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More Clarity, Less Noise
by Rick Pollick
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2021
3 minAutomate Jira — Change your life.
Automation can be a powerful tool to leverage within a scrum team. Atlassian’s Jira automation can be used in a myriad of ways to keep things organized and reduce the time-cost of manually making associations or status changes within the Jira.This is a link to Atlassian’s documentation on automation: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/guides/expand-jira/automationLet’s take a look at three common automation types that can be incredibly useful to a team:1. Updating the Fix Version (Release V
6 minEverything Is Made Up… and The Points Don’t Matter
What are metrics?Metrics, as they pertain to businesses or projects, can be defined as: “STANDARDS OF MEASUREMENT BY WHICH EFFICIENCY, PERFORMANCE, PROGRESS, OR QUALITY OF A PLAN, PROCESS, OR PRODUCT CAN BE ASSESSED.” — businessdictionary.comInterestingly, the use of the term “metrics” has increased rapidly, after the 1950’s. Does that mean that, as a whole, people have suddenly begun to standardize measurements of efficiency and success? — Yes and No.Yes, standardization has become more common
3 minFinding The Right Agile Framework
There are 50+ different agile frameworks of varying popularity and many questions about them.
6 minHow to Build a Race Car… or a really good Agile Program
Building a great agile program is hard and an ever-evolving activity. It’s complex and requires system-level thinking with an intuitive understanding of engineering tradeoffs, bottlenecks, and flow dynamics. Much like a race car driver, one cannot expect a driver to understand and be consciously aware of every detail happening in his car while he is racing down the track.An interconnected system has to be in place allowing the driver to navigate the car given a few specific levers and controls.
2 minMake Your Jira Workflow… Work.
Workflows are not typically something that people get excited about. Workflows are typically some form of codifying a process from start to finish. Perhaps workflows have specific status gates, quality control measures, or even automated triggers. But, in many cases workflows are static and not regularly “managed”.Standard WorkflowsWhile the following thoughts around workflows can apply to many areas; consider the world of software development — and specifically consider the use of the ticket/re
3 minThe End of the Scrum Master
Scrum Master is a roll that many have heard of, but few understand. That’s because the role isn’t needed. Well… it isn’t needed in the traditional sense. Let’s explore some background and alternatives.The BackgroundScrum Master as defined in the principles of the stalwart Agile Manifesto: “…” ← It isn’t defined. Scrum Master as defined by the ScrumAlliance.org: “The ScrumMaster helps the Scrum Team perform at their highest level. They also protect the team from both internal and external distrac
6 minThe Football Framework: Learning from the Gridiron
What can Football teach us about agile frameworks & high-performing teams?— WRITTEN AS A SPEACH OUTLINE —Pre-Game: • Do you know what the greatest professional football dynasties (1970s Steelers, 1990s San Francisco, and 2000s NE Patriots) all have in common? They were high-performing agile teams using the “football framework”. • Every week the world watches one of the most useful examples of how to cut through the “noise” of agile methodologies. • When you distill a project down; you find that