Navigating Blockers, Stuck Issues, and Flags for Seamless Project Management

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We run sprint after sprint, and it's not always (believe it or not) easy. Team members skillfully ran the course, jumping over obstacles and dodging burning fireballs. Sometimes, the sprint events resemble a bacchanal on the stage of Cirque du Soleil; sometimes, it is more or less calm. In any case, there are always places where you have to stop. And you would like to go on, but you need to know how. Sometimes these stops are small and insignificant, and sometimes you just get sucked into a vicious quagmire, like a swamp.

All these stops have names, definitions, and solutions. Let's explore this topic together. So, let's start the race!

What is Blockers?

A blocker is a problem that hinders progress on a project or a specific task. In short, it signals that a critical issue must be resolved before we can continue working.

When we find and proudly call a problem a blocker, it must be solved first because it impedes progress.

What is Stuck?

It's a slang term more likely to be used in stand-up daily meetings to describe a task where you're facing obstacles or minor issues. Some small problems or obstacles exist, and the team is more challenged moving forward than usual. 

The task can be labeled stuck to draw attention to the fact that there are certain obstacles, and it would be desirable to resolve them to continue working smoothly.

This is not a critical phenomenon, but it is unpleasant. Usually, it is assigned a medium priority.

Since this is a slang term, you must always clarify with the team how much a particular task is "stuck." It may mean something, and it is better to identify the task as a blocker or flagged.

What is Flagged?

So, before you flag an issue, there are a few things you need to know. Flagging an issue as Flagged means that it requires special attention. This highlights issues that need additional study, review, or prioritization.

We won't tell you the specific reason for flagging an issue because it depends on the project, sprint, etc.

How to identify blocker, stuck, or flagged issues

So, now that we've understood these concepts, let's know how to identify them within workflows and how to label them to understand which of the tasks is hindering the implementation of a project, sprint, etc. And also how to solve these problematic tasks.

We suggest using the Time in Status for Jira app reports to identify the above tasks in the workflow. 

For example, using the Transition Count report, you can view how many times a task has changed its statuses, and for instance, when a task often moves to the On-hold status or between the Testing ->In progress statuses, this may signal that the task is challenging to complete and needs better attention and maybe a potential blocker or stuck issue.

The Time in Status report also helps to identify blockers. Below the screenshot, you can see a task that raises doubts due to the time spent on certain statuses. Is it easy to implement? It could be stuck because it's too large and requires breaking it into even more sub-tasks. Or do you need to attract additional resources to solve it?

Now that we've found the "culprits tasks" in our issues let's figure out how to solve them: 

1. Label such issues as soon as you name them in a certain way - blocker or stuck. Flagged issue - in Jira, you can use the Add Flag option to flag an issue. Once you've identified them in a certain way, you can pull them out via JQL and more and keep such complex tasks that have become an obstacle under control.
2. Assess the priority and urgency of the problems.
3. Discuss the identified issues with the team. Ensure everyone is on board with the issues and understands how they affect the project.
4. Review your workflow to ensure it does not cause blockers and stuck tasks. The workflow may need to be updated.
5. Assign responsible people for each problematic task. 
6. Break significant issues into subtasks. "An elephant is eaten in pieces," so if you're stuck on a particular task, take a closer look; it may not be possible to complete it all at once, but if you divide it up, you'll get it done.
7. Regularly inform the team about the status of the problem and communicate with the responsible persons.
8. If you still need help solving the issue or it worsens, be ready to ask for help from more competent people, attract additional resources, etc.

Using Sprint Performance Reports and the carryover rate

Another feature of the Time in Status for Jira app will help you determine what you're doing wrong and when your sprint is paused.  

This is the Sprint Report, which shows a basic set of indicators of the health of your sprints.

Pay attention to the sprint structure showing you the number of flagged issues. And the carryover rate. 

What is a carryover? These are issues that have yet to be completed within the current sprint and are carried over to the next sprint to complete them. 

Such tasks need to be treated with special attention if they jump from sprint to sprint but are incomplete or cannot be completed.

!!! Also, it's worth remembering that if the carryover rate of each sprint is 0%, this is not good. This means you need to plan your sprint scope better because your team is not working at full capacity.

Takeaway

Perhaps more than one article is needed to cover such a voluminous topic, but we do not plan to stop and will try to cover all the issues of this topic further. So, to help you identify blockers and stuck and flagged issues, we give you a 30-day trial of the Time in Status for the Jira app. 

And may you have no blockers in your life or work 😉