New member introductions to the Agile Community Group

[Mike Clarke]

Hi,

I'm interested to understand what problems people are facing in going agile or scaling agile using the Atlassian toolchain, and areas where they're really winning

Thanks

Mike

[Randy O_Neal]

Hi all!  I'm a Scrum Master for Twinspires.com, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Churchill Downs (the Kentucky Derby folks).  My development teams write pari-mutuel wagering software for the horse racing/greyhound racing industry.

I've been in Agile Software Development for ~20 years.  I've been acting as a Scrum Master for Twinspires for the last 10 years.  My teams are currently operating as Kanban teams, though we have the majority of our tenure under Scrum.

I'm always on the lookout for better metrics and better Agile practices and how we might improve our processes.

My forte is the creation of and standardization of team dashboards.  I originally used Jira as the primary platform for our dashboards, until we discovered clear advantages of creating our dashboards within Confluence; it makes it very straight-forward to imbed other pages into the dashboards.

My hobbies include woodworking, hunting, ATV riding, music (I play trumpet and bass guitar), and fishing... especially surf fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

[Kalee Williams]

Welcome to the group, @[deleted]

We're so excited to have you here! Being from Cincinnati, I've been to Churchill Downs a number of times and really enjoy the famous hot brown and derby pie. 🥧 🐎

[Kalee Williams]

👋 Hello Agile Community Group, 

🎉 Jira July is back for a third year and is taking the field on Community, Twitter, and LinkedIn! 

Are you ready to showcase your skills? Head over to this ⚽️ BLOG ⚽️ to learn more about the lineup of activities, competitions, and surprises! 

And Jira Admin Appreciation Day is Friday, July 14th! A big THANK YOU to all the admins in the group. The Jira Software Team celebrates you for being a fantastic Jira Admin. 💙

[TC Wang]

Hello! TC here. I'm a Tech Project Manager based in APAC and am using Jira/Confluence to track project statuses on a daily basis. Recently I've been exploring Jira automation to help dev teams work more efficiently.

Icebreaker 3: I hope to get some Agile/Jira best practices from other ppl in the group;
Icebreaker 6: You can find me playing squash or creating memes :) 

[Prem]

Hi Folks,

My name is premdeep. I am working as an Asst. Manager - Project Management. I uses agile methodologies as my way of management. I am learning lot more about atlassian product right now. Also, I am using atlassian products on a large scale. I have a good understanding but also there is a lot more to learn.

Happy to be a part of the community.

Thanks.

[Collista Lewingdon]

Good morning. I am Collista, I currently work as an Atlassian Product Manager in the education field. I landed in my job by complete luck and have had the wonderful opportunity to learn the job and create the job as I go. It was brand new when I applied! I have to admit, I did come up with no formal project management experience and but have always loved running the show. I have been in position for almost a year now and am really loving it and I have completed several project management trainings to help better understand how theses projects are used. Sprints, waterfalls and all that fun was fairly new to me and honestly still is but I am excited to learn all I can! 

Icebreakers:

What is your favorite Jira configuration tip and why? 

Not to have to many cooks in the kitchen. When I started in my role the organization had been using Jira and Confluence for almost a year with no one managing it. Everyone had admin permissions and let me tell you, the swamp that I found took 8 months to clean up. But I did it and now only two people are system admins. 

Do you have a hobby or something you enjoy when not working? 

I am a single mom of four kids and my entire life outside of work revolves around them and their activities, so I am Scout Leader and love watching my daughter kick some butt on the lacrosse field. We also enjoy camping and fishing.

[Linh Pham_Ricksoft_Inc]

Hi everyone, it's good to be here :)

My name is Linh, I've completed a few Scrum training, and am a certified SAFe 6 Agilist. I started my agile [learning] journey as a marketer. I wrote about my experience running agile marketing team if you're interested (although it needs some updating 😅). Recently, after transitioning to the product management field, I'd like to gain deeper knowledge in agility and how to go about Jira implementation to tailor to the agile team's needs. I'm passionate about work management and project management topics overall.

Looking forward to learning from everyone! 

[Marjorie]

I am a Scrum Master. 

1. What type of team or company do you work for? I work for a federal group that is redesigning an antiquated system.
2. What is an antiquated way of working and how would you want to see it change? Paper requirements, paper design documents...

