Automattic – A Case Study in Successful Collaboration

Handling literally hundreds of  WooCommerce plugins is no mean feat – yet such is the reality for standard-bearers such as Automattic! Experience, intelligence & insight, though, bring foresight! And with it the ability to recognize and discern when and with whom to collaborate and delegate, in order to maximise success.  

With this in mind, Automattic sought the skills of our experts at Progressus.io to help maintain smooth operations and continue intelligent development of their extensions, entrusting us with 18 of their key plugins.

The Brief

World renowned as a market leader in the development and management of a range of popular web services and products, Automattic barely requires an introduction! Perhaps best known as the creator of WordPress, Automattic also oversees the likes of WooCommerce, Jetpack and Akismet. Empowering millions of individuals and businesses around the world, Automattic is recognized for providing innovative solutions of the highest standards in web publishing and eCommerce.

In a rapidly evolving online world, understanding and mastering the underlying mechanics of WooCommerce can prove to be a challenge. Alongside our deep knowledge of all that is WooCommerce, we pride ourselves on the key skills of listening, understanding and collaborating with our clients to achieve the results they require – and more.  

Leaders such as Automattic, of course, carry the burden of responsibility and reputation – taking risks is simply a no-no – and that goes both ways!

So when they needed a skilled and reliable partner to quickly gain a deep understanding of their key 18 WooCommerce fulfilment extensions, they had to be careful. With their requirements of maintenance, support and continued feature development, they did their homework and saw the quality that Progressus.io would bring to the table.

Thanks to our shared, collaborative spirit, we fostered a mutual trust and respect, our qualities garnering additional responsibilities which led to us progressing from bug fixing to adding complete features which are crucial to the ongoing usage and success of our extensions.

Summary
  • We integrated seamlessly into Automattic’s team workflow to manage tasks, perform code reviews, handle merges and prepare for releases.
  • Maintained responsive engagement on Slack and diligently monitored a dedicated project board on GitHub, ensuring a prompt and effective response to any issues.
  • Identified and suggested process improvements to enhance collaboration, streamline operations and maintain best-in-class  results.
Market

Shipping, Fulfilment, Delivery

Technology

  • PHP
  • Javascript
  • SQL
  • React
  • Node
  • Composer
  • Webpack
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • SASS
  • Docker
  • AJAX
  • JSON
Services
  • Frontend Dev
  • Backend Dev
Visit
Visit Plugin

The Approach

Collaboration being the name of the game, our adaptable experts integrated smoothly into Automattic’s team workflow, addressing tasks, conducting code reviews, managing merges and preparing for releases with a relentless commitment to excellence.

Maintaining a strong presence on Slack for responsive engagement, we also kept a close eye on our dedicated GitHub project board, ensuring that any arising issues were responded to promptly and effectively.

Ever keen to help nurture and drive the success of our partners, we were never shy to point out opportunities for improvement and offer our insights, thereby enhancing team collaboration and promoting the virtue of efficiency without sacrificing quality.

Relishing a challenge, as always, we took a deep dive into expanding our comprehensive understanding of the 18 extensions which are key to the success of Automattic.  This in depth knowledge enabled us to provide top-notch maintenance and will help to drive innovative feature development moving upwards and onwards!

The Results

By making substantial improvements to the codebase, implementing key new features and upgrading extensions to meet the needs of ever-expanding technological capabilities, our partnership has substantially raised the bar when it comes to maintaining the highest possible standards.

Our collaborative approach with Automattic has set the standard as the perfect recipe for success, enabling them to focus on their broader product direction and implement the significant changes they required to achieve their product-based goals.

250+

Total resolved issues

200+

Bug Fixes

50+

Compatibility Fixes

20+

Enhancements

20+

Security Fixes

We’ve been working with Progressus for more than one year. They have been instrumental in the maintenance ad development of some of our WooCommerce extensions and services. They quickly demonstrated their knowledge with WordPress and WooCommerce. They made an effort to understand the problem without jumping to a quick fix. They are now fully autonomous on the development process, efficiently solving the emerging issues and adding features when needed. Our team is delighted with their work.

Francesco Rosso, Automattic