A late, but very enthusiastic "hurrah" on this topic. As a project manager at UCLA, I couldn't live without Confluence and Jira. I love them -- they are an essential component of communication and also help contribute to transparency across library departments. 

> On Apr 9, 2015, at 12:50 PM, "Gary Thompson" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> The Digital Initiatives and IT (DIIT) department at the UCLA Library transformed the way we work over the last 6 years after implementing Confluence.  We've got two teams of developers (3 focused on the Digital Library, 6 on everything else), a team of 4 Digital Library project managers, and an operations staff of 18,; we all rely on the wiki. It has proved essential after a couple of recent staff departures.
> 
> Confluence supports the basic wiki model of linked and tagged documents, but allows people who like to hierarchy to organize content in a tree. We make heavy use of the /metadata-list/ macro to format the structure, and generate views or lists of content (e.g., lists of serves, vendors, projects, etc) controlled by labels (i.e., tags) using the /metadata-report/ macro. We use tagging to indicate project status (definition, planning, execution), type of content (server-logs, specifications), or technology (voyager, drupal).
> 
> We're running our own service; Atlassian on-demand was not an option when we started. If we weren't using local LDAP authentication, we might consider migrating to a hosted service. I suspect that we will eventually move to hosted Confluence, but it's not currently a priority.
> 
> The wiki became so integral to the way we work that we decided to replace our old ticketing system (FootPrints) with Jira to take advantage of the integration.
> 
> Our DIIT implementation was so successful that other Library departments and locations are starting to use it, some in very sophisticated ways. For example, a cross-department digitization team uses it to accept requests, prioritize the work, and track progress.
> 
> I would be happy to show anyone who is interested how we use it. A colleague and I considered writing a Code4Lib Journal article on our project management methodology, but that article didn't get focus. This question -- and my answer -- may motivate me to get it done.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> /-- -- Gary Thompson
> -- Head of Software Development & Project Management
> -- Digital Initiatives & Information Technology
> -- UCLA Library
> -- 390 Powell
> -- voice: 310.206.5652
> --/
> 
> 
> 
>> On 4/9/2015 11:40 AM, Scott Williams wrote:
>> Apologizes for cross-posting
>> ###
>> 
>> Hi all --
>> 
>> We are investigating several software platforms for creating and managing
>> internal documentation and wanted to see what experiences others have had
>> with these packages.
>> 
>> We are evaluating
>> * MadCap Flare
>> * Adobe RoboHelp
>> * Confluence
>> 
>> Our initial goals for these systems are to replace or augment our existing
>> documentation strategy, which is a mix of private Google sites, SharePoint
>> and Word docs. We are starting with our IT department but hope to include
>> other user groups over time.
>> 
>> Things we like:
>> * SVN control with MapCap and RoboHelp. However, we have run into problems
>> with both of their implementations
>> * Write once publish everywhere functionality
>> * HTML5 support with WebHelp Plus
>> * Context aware searching
>> * Easily export and share documentation externally (PDF)
>> * Consistent theming and styling across all the documentation
>> * User/group security management for hiding more sysadmin documentation
>> 
>> Things we don't like
>> * Windows only (MadCap and RoboHelp)
>> * WebHelp requires IIS (?)
>> * Limited functionality with the hosted version of Confluence
>> 
>> 
>> What are people using to manage their internal
>> systems/architecture/application documentation? Are there other products we
>> should be considering?
>> 
>> Many thanks,
>> Scott
>> 
>> ----
>> Scott Williams
>> Data & Database Administrator
>> Yale University Art Gallery