[Raul Pelaez _TecnoFor - Marketplace Partner_]

Enthusiastic about Jira since 2012 when I first encountered it while exploring project management and task management tools for Linkcare Health Services. With a proven track record, I have successfully implemented Jira in various large corporations and multinationals across Spain, streamlining project and task management.

Passionate about all aspects of Jira, I excel in Scriptrunner, Jira, Kanban, Confluence, and Integrations. My dedication to the platform extends to writing informative articles on mraddon.blog, where I strive to help others navigate and optimize their Jira workflows.

In my current role, I work for a team that develops Apps for Jira, with the ultimate goal of "Kanbanize the world." I believe in transforming antiquated ways of working and fostering a more efficient and collaborative environment.

Joining this group, I hope to gain great knowledge and, in return, share my expertise with fellow Jira enthusiasts. My favorite Jira configuration tip is utilizing the "Kanban Combined WIP App," allowing me to combine columns and WIP limits, even in swimlanes, streamlining the workflow.

Outside of work, I indulge in my hobby of creating video games, such as "Mr.Addon Game Maker" and "Mr.Addon in Sulpicius Gallus M," where creativity knows no bounds.

[Karanpreet Kaur]

Hi there, I am a Senior Manager of DevOps Platform Engineering Team at Tangerine Bank. Tangerine is an all virtual bank of Canada. 

I like to read about new features on Atlassian products in my free time (whatever 5 mins I am left with in my day ;) and bring those value adds to the bank.

I hope to bring ideas that help other people and learn something new from this group.

[Dan Tombs]

Hey Team,

I am the Atlassian Architect for my current company. However in previous jobs I have been the agile lead for a software company but have ways enjoyed seeing both the technical aspect along with frameworks like Agile or ITIL. 

1. I currently work for the cloudops team who manage all SAAS and server applications for the business.
2. I think one of the most antiquated way of working is just people keeping everything from themselves so there is no trace of what is going on at all. Atleast with an Excel doc (which I hate with a passion) things are a little more visible.
3. I'm hoping to see more people and their journeys through agile. I'd love to use this as an opportunity for everyone to benefit and mentor each other.
4. I'm hoping that any of my previous experience can help others through any of the challenges I have seen.
5. Oooo. There are too many.
6. Sports. Love sports. Golf, gym footie

[Joseph Hansbrough]

Hello,

I'm a Senior Project Manager working with the State of Maryland on creating new websites for their Department of Education. I have worked in Jira since 2017, and have come to appreciate the intricacies and level of customization it offers, all while maintaining a solid structure so you don't go too off-the-wall. I've approached much of my work in more of a mixed manner, so call it Scrumban or Kanplan, not quite adhering to the discipline of finishing all tasks within a sprint or keeping new tasks out. That said, I would like to become more disciplined in agile methodology and take steps towards becoming certified, so I'm hoping to glean insights and tips from this community.

One antiquated way of working that I'd like to change is conducting QA and identifying issues in a spreadsheet or Word document - not to add to the Excel-trash talk. Having worked in Jira has spoiled me to the point where I cringe when issue trackers are spreadsheet based - there is a better way! And that is also to say that I prefer Jira's ticketing system, perhaps due to familiarity, more than using Smartsheet (even though I'm a huge fan), Planner, MS List, or other tools as well. I'm hoping to get people to start creating tickets and tracking their progress in a more intuitive and helpful way!

[Becky]

Hello Guys, 
I'm Luanna, working with Jira Administration and Project Administration, I love working from home. 

I'm joing this group to learn and understand more abou agile. The best way to have anything we need from users without having integration is using user.properties and accessing it with smart values.

I really like road trips, mountains, bycicles, roller skates and meditation 🧘‍♀

[Dave Mathijs]

Hi @Kalee Williams , here's my introduction:

What type of team or company do you work for?

I work in a small team of Atlassian consultants, engineers, experts and practice leads - internally called Amplifly - for ACA Group, a Platinum Solution Partner based in Hasselt, Belgium.

What is an antiquated way of working and how would you want to see it change?

Organizations only wanting to "go live" with all bells and whistles. Start with a MVP en continually and iteratively improve.

What do you hope to get out of this group?

As I've been submerged in an ITSM world for over 20 years, I'm keen on learning more on the agile way of working

What do you hope to bring to this group?

