Application Development and Maintenance

Restructuring application management for internal customers

CAI’s application management services help HR software makers grow their “people first” culture.

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CAI’s application management services, delivering the possible

Challenge

An American software and SaaS provider develops and sells cloud-based workforce management and human capital management systems to enterprise businesses. Its software includes unified, end-to-end solutions, for HR, payroll, benefits, time and attendance, recruitment, and talent management.

The company wanted to better support its own employees by addressing a backlog of technical debt and enhancements for several of their internal custom .Net applications. These are applications used by employees for company news, collaboration, learning, recognition, new hire onboarding, and transfers.

The company needed a partner that could deliver a holistic application management solution, leveraging lower-cost offshore resources. Its objectives were to free up internal staff for strategic objectives, address the backlog of requests and technical debt, provide 24x7 support, and ensure there was no decline in the company’s excellent customer care standard.

Just as important as the technical work was being able to adapt and fit into the company’s culture as an extension of its team and flex up and down with business demand as needed.

Solution

The company selected CAI in a competitive review process to provide development, management, and 24/7 support for these critical applications. CAI initiated the engagement with a well-planned, proven transition during which CAI team members worked with the existing team and followed a structured knowledge-transfer process to document, shadow, and test proficiency in all areas for a full turnover within 45 days. The CAI team followed agile methodology as an extension of the company’s IT team and quickly built credibility and strong relationships with the business to ensure success.

The CAI team worked to accomplish the following six goals:

  • Reduce the existing backlog of enhancement requests
  • Encourage new enhancement requests based on increased bandwidth
  • Reduce technical debt
  • Improve application documentation
  • Produce recommendations for process, technology, and design pattern improvements
  • Begin the process of shifting application “ownership” to CAI as part of a longer-term objective of creating a more flexible workforce

Results

From the start, the CAI team ensured alignment with the company’s strong “people first” culture. During the first sprint under CAI management, the team created 58 documents and completed 18 story points. After 18 months, the team had completed all aged backlog items, taken care of the outstanding technical debt, and increased productivity by 70 percent in terms of story points delivered per sprint.

As a result of this increased efficiency, the team was able to more than double its scope of work and take on the management of another nine applications at no additional cost. After two years, the team continues to maintain a 75/25 percent development-to-support ratio across all applications.

CAI was able to successfully blend into the company’s unique culture, maintain the high-touch customer service model for its business users, and earn the trust and respect of the other IT teams. The contract was recently renewed, and the team continues to deliver results and recommend new improvements and innovations to help the company continue its first-rate employee support and live up to its commitment to putting “people first.”

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