About PTB
PTB (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt) is the National Metrology Institute of Germany and serves as the highest authority on all matters concerning correct and reliable measurement. As one of the largest metrology institutes in the world, PTB is a highly respected international research institution and service provider for science, business, and society.
The International Cooperation group Q.3 at PTB is an implementing organisation of development cooperation contracted by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union and supports developing and emerging countries in the development and use of a needs-based and internationally recognised quality infrastructure. Stackfield has been in use at the Q.3 group since 2021 as a collaboration platform for the professional planning, preparation, implementation, and management of development cooperation projects.
Irina Juchimenko works in the section Q.31 – responsible for Europe, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia – as a project assistant and as an assistant to the head of section.
Irina Juchimenko – Project Assistant / Assistant to the Head of Section Q.31
Decentralized coordination of concurrent projects
Before Stackfield was introduced at PTB, the numerous projects running in parallel in International Cooperation were coordinated across various channels. Communication primarily took place via email, supplemented by a range of chat, Kanban, and project management tools, meaning there was no central, standardized working environment. Irina Juchimenko explains: “That was the main reason why we decided to introduce a new tool: We wanted to bring the different places where collaboration and communication happened together on a single platform, making both project management and task management easier.” Instead of having to switch from one platform to another depending on the project or area of responsibility, tasks from different projects were to be managed and accessed in one central place, with topic-specific collaboration taking place there as well.
Being able to see changes in real time was a key factor for the Q.3 group in moving away from asynchronous work with locally stored documents toward cloud-based collaboration. Irina Juchimenko explains: “When a task is completed, everyone should be able to see it immediately. Information shouldn’t first have to be saved in a document that others can only access once the document has been closed. Being able to work in real time was very important to us.”
International collaboration meets highest security standards
In addition to project management and task management features, the platform also needed to support the administration of different user groups, particularly external users. Irina Juchimenko explains: “We work extensively with external experts and through the internal cooperation we also have many partners and, accordingly, project participants based abroad. We wanted to be able to bring all of these different people together on a single platform while still remaining flexible, for example, being able to say that someone is no longer involved and no longer needs access. Stackfield handles this very well.” Another key requirement was easily accessible, English-language support via chat, particularly given the international user base.
As a departmental research institution, PTB placed particular emphasis not only on the required range of features but also on meeting the strict data protection requirements of public authorities. Key criteria included certified hosting in Germany, including BSI C5 attestation, as well as security features such as true end-to-end encryption and two-factor authentication. For the Q.3 group, meeting these requirements was essential in order to comply with regulatory standards while also addressing the specific needs of a diverse international user base.
Stackfield met the defined requirements both in terms of functionality and with regard to data security and data protection. Irina Juchimenko adds: “We also appreciate that Stackfield is continuously evolving and introduces new features and modules while maintaining the same high level of security.”
Enabling asynchronous project collaboration across borders
Within the individual sections at the International Cooperation, numerous projects are carried out in parallel by different project teams, including an ongoing project at Q.31 on “Strengthening the Quality Infrastructure
for EU Accession and Competitiveness” in Moldova. Stackfield is used to coordinate the logistics of these projects and to collaboratively manage operational tasks.
In Stackfield’s rooms (individual workspaces) the activities and tasks associated with different projects can be organized by topic, assigned due dates, and allocated to specific team members. The Kanban board provides an overview of the current status of individual tasks and makes it easy to assign and review ongoing activities. Irina Juchimenko explains: “The individual project teams use Stackfield to check which activities and tasks are coming up, who is responsible for each task, and when they need to be completed. It also helps us keep track of what has already been done without having to ask. Of course, we communicate a lot, but we don’t always work synchronously.” Team members are often spread across different countries and need to be able to coordinate with one another despite time differences. Stackfield supports this by making content accessible at any time and allowing users to review missed activities in the activity history. For both informal and project-related communication across borders, teams use task comments, private and group chats, as well as calls with video conferencing and screen sharing. “Stackfield is simply used for everything at Q.31,” Irina Juchimenko emphasizes.
Transparent coordination of internal and external resources
Depending on the requirements of each project, the project teams working across the individual sections consist of both internal and external contributors. These resources therefore need to be coordinated transparently across projects. Irina Juchimenko explains: “We have external experts who work on several projects at the same time. When planning activities in Stackfield, we can see in advance whether an external expert or an internal team member has already been allocated elsewhere.”
For this purpose, a separate room was created to provide an overview of activities across all projects. Labels are used to indicate which individuals and internal project resources are assigned to each activity, the country in which the activity takes place, and other information relevant to project coordination.
Vacations, absences, business trips, and public holidays in the various countries – which can differ considerably and are therefore particularly relevant in an international context – are also recorded in the calendar. When scheduling a new appointment, the “Check availability” feature provides an overview of members’ availability, showing when potential participants are absent. “This makes it much easier to find a suitable time for everyone, especially when coordinating with external members,” Irina Juchimenko explains.
Structuring cover arrangements to ensure continuity
To avoid bottlenecks caused by absent project participants, handovers for planned absences are organized using individual tasks. Relevant documents and information can be stored directly within the task, while individual steps can be defined using subtasks. The person providing backup coverage is recorded centrally, so other team members also know who to contact. If no backup has been assigned yet, tasks can be taken over by available team members with sufficient capacity. “This would be difficult to manage in a document. You might have a list of tasks, but you wouldn’t know whether someone had already taken them over or completed them,” Irina Juchimenko emphasizes. The person providing coverage can also document progress directly in the task, making it transparent what was completed during the absence and what the current status is.
Templates are also used for tasks that recur regularly within projects. If a team member is unexpectedly absent, for example due to illness, workflows do not have to be reconstructed from scratch. The predefined templates clearly outline the next steps and contain all the relevant information needed to complete the task.
Accessing information on business trips with the mobile app
Due to the international nature of the various projects at the Q.3 group, employees regularly travel for business. To stay informed while on the go and communicate with colleagues when needed, they frequently use Stackfield’s mobile app. This allows them to access important information, tasks, and project details at any time, even without a laptop. Irina Juchimenko particularly appreciates that “the app isn’t intrusive, and notifications can be turned off whenever needed.”
Personal support directly within Stackfield
For Irina Juchimenko, the positive experience with Stackfield is rounded off by support that is easy to reach and provides assistance directly where work takes place.
“The support is really excellent. I’ve only had a few support requests so far, but whenever something did come up, I always received a very quick response and the help I needed. What I find particularly convenient is that direct contact with support is integrated into Stackfield, so there’s no need to fill out an external contact form or make a phone call first. Since you’re already working in the platform, you can simply switch to the support chat, ask your question, and get a quick response.”