NEW | Atlassian Focus: Enterprise strategy and project planning
Atlassian Focus is Atlassian’s latest offering in enterprise strategy and project planning. This new addition complements the existing capabilities of Jira Align and is expected to be available starting February 2025. Although it has only been introduced preliminarily, it is already generating significant expectations due to its potential to centralize and optimize strategic management.
In this article, we’ll explore what has been announced about Focus so far and how we can prepare to maximize its impact when the beta version is released. 👇
Introducing Atlassian Focus | Atlassian
What is Atlassian Focus?
Leaders often find themselves losing sleep while pondering:
- Do we have the right people working on the right priorities?
- What are their goals?
- Do these goals align with the company’s main priorities?
- Are we investing enough in those priorities?
Today, leaders struggle to evaluate whether their teams are making progress on the right things, facing obstacles that cloud their vision:
ℹ️ Information and updates are scattered everywhere—and nowhere—simultaneously: spreadsheets, slide decks, disconnected BI tools, and more.
💸 Work and budgets are not aligned with specific priorities.
👁️ Progress is not visualized through the lenses that matter most.
🗓️ Existing strategy and planning solutions are too rigid, requiring Herculean efforts to adapt to a company’s unique structure and operating rhythm.
In this context, Atlassian Focus emerges to simplify enterprise strategy and long-term planning. Unlike other Atlassian products, which focus more on team collaboration and project management, Focus aims to become a key resource for executives and leaders who need to align and execute strategies at the enterprise level.
How will Atlassian Focus Work?
While the full technical details of Focus have not yet been revealed, the tool is expected to focus on three main areas:
- Strategic Planning: Focus will enable business leaders to define clear goals aligned with the organization’s long-term vision. It will also include tools to break down these objectives into manageable projects and track progress in real time.
- Initiative Management: The platform will allow users to manage large-scale initiatives, providing features to prioritize, monitor, and optimize projects in a centralized manner.
- Multilevel Collaboration: Integration with the broader Atlassian ecosystem will ensure seamless collaboration across all organizational levels, from operational teams to executive leaders. Jira and Confluence will play an important role in this connectivity.
How to get the most out of Atlassian Focus?
To prepare adequately for its release, we can plan our adoption of Focus through the following approaches:
- Strategic Alignment Analysis
Identifying which clients could benefit most from Focus involves analyzing those with a well-defined long-term vision and a need to synchronize large teams or business units. Companies already working with methodologies like OKRs or Balanced Scorecards may see immediate value.
- Integration into Existing Ecosystems
Preparing existing Atlassian products like Jira and Confluence will ensure that adopting Focus is a natural evolution of the system. This also involves training teams in best practices for strategic planning.
- Early Adoption (Beta)
Leveraging the beta version of Focus will allow teams to familiarize themselves with the platform and start creating internal use cases. This also provides an opportunity to participate in early feedback and collaborate directly with Atlassian in refining the tool.
- AI-Powered Notifications and Summarized Updates
Leaders will receive notifications as soon as changes occur, allowing them to take immediate action. With just one click, they can access a summary of a focus area, including progress updates, suggestions for attention areas, and proactive recommendations.
Who is Atlassian Focus for?
Focus will be particularly useful for large and growing organizations needing a robust solution to align strategy with execution. Key characteristics to determine its suitability include:
- Companies with multiple business units requiring a consolidated view.
- Clients seeking to integrate project management with strategic planning.
- Organizations already using Atlassian products and looking to extend their functionality to enterprise strategy.
Some industries that could benefit include:
- Finance and Banking: Large-scale operations requiring centralized visibility.
- Technology: Startups that have scaled and now need greater control over long-term planning.
- Consulting and Services: Companies managing multiple projects for diverse clients.
Conclusion
Atlassian Focus promises to be a transformative tool for enterprise strategic planning. Although it is not yet available, it is crucial to start familiarizing ourselves with its functionality and capabilities. Being ready to adopt Focus from its beta release will allow us to fully capitalize on its potential and deliver significant value to our clients.
