Industry
Real Estate
Location
United States
Employees
51-200
Used Apps
ARNR
MRI Software Overview
MRI Software is a leader in the real estate software industry, providing innovative applications and hosted solutions specifically designed for real estate businesses. With nearly five decades of experience, the company offers a comprehensive and flexible technology platform that supports property-level management, accounting, investment modelling, and analytics across both global commercial and residential markets. Headquartered near Cleveland, Ohio, MRI operates worldwide, maintaining a strong presence in the United States, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Committed to building lasting client relationships, MRI empowers real estate companies to enhance their operations and gain a competitive edge through its leading solutions and extensive partner ecosystem.
Introduction
In 2024, MRI Software adopted the Automated Release Notes for Jira (ARNR) application to improve its release management process. This tool automates the generation and distribution of release notes, addressing longstanding challenges faced by our teams in the APAC region. This case study explores the challenges, solutions, and benefits experienced from the implementation of this Jira plugin.
The Challenge
Manual Tasks
The previous method of generating release notes was filled with manual tasks that were both time-consuming and prone to errors. Teams had to gather information from multiple sources, including Jira, Confluence, and Git repositories
The process involved
Manual Data Collection
Teams had to sift through various sources to collect relevant information about completed tasks, changes, and bug fixes.
Formatting and Organization
After collecting the information, it needed to be manually formatted and organised into a coherent structure for presentation.
Ensuring Accuracy
Maintaining the accuracy and completeness of release notes was a significant challenge, leading to frequent inconsistencies and omissions.
Uptake on Key Functions
Release Notifications to Business:
Increased by
0%
Release Inclusions/ Release Briefs Available in Confluence:
Increased by
0%
Release Notes Shared with Internal Stakeholders:
Increased by
0%
Release Notes Shared with Customers:
Increased by
0%
"Before implementing ARN, our primary challenge was the time-consuming process of creating, editing, curating, and distributing release documentation. This task diverted valuable time from our Product Owners and Product Managers, affecting their ability to focus on planning, customer meetings, and ensuring successful releases. ARN has significantly streamlined this process, allowing our teams to efficiently manage release documentation without compromising other critical tasks. The most valuable aspect of ARN is its ability to ensure that every release includes comprehensive documentation and release notes. A notable success story with ARN is the improvement in synchronisation between release notes and actual product releases. Previously, some teams struggled to keep release notes up-to-date due to the burden of manual documentation. With ARN, this synchronisation has become seamless, resulting in our customers and internal stakeholders being consistently informed about our product's valuable features. This will significantly enhance the visibility and adoption of our software. My advice for teams or organisations considering ARN would be to fully leverage its documentation automation capabilities. This will free up valuable time for your product teams, allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives. Additionally, the support provided by ARN's team has been exceptional, ensuring a smooth implementation and addressing any issues promptly."
Biancha
Release Manager, MRI Software
Time and Effort
The manual creation of release notes required considerable time and effort. Team members often found themselves overwhelmed by:
Labour-Intensive Processes
The repetitive tasks of collating and formatting notes consumed valuable time that could have been spent on more productive activities.
High Error Potential
The reliance on human input made the process vulnerable to mistakes, resulting in delays and necessitating rework.
The Solution
To address these challenges, we implemented the Automated Release Notes for Jira plugin, a powerful tool designed to streamline the release management process.
Key features that contributed to its effectiveness include:
Automation of Release Notes Generation
The plugin automates the generation of release notes, significantly decreasing reliance on manual documentation and enabling teams to focus on higher-value tasks.
Versatile Formatting Options
Teams can choose from various formatting styles, ensuring that the release notes meet different preferences and integrate smoothly into existing workflows.
User-Friendly Interface
The plugin's intuitive design, featuring drag-and-drop functionality, makes it accessible to users of all skill levels. This ease of use encourages widespread adoption across the team.
Set and Forget Templates
Pre-designed, customisable templates allow users to quickly create professional release notes without starting from scratch. Adjustments can be easily made based on each release's specific needs.
Automation Rules
Teams can establish automation rules to streamline the release notes process. Predefined templates ensure that notes are comprehensive, while targeted distribution options allow for selective sharing with relevant stakeholders.
Implementation and Results
In 2024, the Automated Release Notes application was successfully rolled out across 22 Jira projects and 25 products within the APAC region, supervised by a dedicated release manager. Since its implementation, the tool has delivered an impressive total time saving of approximately 394 hours by significantly reducing manual effort across multiple processes. This initiative has yielded several significant benefits:
Jira Projects
22
Products
25
Time Saving
394 Hours
Branding Consistency
Uniform Branding
The consistent branding provided by the plugin ensures that all Jira projects maintain a professional appearance, thereby enhancing the overall image of our projects.
Global Updates
Branding updates can be made universally, eliminating the need for manual adjustments across individual projects.
Enhanced Efficiency
Time Savings:
The automation of release notes has saved countless hours previously consumed by manual processes, allowing teams to allocate their time more effectively.
For instance, creating a Release Brief that formerly took 1 hour per release can now be done automatically with a single click, enabling the creation of Release Briefs for five subsequent releases in under 1 hour. This amounts to a total time savings of 4 hours for just one product.
Generating three individual PDF release notes, which used to take approximately 1.5 hours per release due to manual copying, exporting, and formatting, now takes less than 2 minutes. If updates are required, the entire process can be completed in an additional 2 minutes.
Notifications for MS Teams, previously taking around 20 minutes to prepare, are now fully automated. The manual task has been eliminated as notifications are posted instantly when the Release Button in Jira is clicked.
Reduction of Errors:
The system has dramatically decreased the potential for errors, leading to more accurate and complete release notes.
Improved User Experience
Customization Options
Users value the ability to easily tailor templates to their specific needs without requiring extensive technical knowledge, enhancing overall satisfaction with the tool.
Seamless Distribution
Automated distribution ensures that all relevant stakeholders are informed about releases promptly.
Education Services Efficiency
The new brief page has significantly reduced the time spent searching for relevant information, decreasing from 1.5-2 hours a month to just a few minutes. This improvement provides substantial benefits for ongoing education and knowledge updates.
Overall, the implementation of the Automated Release Notes application has transformed not only our operational processes but also the experience of our users, providing greater efficiency, consistency, and satisfaction within our teams.
2025 Roll out plans
Looking ahead, we plan to expand the implementation of the Automated Release Notes for Jira plugin to our North America and EMEA regions in 2025. Building on the success experienced in the APAC region, we aim to further enhance our global release management capabilities.
Conclusion
The introduction of the Automated Release Notes for Jira application has transformed our release management process, significantly improving efficiency, consistency, and user satisfaction. By eliminating manual tasks and streamlining workflows, we are better equipped to keep all stakeholders informed and engaged, ultimately driving better project outcomes. As noted by Biancha, “ARN has significantly streamlined this process, allowing our teams to efficiently manage release documentation without compromising other critical tasks,” emphasising the real impact this application has had on our daily operations.