Extending a Long-Term Atlassian Engineering Partnership Across Development, QA & Automation
How TECUNIQUE continued an established engineering relationship after Appfire acquired Innovalog—supporting architecture, software development, specialized QA automation, Cloud and Forge evolution, L3 support and the recruitment of experienced QA talent across Appfire products.
How the Appfire Relationship Began
Continuity After the Innovalog Acquisition
TECUNIQUE had already been working closely with Innovalog around Jira Miscellaneous Workflow Extensions (JMWE) and Jira Miscellaneous Custom Fields (JMCF) when Appfire acquired the Innovalog products in 2020.
Rather than rebuilding the engineering team from scratch, Appfire retained the established TECUNIQUE resources and product knowledge around the apps. Most of the Innovalog-era TECUNIQUE team continued directly into the Appfire engagement, giving the new organization continuity across development, QA, automation and the underlying product architecture.
The Appfire engagement formally began in November 2020.
Preserving Product Knowledge Through the Transition
Keeping an Experienced Team Around JMWE & JMCF
The transition to Appfire preserved years of accumulated knowledge around JMWE and JMCF rather than resetting the engineering relationship after the acquisition.
TECUNIQUE developers and QA engineers already understood the products, their Cloud and Data Center variants, existing automation suites, release processes and complex Jira workflow behaviour.
That continuity allowed the team to continue contributing immediately while adapting to Appfire’s broader engineering processes and organizational structure.
At a Glance
Client
Appfire
Ecosystem
Atlassian Marketplace
Primary Products
JMWE · JMCF
Additional Product Relationship
Rich Filters
Peak Team
7 dedicated professionals at peak
Capabilities
Architecture · Software Development · QA · Automation · L3 Support
Cloud Evolution
Server/Data Center → Cloud · Connect → Forge
Engagement Period
November 2020 – April 2025
Working Model
Embedded Kanban Team
A Focused Development & QA Team
The team remained relatively compact but highly specialized, combining senior software engineering with substantial QA and automation capability.
7
Dedicated Professionals at Peak
2 Senior Software Engineers (1 later progressed to Senior Architect)
Product feature development, architecture design, API services, frontend UI modules, bug fixing, performance optimization, and Forge evolution.
1 QA Lead · 3 QA Engineers · 1 Specialized Automation Engineer
Test planning, functional & regression testing, Data Center to Cloud validation, specialized ACLI/GINT automation, and release sign-off.
Architecture & Software Development
Working Across the Product, Not Only Individual Features
TECUNIQUE software engineers contributed across core services, technical design, APIs, UI modules, and Atlassian Marketplace delivery requirements.
Feature Development
Implementation of new product functionality and workflow extensions.
Architecture & Design
Participation in architectural decisions, technical design, and system planning.
Backend & API Development
Product services, API endpoints, and scalable backend functionality.
Frontend Development
Development and continuous evolution of user-facing interfaces and configuration screens.
Bug Fixing
In-depth investigation, root-cause analysis, and resolution of complex product defects.
Performance Improvements
Optimization of application execution, indexing, and workflow response times.
Refactoring & Technical Debt
Improvement of existing codebases for long-term maintainability and modularity.
Marketplace & Release Work
Engineering delivery aligned with Atlassian Marketplace standards and release expectations.
From Senior Engineer to Senior Architect
As the engagement evolved, one of TECUNIQUE’s Senior Software Engineers progressed into a Senior Architect role. The role expanded beyond feature implementation into architecture decisions, technical design, code reviews, mentoring and planning around the product’s gradual Forge evolution. This progression reflected the level of product knowledge and engineering responsibility developed through the long-term engagement.
Gradual Connect → Forge Evolution
Modernizing the Cloud Architecture Incrementally
The move toward Forge was gradual rather than a full rewrite of the existing product. New functionality increasingly used Forge where appropriate, while selected existing Connect-based features were progressively migrated. TECUNIQUE engineers contributed through technical planning, architecture discussions, development of new Forge functionality, and migration of selected capabilities.
Server/Data Center → Cloud Migration
Migrating Product Functionality to Cloud
A separate engineering track involved moving selected functionality from the Server/Data Center versions of the products into Cloud. This required adapting existing functionality to the Cloud environment while considering platform behaviour, UX constraints, and API differences. TECUNIQUE developers contributed to the engineering implementation, while QA engineers provided detailed post-migration validation.
QA Across Cloud, Data Center & Releases
Quality Engineering Throughout the Release Lifecycle
QA represented a major part of the Appfire engagement, covering both Cloud and Data Center versions across planning, regression, and release readiness.
Test Planning
Definition and organization of comprehensive testing requirements across features.
Functional & Regression
Validation across existing and newly introduced product behaviour.
