When to consider a task "Implemented" in Hardware vs Software?

Question

I am managing JIRA projects which contain tasks and bugs for Hardware as well as software, for SW, implemented means the new fix or new sw is in place and will be further verified, now for hardware, after the task is assigned there is a large amount of work done before is considered implemented, should I move the task / bug to Implemented based on the % of work done for the task/bug  or should I keep the task/ bug work at "assigned" until the hw solution has been completed? This is the flow I have assigned in my projects:

Open -> Assigned -> Implemented -> Verified -> tested -> closed

The problem I have with HW tasks is that they stuck in "Assigned" for long time, this is translated as " No progress" by management.   Any suggestion or recommendation is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

jpineda · Answer

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the suggestion, I agree with you that changing the wording might help. Thanks.

Bill Sheboy · Answer

Hi @jpineda

In my opinion, how your team chooses to work is what you agree to do.  Jira is merely a tool to help visualize and manage your flow.

The symptoms you describe may be a communication/semantics issue.  You describe "Assigned" as what many teams might call "Building".  That is, your flow steps names indicate "we finished X" rather than "we are doing X".  Consider if improving the names to reflect the work that is happening would help.  And, perhaps having discussions with leaders to improve shared understanding of what the steps in the flow represent.

Of note, some teams (particularly those using Kanban) explicitly have "working" and "waiting" steps.  For example, below the working steps are bold and the waiting are italics:

Selected > Building > Test Ready > Testing > Release Ready > Releasing > Done

Such names can be more clear about where action occurs.

Kind regards,
Bill