When Your JIRA Standards are Too Low

Have you ever felt like your backlog on JIRA has turned into a hot mess? Missing descriptions, no components, or maybe some issues are a year old! If this is the case, your JIRA standards are too low and it is time to set some higher standards for you and your team. Routine backlog grooming can help with prioritization of issues but when there is list of junk on the backlog it can get overwhelming. JIRA is a simple issue-tracking, and project management tool. Enforcing data standards in JIRA will help in the long-run with reporting, and also saves time when you need to figure out what was completed, and the result of the work. Below, are few ideas for you to try today to clean-up your backlog and set higher standards.

Set Mandatory Fields
Set mandatory fields such as ‘component’ or ‘description’ and ‘Estimate’ fields so that the issue can be reviewed at a later time without any question as to what was completed and what the level of effort may be. It may seem obvious to put a description but some may feel a title filled with acronyms is enough. On top of that, I have also witnessed completed issues without an assignee, so anything is possible.
Remove Issues
It is okay to remove issues. If the issues are no longer needed, or even worse, they no longer make sense then it is time to remove it from the product backlog. If anything, the issues can be reopened. However, keeping a long-list of unwanted features, or bug tracking tools, can make it appear as if there is more work to do than necessary.
QA regularly
Set some time each week to review items on the backlog. This is a work-in-progress, so it may not be perfect right away. Is there a description? Does it make sense? Is there acceptance criteria, or a definition of done?
Clear Purpose
Ensure that your team understands the purpose of JIRA. If you have multiple teams or projects, I recommend having the team leads reinforce these standards. With multiple teams or projects, it may become difficult to manage if the purpose is not defined from the beginning.

Above are just a few steps to cleaning up your backlog on JIRA and setting some standards. It is not too late to start developing new standards for your team moving forward.

Good luck.

Sorry To Hijack Your Meeting

If you ever catch yourself saying something like, “sorry to hijack your meeting” then you are rude, inconsiderate, and disrespectful. Stop taking over meetings. Just wait your turn. You may feel as if you are being polite by apologizing but all you are doing is wasting the time of someone who took the time to set the meeting up. You are also wasting the other attendees time. Whoever facilitated the meeting took time out their work make sure there was a call-in number, the right people were invited and carefully crafted an agenda! Take the time to schedule your own meeting, if you have something important to discuss.

Yours sincerely,

A Meeting Facilitator

Virtual Scrum Master Toolbox

Working from home is actually quite new for some people, including me! So far it’s been great and to be honest, I do not miss that traffic. I would love to work form home permanently one day!

Anyways here are some tools for a virtual scrum team!

Skype for Business – Chat, Video Calls etc.
WebEx Meet – to host larger conferences
JIRA – keep track of work, manage scrum boards, scrum metrics
Calendar for Jira – Keep track of everyone’s schedules, post important dates etc.
Confluence – to post important information, results from retrospectives, documentation
PlanITPoker – for estimation, sprint planning sessions
Parabol – facilitate a retrospective
Miro – virtual sprint planning board

Good luck!

Coping

Hanging out with my daughter has been great. I have been working from home and the day care is closed. I love the fact that we can hang out all day. However, I am starting to feel bad that we can’t go anywhere. It is sinking in as I spend my days in this 950 square foot apartment, with my family. I feel bad that I do not have a backyard for her to play in. I feel guilty I didn’t have another child, she wouldn’t be so lonely. I feel guilty that I can’t give her 100% while working from home. There are some days she has her meltdowns because she wants to go to the park or go to grandmas house. It is hard to experience but definitely has to be hard on the kids. So much change!

What makes me feel good is that I am learning more of what kind of toys she likes and things that keep her busy. She enjoys imaginative toys. Play kitchens and foods, cash registers anything that is interactive and can pretend.

Another learning experience for me is that I discovered I do enjoy being home. I also discovered my triggers. And by trigger I mean what makes me angry or stressed. It is not just my job, it is actually specific emails from specific individuals. So I am doing my best to limit my contact with them until this stressful time roles over. I also noticed that I don’t get a thanks at work.

I just hope people are more kind, as we are challenged with working from home and teaching our children. Say thank you and show appreciation to your colleagues. Check up on them. It is easy to get wrapped up in work and forget about everyone. Also, if you are under stress just take a deep breath before saying the wrong things.

Implementing Agile: First Things First

I looked online to find blogs, advice, and tips on how to implement Agile onto an existing technical project. I found a lot of comparisons, arguments on why Agile is great, and why it isn’t. However, the point of being Agile isn’t to memorize facts to win the next waterfall vs. agile debate. The point of being Agile is to practice it daily, and to get better at it everyday. Somewhere along the line, a leader in your organization agreed to making an Agile transformation and this is your chance to make a change.

The best advice I can give a program manager who wants an Agile transformation for their program, or to anyone tasked with implementing Agile is to live, breath and think Agile. Remember that you are setting the standards for software delivery. So, try not to take the title lightly. People will follow your lead. Next, find some books related to agile, organizational change, and leadership. Also, find a great podcast to listen to in the morning before heading to work. What helped me, was learning that there are people out there who are passionate about agile and it inspired me to learn more and do my best. Another tip is to find a group of people who are also passionate about Agile. This can be at your company, or find one on meetup. If you can’t find one, perhaps start your own.