Cloud & Data Center Validation
Testing across both deployment models and variant codebases.
Version Validation
Verification across multiple concurrent releases and product versions.
Fix Verification
Confirmation that resolved defects behaved correctly without regressions.
Release Regression
Broad regression coverage across complex Jira workflow operations prior to release.
Release Readiness
Rigorous assessment of product stability and readiness for deployment.
Sign-Off Recommendation
QA input and formal sign-off recommendations before customer rollout.
Marketplace Release Checks
Validation of release requirements and compatibility with Marketplace expectations.
Post-Migration QA: Validating Data Center → Cloud Functionality
When functionality was moved from Server/Data Center to Cloud, QA went beyond checking whether the feature simply existed in the new environment. The team compared behaviour across versions, validated usability and response differences, identified missing or inconsistent functionality, performed regression testing, and verified that migrated features behaved appropriately within the Cloud product.
Building Automation Around Complex Jira Workflows
Specialized JMWE Automation
Designing, Extending & Maintaining the Framework
TECUNIQUE’s role went beyond executing scripts within an existing framework. QA automation engineers designed, extended, maintained and improved the automation framework and test scripts over time as product requirements became more complex. This involved learning the specialized tooling in depth, solving configuration challenges, refining test structures, and collaborating with relevant stakeholders and ACLI developers.
L3 Technical Support: Deep Product Knowledge Applied to Customer Issues
Advanced Tier Technical Investigation
As product knowledge deepened, one TECUNIQUE QA automation engineer moved into a dedicated L3 Support role. The role involved investigating complex product issues that required deeper technical and Jira-specific understanding.
This allowed detailed product and automation knowledge built within QA to be applied directly to complex support scenarios.
Embedded in Appfire’s Engineering Organization
Working as Part of the Product Team
TECUNIQUE developers and QA engineers worked directly within Appfire’s engineering organization rather than operating as a separate external delivery unit. The team followed Kanban and participated in refinement, planning, product discussions, release meetings, architecture discussions, and code reviews.
Engineering Flow
Continuous delivery flow with agile backlog refinement and WIP management.
Work Management
Issue tracking, sprint coordination, and cross-functional engineering management.
Documentation
Shared product specs, architecture diagrams, and release procedures.
Test Management
Integrated test case repositories, test execution runs, and traceability.
Recruitment of Specialized QA Talent
As Appfire’s QA requirements expanded, TECUNIQUE continued recruiting specialized QA professionals for products with complex Atlassian workflows and testing requirements. TECUNIQUE sourced and initially screened candidates, Appfire conducted technical evaluation and approval, and TECUNIQUE managed employment, payroll, HR, and ongoing people administration.
Relationship Expansion Through Rich Filters
Appfire acquired Qotilabs in 2023, and the existing TECUNIQUE QA team supporting Rich Filters continued under Appfire.
What the Long-Term Team Brought
Main Value Delivered to Appfire
Architecture & Development Capability
Senior engineers contributing beyond feature implementation into architecture, Forge modernization, and technical direction.
Specialized QA Automation
Deep automation expertise around complex Jira workflows, ACLI/GINT frameworks, and Cloud/Data Center variants.
Recruitment of Niche QA Talent
Proven ability to identify, evaluate, and recruit specialized QA engineers suited to intricate Atlassian products.
Long-Term Product Knowledge
Continuity of engineers familiar with products, workflows, architecture, automation test suites, and release processes.
Engagement Timeline
Key milestones across the Appfire partnership lifecycle (Nov 2020 – April 2025).
Appfire Engagement Begins
Existing Innovalog TECUNIQUE team continues immediately following Appfire’s acquisition.
Engineering Continuity & Team Expansion
Development and QA continue across JMWE and JMCF; specialized QA and automation capacity grows.
Architecture Evolution & Senior Architect Progression
Senior engineering responsibility expands into architectural design, mentoring, and Forge planning.
Cloud Migration & Gradual Forge Work
Server/Data Center functionality moves to Cloud while selected capabilities incrementally adopt Forge.
L3 Technical Support & Rich Filters Expansion
L3 technical support capability established; existing Rich Filters QA team continues under Appfire.
Engagement Concludes
The engagement concluded as Appfire evolved its internal engineering model.
“Since 2020, Appfire and TECUNIQUE have been engaged in business, and throughout this period, the TECUNIQUE team has consistently impressed us with their exceptional services. Their expertise and dedication in architectural design, development, and quality assurance have been very valuable to our team. Additionally, their HR team has demonstrated a tried-and-true process for recruiting the ideal QA engineers for our intricate products.”
Ajay Singh
Director – Product Engineering, Appfire
Add the Engineering & QA Capacity Your Product Needs
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