Jitterbit

In today’s fast-paced business environment, companies need to be connected to succeed. That’s where Jitterbit comes in. Jitterbit builds custom APIs to help companies around the world incorporate SaaS, on-premises, and cloud applications directly into their business processes. 

Building customized API solutions for businesses of all industries and sizes is a complicated endeavor. In order to keep up with the influx and needs of clients, Jitterbit needed a visual solution to help them work faster and smarter. Will Au, Sr. Director of DevOps, Operations, and Site Reliability, turned to Lucidchart’s powerful and intelligent diagramming capabilities to visually design API solutions, share complex proposals with their clients, and save time and money.  

Design new and optimized solutions

Jitterbit needs to communicate complex, technical designs to non-technical stakeholders. But when it comes to designing complicated API structures, explanations can quickly become complicated and result in several pages of technical information. 

Even before Jitterbit can start designing an API, they needed to map out the nitty-gritty aspects of the proposed solution. This process involves building out a detailed plan to ensure that compliance is met and that customers' needs are achieved. They prefer to visualize the entire process so that everyone can more easily come to an agreement.  

To get these plans in place, Will introduced Jitterbit to Lucidchart. For Will and his team, Lucidchart makes collaborating on new designs with clients quick and simple. 

The initial design phase begins with simple plans that allow Jitterbit to collaborate and brainstorm with clients. Using Lucidchart’s intuitive collaboration features, both Jitterbit and the clients can add sticky notes and comments to indicate changes, adjust plans, and find the best solutions collaboratively. The process facilitates shared understanding. Plans are then able to quickly transform from a bunch of sticky notes on a low-fidelity plan into a complete design that everyone understands and agrees upon. 

According to Will, Jitterbit uses visuals to lay the groundwork for the integration flows.

“It always starts with a picture because if you can't picture it, you can't design it and you can't build it.”

Now, these designs can be passed off to other teams such as deployment, engineering, and documentation with ease. 

Communicate complex plans clearly 

Visually capturing the API’s ecosystem with diagrams rather than sifting through lengthy word documents helps employees explain the entire process faster and more effectively, keeping everyone engaged and focused.  

David Barker, integration architect at Jitterbit, recalls,

“I have had scenarios where things ended up getting quite complicated as you go. Trying to relay how something works to a customer in two pages of solid text is a bit horrible—you get lost. But if you just draw one diagram, all of a sudden it's like, ‘Oh yeah, that makes complete sense.’ And if I get lost anywhere, I can just stop and go back through it.”

Because many of Jitterbit’s teams and clients are distributed around the world, it can be hard to explain ideas over the phone or in text. Jitterbit uses Lucidchart in real time on conference calls to communicate more efficiently and make sure everyone understands what needs to be accomplished. 

To keep everyone on the same page, Jitterbit’s development, engineering, and documentation teams link crucial Lucidchart diagrams to their internal wikis, creating a go-to spot for questions when they arise. 

Work faster and smarter

Visuals play a key part in ensuring that the logic flow of the integration API is done correctly. Getting it wrong and having no one catch it early on costs clients money and architects time.

Mapping a clients’ process allows Jitterbit’s integration architects to gain visibility into existing plans, making it easier to convey requirements, identify opportunities for optimization, and avoid mistakes that are hard to see with just words and text. 

John Simmons, Senior Integration Architect, describes how valuable Lucidchart is for his work with clients:

“Getting the logic down is key, because the success of pretty much any project is dependent on how good the understanding of the requirements is. Getting that wrong is very expensive. Nailing it and getting it right is gold for what I do.”

Additionally, Jitterbit doesn’t need to have two-hour meetings with clients just to talk through simple changes. Lucidchart helps eliminate duplicate work because everyone can work off of the same diagram. Rather than sending multiple documents back and forth and having to double-check that you’re working from the most recent version, every change is reflected on the diagram instantaneously. As a result, architects like John gain back the 8-12 hours they might spend on such a process. 

Using visuals to promote understanding across teams and departments both internally and externally has improved meeting organization and effectiveness. In fact, Will says, “Lucidchart helps keep meetings under 30 minutes. These drawings help make 50% of our meetings more efficient. That's the amount of increase that we've seen. In meetings where we don’t have anything to look at, you get a lot of the same questions repeated over and over again, and you don’t get people’s attention. Just having something to look at is huge, especially now that we don’t have the luxury of the whiteboard.”

The flexibility and collaborative nature of Lucidchart allow JItterbit’s teams to work efficiently, solve problems, and keep clients connected and happy.