For companies to realize Jira Align’s full value requires clarity and commitment on the part of the company and competence and experience implementing Jira Align by the partner you choose to use. How do you know if you are working with a competent implementer? The implementation lead must have a range and depth of skills backed by a team with expertise in each area below.
Implementing Jira Align to its fullest is in many ways on par with building a Boeing 787, but making it look like a Cessna 172 to start. The secret is to be able to start your company out learning to fly a Cessna 172 while having the vision of a 787 and what additional flight capabilities can be gained as the needs and abilities grow. There are currently very few people who understand Jira Align well enough to fill the lead role successfully.
So what are the skills I’ve found critical to successfully implementing Jira Align?
Tier 1 Consulting Skills – First and foremost an ability to elicit client needs. Each successful Jira Align implementation follows patterns but must meet the client’s specific needs.
Mindset Shift Coaching – Mindset coaching is one of the most critical skills needed because clients are undergoing a transformation while implementing Jira Align, whether they are aware of it or not.
Strategy Development & Modeling - Modeling strategy in Jira Align can be done multiple ways. Each client’s strategy approach is unique.
Value Stream Modeling - Jira Align is designed to support value flow thinking (and metrics) vs utilization-based thinking.
Financial Modeling – Jira Align’s financial capability is robust and can be implemented in several ways.
Business Process Optimization - We are modeling a complex enterprise into a value-delivery based platform. Many get it wrong by modeling the management org in Jira Align vs the value delivery structure.
Product Development and Modeling - Enterprises are moving to or interested in moving to product-driven development.
Technical - The Achilles heel of every Jira Align implementation is the Jira integration. Implementers who don’t understand the integration often configure it improperly, resulting in syncing issues, improper data models, impacts to reporting, and more. A two-week bootcamp is a starting point.
Agile at Scale – Jira Align is an Enterprise Agile TRANSFORMATION Platform. It acts as an agile enabler and a forcing function.
Professional Experience – Book smarts and classroom room training can’t replace years of professional experience gained over multiple implementations. Jira Align requires an apprentice/journeyman approach to learning to implement. Jira Align is incredibly powerful, and to unleash that power requires a level of understanding that comes from the combination of book/class learning, combined with proper mentoring.
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