MAXWELL AFB-GUNTER ANNEX, Ala. -- On Nov. 30, 2023, the Business and Enterprise Systems (BES) Atlassian Toolset (BAT) integrated team of experts from the BES Services Division (GBQ), Operations Division (GBO), and Engineering Division (GBE) deployed and tested a routine maintenance patch to its test environment with a deployment to production planned for December 14, 2023.
The maintenance patch included three Atlassian Products; Jira, Jira Service Management, and Bitbucket, and 13 plug-ins that extend the capability of those three products, as well as two operational support tools, and nine vulnerability mitigations.
Vigorous testing and approval by the configuration control board allowed early deployment to production to remediate several emergency Information Assurance Vulnerability Management (IAVMs) and Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) to ensure the BAT remained operational.
In keeping with operational cybersecurity practices, the team continuously monitors and remediates IAVMs and CVEs for the system.
On Dec. 6, 2023, the team was notified by Atlassian of critical vulnerabilities impacting the system. After a review of the identified CVEs, it was determined that with minimal scope increase to the planned maintenance patch – the BAT could remediate all the CVEs.
Due to the severity of the CVEs, the BAT team completed the needed changes for scope increase and accelerated deployment of the maintenance patch by a full week. Remediation activities were completed in less than 24-hours of being identified.
Presently, 70 programs use the BAT in their software development lifecycle, employing 498 project spaces in the BAT environment.
The BAT offers four components for agile software development: Jira (project workflow management tool), Jira Service Management (service desk services), Confluence (collaborative workspaces), and Bitbucket (source code repository).
The plug-ins expand on the base functionality of these components, allowing users to make Microsoft Excel-like tables, run test scripts, or make effortless copies of issues. These functions provide programs with vital capabilities including team and strategy management, cost and schedule monitoring, release planning, and forecasting, which allow teams to maximize developmental efficiency.
The Agile Services Office also offers extensive training opportunities in both Agile and the Atlassian toolset, providing over 20 hours of continuous learning every month. These workshops, ask-me-anything sessions, crosstalks, and user forums offer a multitude of opportunities for the BES community.