New Collaboration Tools to Help Government Agencies Advance Their Digital Operations

Government agencies have long depended on secure collaboration tools. Now, as these agencies focus on modernization initiatives, they require an integrated solution that can securely manage software development workflows and digital operations.

In addition, these new tools need to drive improved productivity, and support compliance requirements. That’s why Mattermost has invested in enhancing its messaging collaboration platform with new solutions for playbooks, workflow management, task management and tool integrations.

Many government organizations rely on complex processes to enable their operations. Manual, inconsistent approaches result in errors, omissions and missed steps. Digitizing these processes can increase productivity and improve effectiveness. A proven way to achieve those goals is through playbooks.

Playbooks from Mattermost offer prescribed workflows that streamline and optimize recurring processes. They make any structured process repeatable and predictable through checklists, automated triggers and actions, status dashboards and updates, and retrospective timelines and reports.

As a result, federal agencies can better orchestrate work across teams and tools. They can document complex operations, and they can better support scenarios and use cases that require repeatable and reliable process steps. That way, they can achieve consistent processes, predictable outcomes and continuous improvement.

By taking advantage of these playbooks, agencies across government can:

• Orchestrate digital processes that span teams, tools and missions – Built-in task checklists and real-time messaging enable all stakeholders to understand what’s in progress and what actions to take next.
• Improve visibility and quality – Prescribed checklists make sure every team member follows best practices, the first time and every time. Status updates eliminate confusion and ensure stakeholders remain informed on workflows.
• Streamline tasks with triggers and actions A no-code framework enables teams to automate repetitive work, freeing up time for more strategic priorities.
• Improve with every iteration Retrospective reports and timelines enable teams to retrace what happened and benefit from key takeaways. Incorporating learnings back into playbooks makes processes more effective and scalable.
• Integrate and extend – Because playbooks are built on an open source platform, they allow for customization and extensibility. Team members can leverage other tools they’re already using through APIs, plug-ins and an ecosystem of community-built integrations.
• Maintain tight security – Built-in security and firewalls, as well as secure cloud-deployment options, make sure sensitive data remains protected in a broad range of collaboration scenarios.

Additional Mattermost capabilities and offerings further support agencies in shifting to digitized operations. For starters, a single command-and-control hub optimizes team collaboration. In addition to playbooks, the platform provides channels for real-time and asynchronous messaging, as well as boards for Kanban-style project and task management. Integrations with an ecosystem of developer-centric applications include GitLab, Jira and Confluence.

High-availability, mission-critical security and privacy provide the information safeguards agencies need. Public sector organizations can deploy the platform on-prem, in air-gapped environments or in a secure cloud to maintain complete control of their data. Strict, customizable access controls help ensure military-grade protections. They also assist organizations in complying with standards such as those associated with HIPAA, FINRA, GDPR and regulatory requirements.

What’s more, a single, flexible licensing mechanism covers multiple networks. Separate teams can benefit from the same tools and practices, even across multiple air-gapped environments.

Finally, these capabilities are available across a number of governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs), including NASA Solutions for Enterprisewide Procurement (SEWP). A variety of channel partners can help agencies meet their small-business goals. The platform also meets requirements for the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) for Section 508 compliance.

Mattermost’s new and enhanced collaboration tools are offered as part of a growing portfolio of solutions specifically designed for government organizations.

As government agencies and defense organizations navigate the shift to always-on digital operations, effective alignment of people, tools and processes can help teams better achieve their missions. By replacing manual tasks, fragmented communication and fragile workflows with digitized, repeatable process frameworks, they can operate more efficiently and effectively to meet changing use cases and demands.