About ComCode
Since its founding in 2009, ComCode has reliably supported companies in mastering the challenges of digitization. When it comes to digitization and security consulting, the IT service company finds individual solutions for medium-sized and large companies and follows an agile approach. CEO & Cyber Crisis Manager Markus Geier has been working in IT for more than 25 years and has since been committed to the digital transformation and protection of his customers' value-creating business processes.
The initial situation
Before ComCode decided to use Stackfield about eight years ago, collaboration on projects took place via the usual applications and platforms, such as Excel, MS Projects, emails, and calendars. Markus Geier recalls, "Back then, there were no all-in-one tools. There were, at best, Kanban-oriented tools. However, Stackfield was our introduction to this world."
Markus Geier – CEO & Cyber Crisis Manager at ComCode
Why Stackfield?
For ComCode, the most important requirement was to be able to map the collaborative processing of dynamic projects in a manageable way and in a way that was adapted to the respective complexity. Stackfield's functionality and user-friendliness were immediately convincing: "We took a look at the tool and it was very straightforward to use right from the start. It allows me to manage very simple things, but also complex projects. And it even keeps getting better with the new features that have already come and are still coming."
Another crucial aspect involved digital security, which is of central importance to both ComCode and Stackfield. Accordingly, the company placed great emphasis on security when selecting a tool. Security features such as end-to-end encryption and having the tool originate and be hosted in Germany were key factors for ComCode.
"We use the tool for customer projects, so security plays an extremely important role for us. On one hand, the topic of end-to-end encryption was fundamental for us, on the other hand, it was also the ease of use for people who have no prior knowledge. Here, security and usability simply resulted in an optimal combination that led us to use the tool - combined, of course, with the fact that it is a German provider."
Right from the start, Markus Geier was enthusiastic not only about the way Stackfield operates but also about the support structure surrounding the tool: "I think the real-time support is great, i.e. the fact that you get an answer immediately if you have any questions. In addition, we have also had very good experiences with telephone support."
First steps with Stackfield
Since Stackfield was initially intended to be used mainly for project work, at first a few selected projects were handled via the tool. Subsequently, the use of the tool spread throughout the company bit by bit and, according to Markus Geier, Stackfield is now used in all company areas.
Since larger user groups have to be introduced to Stackfield regularly, sometimes some of them have never worked with a tool before or have never seen a Kanban board. Particularly there, it was important to keep the structures and processes as simple and clear as possible. "We emphasize a lightweight introduction, which then becomes more concrete and detailed over time. It is important not to create structures that are too complex," Markus Geier tells us.
Agile collaboration across all areas
At ComCode, the usage of Stackfield extends across the entire collaboration. In particular, the Kanban board has long since established itself in all areas - whether for projects, for the coordination of IT matters, in the administrative area, or even for event planning. In addition, the Gantt view as well as the file and page modules are gladly and often used in projects. Through intensive cooperation with customers who themselves use a wide variety of platforms, ComCode has also gained experience with other tools. By now, Markus Geier knows plenty about other tools, yet he still considers Stackfield to be one of the best options when it comes to agile project work.
"We know a lot of tools, but I wouldn't trade Stackfield for any of them. Simply because the user interface is incredibly direct, compact, and fast. You can do simple things quickly and handle complex things optimally as well."
Management of security incidents in the Kanban board
At ComCode, the focus lies on working with external parties. When customers are prepared for security certifications, such as ISO 27001, the entire process can be mapped in Stackfield from day one to the day of certification. The certification preparations are realized collaboratively.
A particularly exciting use case at ComCode is "out-of-band" communication during security incidents. More specifically, if a company is hacked and can or may no longer access its IT, Stackfield is used to establish communication and collaboration for an emergency response team.
With customer IT compromised or potentially compromised, it is important to use an external secure communications and data exchange platform that is not part of the customer environment when an incident occurs. "This has proven to be extremely quick to implement in the past and provides agile yet structured incident handling capabilities," Geier said.
Higher quality of project implementation
ComCode needs to be able to act quickly. Consequently, Markus Geier sees the greatest benefit of Stackfield in the fact that certain structures can be established within a very short time. "I particularly love how quickly I can create a room, a project, an incident in the tool and create tasks and subtasks with assignments there. My favorite feature is the usability coupled with the speed," the CEO tells us.
"When I compare how long it takes me to create something similar with other tools - Stackfield is x times faster. The tool gives us more productivity in very short cycles in a very dynamic, agile work environment."
Markus Geier is convinced that the quality of project implementation has increased significantly with the use of Stackfield. Using the Kanban board, a faster project initialization is made possible, which leads to more productivity and better information content in the course of a project and ultimately results in measurably higher quality. "The stringency and communication in the project have improved because, of course, we always have the Kanban board as an anchor point," says Geier.
Continuous improvement without "feature overkill"
Stackfield optimally supports project work at ComCode and Markus Geier is satisfied. For him, it is particularly noteworthy that Stackfield is constantly evolving without generating an overabundance of features. "I think the roadmap is reasonable - there aren't constantly new features that the world doesn't need. To me, it's a good combination of continuity of the product and ongoing development."