Lots of likes, kudos and comments

What is your favorite Jira configuration tip and why? 

Don't underestimate the power of labels in Jira in combination with the Jira filter macro in Confluence

Do you have a hobby or something you enjoy when not working? 

Netflix and YouTube all the way! Yes, I'm a couch potato (sorry, not sorry)

[Kalee Williams]

Welcome to the group, @Dave Mathijs

I have a feeling you have some pretty good Netflix recommendations!

[Dave Mathijs]

Thanks for the welcome @Kalee Williams 

You asked for it, no way back, here are my Netflix recommendations:

• Atypical
• Aquarius
• BEEF
• Black Mirror
• Bloodline
• Borgen
• Bron
• Criminal (France, Germany, UK)
• Dark
• Dogs of Berlin
• Formula 1: Drive to Survive
• Gomorra
• MINDHUNTER
• Narcos
• Ozark
• Peaky Blinders
• Quicksand
• Suburra
• The Crown
• The Killing
• Unbelievable
• When They See Us
• Workin' Moms

[Kalee Williams]

Adding some of these to my backlog, @Dave Mathijs

[Frederik Vantroys]

@Dave Mathijs: Couldn't agree more on the power of labels !

@Kalee Williams: a backlog for Netflix series ... interesting. Do you use a Kanban or a Scrum board to manage that ? 2-week sprints with a sprint goal ? So many questions :-)

[Utkarsh Singh]

Hi Folks. My name is Utkarsh and I'm one of the engineers at Atlassian who is part of this fantastic organization for the past 2 years. I'm here to help and learn from some amazing people. :)

[Kalee Williams]

@Frederik Vantroys I have a google doc filled with movies, documentaries, and series on my phone. I have found that this reduces the mindless scrolling through Netflix and discussions with my husband on what we should watch next. Unfortunately, I don't use Kanban, Scrum or sprints because I'd be binging watching non-stop. For house chores, my husband and I do use a Kanban board for managing tasks and assigning ownership. Kanban is so helpful for moves, planning events and chores! 

[Tomislav Tobijas _Koios_]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently working as Atlassian Consultant for one Solution Partner company. Even though I haven't been here that long, I've managed to work on multiple projects with different clients that gave me interesting perspectives on what different companies require and how they want to achieve those goals.
Before this, I worked as a Customer Support manager and was leading process changes to our department and also to multiple teams within that company (changes that include working with/implementing Atlassian tools).

I hope to find/see/hear some new use cases with which users occur on their journey, and if there's anything I can do to help, I'll happily engage in those discussions 🙂

Cheers,
Tom

[Lukasz Grobelny]

Hello and welcome! I'm an Atlassian Engineer and certified PM. Glad to be here :) 

[Sanjog Sigdel]

Hey Lukash. Good to have you in the community

[LynnG]

Hello,

I work with two teams - 1 in Sprint the other in Kanban. Also Jira Admin focused on Governance and Housekeeping

My company is delivers channel incentive software and services to help brands engage their partners and create value for their customers.

An antiquated way of working is when managers/directors ask for a status update instead of attending a meeting or reading updates in Jira

I am a curious person. I am hoping to learn more that I know now and share what I do know.

I am enjoying Jira automation. My newest one is to add all issues that transition into In Progress to the current sprint. The captures all active work.

I enjoy travel and planning carry-on only international trips

[Prasad Kalamkar]

Hello Everybody! Glad to be part of this.

I am from Project management background and helping team deliver solutions for the last 8 years.

1. I lead Projects for IT Architect Team of a BFSI Domain company.
Have a small team comprising of 10 people belonging to IT Architecture and Solutioning Team.

3. I want to learn more about Agile practices using JIRA. 

[Sanjog Sigdel]

Welcome to the community @Prasad Kalamkar 

[Dam]

Hi,

I'm Dam, an Atlassian Certified Expert, working on the Atlassian Stack since more than 14 years. CEO of Adadam, a small IT Company in South West of France (near Bordeaux), specialized in Atlassian apps development.

I'm also known as “Dam” has more than 15 years of experience in IT, starting as a Java developer and then evolving and learning Agile methodologies as a scrum master and product owner. He is now dedicated and totally “in love” with the Atlassian stack.

