software projects to Jira means you can plan, track and manage every step of the way. Jira comes with all the built-in features like Scrum and Kanban templates, agile boards, backlog management, version control, reports, and custom workflows. Gain visibility into deliverables and goals, and break your project into smaller pieces. 

‍

If you’re wondering if Jira is the right choice for your team, contact us for a free consultation. We would be happy to tell you more about Jira features and use cases.