Worst Jira Admin Contest: Trial by Error

[#1]

Mistake 6

“Someone get this kid admin access!”
- Rachel Wright with her Commodore 64

My first admin experience was on the day I was made an application administrator! (Not ideal!) I had a very good user-level knowledge of Jira, but understanding how to use it verses how to configure and manage it are very different things! Without proper training, I started building a new Jira project and new custom schemes to fit my use case. I followed the model from an existing project and was on my way. Months later, I realized the model I followed was all wrong. I had copied the mistakes of others. I had added to the overall mess. I should have understood more about the application before I started making additions to it.

For me, the application management and learning environment was all wrong. There was no company sandbox or text environment to learn in or try out changes. I should have:

• set up a local Server or Data Center instance or a Cloud free trial for my pre-production experimentation,

• imported sample production data and configurations to my test area so I could see how changes worked with real scenarios,

• planned my changes outside of the application first,

• sought out more information about general application configuration and maintenance, and

• thought more about how my actions would impact the application in the future.

I had good intentions, but my lack of knowledge meant everything I did, it seems, was wrong from day one.

Luckily for you, you have this great user and admin forum so you can learn from others and avoid some of our mistakes!

I encourage you to:

• seek out new learning opportunities,

• experiment and try different things (in a test application, of course),

• consider training or studying for certification, and

• engage with the community.

See my 9 Ways to Learn Jira Administration article for some ideas.

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Back to intro and mistakes list

[Matt Doar]

Sweet photo!