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Our Engineers Adopt RAD to Accelerate App Innovation

September, 2021

ServiceRocket builds great apps.

But don’t take our word for it. Many of our apps in the Atlassian marketplace consistently receive 4-star reviews. Yet that success created a conundrum.  

“As our product portfolio grew over the years, our teams ended up spending more time managing our existing products as opposed to innovating,” says Aidin Mahmoodi, Product Manager, ServiceRocket.

That prompted our engineers to change things up, embrace experimentations and go RAD.

“When we adopted the Rapid Application Development (RAD) framework, it was like drilling an untapped well,” adds Aidin. “We started building apps in a matter of weeks. It was a paradigm shift.”

“The goal was to get better results by doing less and learning fast, while we released products with confidence,” says Azwandi Aris, Head of Product, ServiceRocket. “We knew we had to be our own customers. As others have said, we had to fall in love with the problem, not the solution.”

The engineering team’s initial result using RAD is Surveys for JSM.

The app enables users to measure and improve ITSM workflows with customizable user satisfaction surveys and review process tools.

“Our support team was looking for a solution to run customizable surveys and case review processes in Jira Service Management Cloud,” notes Azwandi, “so we pushed the idea through RAD. Our support manager championed the idea, ideating and running prototypes alongside the product manager and the engineering team. (Learn more about Surveys for JSM.)

Adopting RAD enabled the engineering team to take risks as they developed Surveys for JSM. “We used a serverless framework approach, which helped speed the development process,” says Andres Hazard, Software Lead, ServiceRocket.

“Having a more agile mindset aligned everyone involved in the project,” adds Andres.

Better team coordination is one of the reasons the RAD framework works so well; it defines a better roadmap for the engineering team.

“With RAD, engineers don't have to deal with vague and unclear requirements,” notes Aidin. “Product managers have a much clearer understanding of the product’s main features and its value proposition. That makes everything progress faster, with greater efficiency and consistency.”

In fact, RAD aligns well with ServiceRocket’s thoughtful approach to technology, one that puts the customer’s needs first.

“RAD has a customer-centered approach,” says Francisco Soto, Product Manager, ServiceRocket. “At the beginning of every new RAD adventure we create user profiles that provide context and empathy for the entire team.”

It turns out that team empathy leads to great results.

Surveys for JSM has quickly shown to be a game-changer for how managers measure the impact of the services they deliver with JSM. It’s the first of many meaningful benefits to come from our commitment to RAD development.

“RAD will enable our engineering team to build apps that target the needs and wants of customers and users,” adds Andres. “This is an initial step in what will undoubtedly be a rich pipeline, especially when you have such a great team building those solutions.”

“Our engineering team’s strong technical foundation and agile capabilities truly shine,” says Peter Marquez, CCO, ServiceRocket. “As we embrace the RAD process, our ability to build high-quality apps will only grow exponentially.”

That’s not all RAD has done, observes Azwandi. In addition to accelerating new product releases, it’s led to a dynamic new approach that’s empowered the engineering team.

“We’re creating the future for our customers and our business.”

Are you ready to go RAD? Increase your impact and have more fun as a member of the ServiceRocket engineering team. Learn more about our job openings and discover what it takes to go RAD with ServiceRocket.

Building better apps faster.

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