Finally you should have heard about me in one of the Atlassian keynote during the last Team 23 event... 😃 In which keynote is it? 😊

[Kalee Williams]

🍷Welcome to the community, @Dam 

[Sanjog Sigdel]

Welcome to the community @Dam 

[Sanjog Sigdel]

Hello Community.

It's been a while and I am enjoying the interaction with the awesome community contributors, leaders and managers. 

[Randy O_Neal]

Welcome to the team, @Sanjog Sigdel !  

[Sanjog Sigdel]

Thank You @Randy O_Neal  I just bookmarked your movie recommendations. Gonig to watch them all :)

[David Blank]

Hi, I'm Dave!

I work for a Manufacturing company based in Elkhart Indiana. At Lippert we make products for many different industries including automotive, RV, Marine, building products, and more! I work on the Marketing Technology Team as a Sr. Business Systems Analyst but I've done everything from Conversational AI to Occupational Safety.

Outside of work I'm a serial-hobbyist. I'm most in my element when I'm outside and exploring in nature. I enjoy off-roading, Overlanding, camping, gardening, pretty much anything outdoors and active.

I'm hoping to meet new people and hear how others are working to make their teams happier and more productive.

[Sarah Rojo]

Hello,

My name is @Sarah Rojo and I am currently a Scrum Master. I've been working with Jira and Agile since 2013 and decided to start getting some Jira certifications to boost my career. Nice to meet everyone!

🧊- I hope to learn more about how others are using Jira products in their own Agile organization and on their teams.

🧊- When I'm not working, I love to play video games.

[Sanjog Sigdel]

Hello @Sarah Rojo Welcome to the community 🙌

[Kalee Williams]

Welcome to the group, @Sarah Rojo

We're happy you're here!

[Annette Faerber]

Hello!  I work for a managed healthcare company in their IT department as a Scrum Master.  We transitioned to Agile in 2020 and began using on prem Jira.  We transitioned to Jira Cloud this past week.  My hope is that this group will be a great resource for easing any bumps in the road that we experience with Jira Cloud and to be able to help my fellow SMs as we navigate this new version.

When not working I enjoy playing board games (Catan, Wingspan, Ticket to Ride, Bunny Kingdom are a few favs) with my family, working on a new needlework project (counted cross stitch, embroidery), working on projects around the house, or sewing.

[Nikki DuBois]

Hey all!! :) Glad to be here and connect with other likeminded individuals! My name is Nikki and I am a Lean Agile Leader for a financial company. I have been in the agile space for over 9 years now beginning as a team member of agile teams and then quickly growing into a coaching role.

1. What is your favorite Jira configuration tip and why? 
   1. My favorite config would have to be the option to utilize a kanban board or a scrum board but both having the options of a backlog. No matter what planning is so important whether in a sprint or not. This was a great feature to have for those teams more in an infrastructure and ops setting to be able to plan out work outside of the day to day crazy.
2. Do you have a hobby or something you enjoy when not working? 
   
   1. Hobbies would be spending time with my daughter. She plays golf so learning more about the sport and just watching her out on the course is what is most enjoyable to me. I of course love getting out and meeting new people everyday as well whether its in a bar or in a bookstore. 

[Malka Jackson [Isos Technology]]

Hey y'all! I work for a Platinum Atlassian Partner as a Technical Project Manager and handle a lot of migrations. Mostly ground to cloud, but some cloud to cloud and some cloud to grounds. They all have their interesting bits, but I enjoy them for their uniqueness within each Client. 

My favorite cleanup activity is to work with the Client to reduce the amount of custom workflow transitions and convert them to native functionality as we move to cloud. A lot of times, we can spend a few hours converting tons of post functions that clear the resolution field to native functionality and totally get rid of a third party app. This saves the Client an annual license fee and puts them in a better place for maintaining their instance. 

Another way I like to assist my Clients is replacing third party app functionality with native A4J functionality in the Cloud. Again, saving the Client fees and placing the functionality in an easy to maintain location. 

When I am not at work, I am trying to hit the road an explore. I love to road trip. I will head up into the Blue Ridge mountains and out to Tennessee as often as I can from Florida. I will day trip to the beach and I will find a cabin on AirBNB and just head there for a weekend to unwind. 

[Robert Wen_Cprime_]

Welcome, Malka!