So, if transforming your organization with Agile is now your task, then definitely be all about it and set the standard. Passion goes a long way and your efforts will be appreciated!

Podcasts to Try:

Jump Right In

Not a fan of starting my blog posts with a typical vague introduction. I kind of prefer to just jump right in. The less I try to be like other bloggers, the more fun blogging gets. Writing freely without worrying about form, SEO, a targeted audience, or sticking to a theme is actually quite enjoyable.

When I did follow the templates and guides, I still wasn’t making any money or getting any views. So why suppress your real style? If writing is something you enjoy, then simply write.

Build Your Own Path

Peeking through the window on the door. Waving to the people at the table and asking them to let me in. Some of them pretend that they don’t see me. Others make eye contact, then look around to see if anyone else will open the door first. Since no one else pays me no mind, they go about their business. A middle-aged lady walks by and bumps into me. She opens the door but closes it in my face and locks it. I was so close! That door opens to a room that I wanted to be in so bad. The room of opportunity and growth. The room to feel included. The room where I have a seat at the table.

I guess I thought that life would be great there. I thought that I would be happy and fulfilled in life. I thought that would mean that I have “made it”. However, just because I have a seat at the table doesn’t mean that they will treat me any better than when I didn’t have a seat. Would they really listen to my input? Value my contributions? Take me seriously? Who knows? but it seems like a lot of people-pleasing to do for 40 hours a week and is that really fulfilling? I see why people build their own path because they were tired of hearing no’s and being rejected. Perhaps, they were tired of having to try to impress others.

I think I may be on that path to just building my own path, my own room, with my own table. It will be a lot of work because I am starting from scratch without any path.

To anyone reading this who can relate – don’t give up. You got this and you will keep shining. Do your thing, give it your all and do it FOR YOU.

When you’ve been tasked to “do scrum”

Red flags were all over when she said,”do scrum” and “fit the schedule into sprints”. Being an IC Agile Professional, I know you don’t just “do scrum”. I was speechless but the speechless system design engineer in me, and now suddenly the new scrum master of the team, had bills to pay. So scrum master it is. So, I decided to start “doing Scrum”. Implementing Agile across a program has been my most challenging, stressful job I have had yet, and I can’t say it has been rewarding. Most people on my team have been doing things their way, doing the SAME thing they have always done for longer than I have been alive. So, being the chosen one to introduce a new way of doing this was not the best work-scenario.

My first scrum ceremony was a fail. No one showed up. Fast forward 6 months, it’s getting better but still the same resistors. I tried a user story writing session. I thought it was going to be a fun-filled session with sticky notes – ended in crickets. The engineers had no idea who the user was, or what a feature is, they only understood architecture. It was baffling to me. Something so easy (writing user stories) was so difficult.

Honestly, the role is undervalued. I feel like it is me against 30+ people, plus I am leading a major change without any authority. Conflicting requests from leadership has been my greatest difficulty. They want agile but also not displaying much support for it. However, I have some learning lessons.

Before going all crazy with the scrum ceremonies, come up with a plan of what you will introduce and when. Create a presentation of what scrum is and what scrum is not and present that to leadership. Leadership needs to be onboard and fully understand the roles before attempting to change anything. That way you have their authority early.
Start tracking success. Come up with some goals and how you will get there. It could be participation, stakeholder engagement, process improvement etc. This will take some research.
Lastly, JOIN SOME AGILE GROUPS. Seriously, you will feel alone sometimes because 9 times out of 10 you will be when someone asks you to do scrum. I found some great podcasts, blogs, and reached out to agile coaches within my organization. By doing so, I found out I wasn’t alone and most of the issues I was facing were normal. I also found out, that people LOVE it, they LOVE talking about SCRUM. Seeing the passion for it motivated me to try harder.

At the end of the day, I am doing this on top of my system design engineering duties and it is not fun. I’m not going to lie. I think if I was back in management consulting where we take a formal approach to change management and business process improvement, it would be much more rewarding. However, casually “doing scrum” is not the way to go.

A Note to Job Seekers

There is often the added pressure when you have a family who depends on you. This can be extremely tough when on a job search. Needless to say, the whole process can take a hit to your self-esteem. No one actually likes rejection. It is just I believe that some people handle better than others. However, think of it like this. Don’t stop applying until you get a yes. It only takes one yes to get you out of the situation you are in.

The rejections are tough. Oh so tough! And some recruiters may just waste your time. Perhaps, you have a job and running out of “doctor appointment” excuses. Maybe you are looking for the right opportunity, so it is taking much longer than expected. Whatever the case is – you are not alone.

Listen to podcasts, read articles online do what you can to help prepare for what is coming next whether it is a phone screen or an in-person interview.

I have been trying to break into technology industry – to work for a large technology company. Some of my applications are rejected right away, some are rejected after the video chats – and that’s okay. It has been 3-4 months and no face-to-face interview yet.

Facebook and Google said nope but glad I made it to at least a phone screen and video interview lol

However, I am going to keep researching other companies with good values/missions and keep trying. I refuse to give up on my dreams. I also refuse to be in a place that does not see the value in me. So I will keep trying.