Page History
Table of Contents
| Table of Contents | ||
|---|---|---|
|
...
Introduction
Agile is a framework for a way of working in which:
- experts are empowered, to take ownership and create high-quality solutions,
- the gap between IT and Business is bridged, through input and validation by a business-representing Product Owner,
- transparency, alignment and early escalation (asking for help) are key,
- short cycles lead to adapting and improving plans,
- and we experiment with process improvements to gain efficiency.
JIRA Jira can bring a new level of transparency to an Agile team, opening up the backlog and work in process beyond the team’s location.
The platform can be used for Scrum or Kanban, but ultimately it’s just a tool: it’s only as good as the data we put in.
If we want to use JIRAJira, we should:
- populate it with clearly written stories,
- maintain it daily,sharing our progress and refinement.
for then JIRA Jira can provide easy searching and automated reporting.
...
Jira setup - Portfolio management
The Project in JIRA Jira is much larger than an Information Systems ‘project’ – it is the full backlog for a product that your a team (and maybe others) manages.
YME management has decided that we have three Information Systems release trains – Consumer Processes, Business Processes, and Enablement.
Initially, we there will have be one single JIRA Jira Project for this entire portfolio, which will allow us to assign stories between the development teams easily.
Outside SDServicedesk, each team will have their own team board (either Scrum or Kanban), with their chosen team name in the title.
Thanks to the "Yamaha Team" field, which contains an entry for each team, only stories owned by this team are visible on their own board.
...
Value & measurement - why & how?
When wishing to change the status quo, it is vital to do two things:
...
In Agile, this is the responsibility of the Product Owner, though others (like Business Analyst) can support.
It is done by writing a "User Story" that clarifies the why and "Acceptance Criteria" that clarifies the how.
...
Then <system response>
And remember:
...
Sprinting or Continuous Flow
...
In Scrum
We work in increments of two weeks, because it's easier to plan realistically when timelines are short:
...
Before starting a new sprint, we hold a retrospective - looking back at how people and processes behaved during the sprint, and how we can become more efficient and more happy together.
...
In Kanban
Kanban has no limits on time, but on amount of work in process. By focussing our efforts on a single task, we strive to move items to Done in short cycles.
...
It's not easy to work though blocks sometimes, but remember that if you explain to a requester why something is not possible and they change or cancel their request, that resolves the block as well.
...
Releases or 'fix/versions'
Either way of working needs to at certain points deploy software, in a production release.
...
- We should use the naming convention when creating a new fix/version
- We should set status 'released' for a fix/version in Jira after the deployment is succesful
The first helps everyone understand which system the release is for, and which period it took place in; while the second clears deployed items from the 'done' column of Kanban boards.
...
Inspect & adapt
Using the tool Jira consistently, means that we obtain transparency of our process and progress. This allows our team to Inspect how we are doing, and Adapt in order to gain higher efficiency, and grow together.
...
Reports
Each team board contains standard reports. –
- these are only as good as the data we put in
...
- for Scrum the Burndown Chart and Sprint Report are useful
...
- for Kanban the Cumulative Flow Diagram is useful
for higher level planning the Epic and Version report are useful, but we will need to grow into these reports yet at YME.
...
A Cumulative Flow Diagram shows how WIP is limited and progress is made in Kanban. The slimmer the coloured line between backlog/resolved, the better:
5.2 Searching
There are multiple ways of finding data in Jira outside of a team board.
The easiest is using the top-right search box to find a specific issue. Simply type the number here and press enter:
It's good to know that it's also possible to:
– search across or within projects & teams
– use Basic or Advanced queries
– save search results as a filter
– Export search results to a file
– make Bulk Changes to search results (SD request to Jira admin only)
To learn how to do any of this, please read the Jira Training Basics - Search.
5.3 Dashboards
If there is any data you wish to check periodically, it is possible to collect filter queries and visual representations of Jira data onto a single page, called a Dashboard.
You can read more about using and creating Dashboards in Jira Training Basics - Dashboards.
...
Recommended learning
Jira beginner's guide to Agile (free, self-paced, 90 minutes, certification option)
...
Overview
Content Tools