Community Leader Ammar Ahmed Butt shares his inspiration and path into Atlassian certification
"Learn from your failures and never get disappointed. Remember that failure is a stepping stone to success, and despite failing even once, don't lose heart." - Ammar Ahmed Butt
Hi, Ammar! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself + your role today?
Hi everyone, I'm Ammar Ahmed Butt. I'm a product leader with a passion for solving problems. Almost a year back I shifted my career, and since I was an Electrical Engineer, I had to start from scratch. Yep! An intern at a software house, who had no clue what Jira or Confluence was or anything about the daily routine of a Product/Project Manager.
Now, I'm working as a Product Manager and Development Process Lead at XStak. I manage a diverse portfolio of product lines for the company, and a few months back I became the first Atlassian Community Leader from my city.
How did you hear about Atlassian products, and how do you use them today?
My company had been using Jira and Confluence, but no one had any idea how these products could add value and save time. When I began, I was told how to make reports by exporting tickets to Excel and sending them to our stakeholders. I was curious: why were we using this product just for sending out reports?
This curiosity brought me towards exploring Atlassian products, and I'm grateful to my Lead Tauseef Rehman, my mentor Malik Waleed, and my CEO Ali Aziz, they supported me and pushed me toward stars.
Now our whole process has been automated. I made mistakes, seriously—a lot of them! With every mistake, I learned and gained more knowledge.
Why did you decide to become an Atlassian Community Leader?
I have this urge to do things perfectly. To do that, I had to know how other companies or product managers use these products, how can I learn about them further, and what the best practices are.
That's how I came to know about the Atlassian Community, and Tamanna, my Community Manager, helped me and guided me. As a result of my growing expertise and knowledge, I became an Atlassian Community Leader.
How much did being in the product compared to taking Atlassian University courses to help you master the products?
I believe that "Knowledge is the key to success."
A platform like Atlassian University provides you the perfect way of learning, and gaining knowledge, and helps you to follow best practices that are being used all over the world. After just completing the fundamentals courses, I got to know about so many unknown features that I had no idea about.
How did you motivate yourself to learn and study over time to accomplish all of your skills and certifications?
As I mentioned, I'm an Electrical Engineer, and all the other product managers in my company have gotten their Bachelor's in Computer Science. To prove myself or should I say, to be in the limelight, I had to do something extraordinary and uniquely position myself with something that they don't have—something outside the box.
My biggest motivation is my mother. She supported me, told me every day that I have it in me, and that I can be anything I want to be, and her faith and belief in me kept me running and motivated.
What does it mean to you to be certified in Atlassian products?
It's a big achievement in a society where people don't know how to use Atlassian products properly and have no idea how versatile this product can be; learning and gaining knowledge about it was the most difficult part.
Atlassian Community and Atlassian University were the only sources from which I could get insights, and getting certified was one of the best moments in my life!
What’s your philosophy when it comes to learning/growing in knowledge?
While surfing online, I came across two quotes:
-
Be a lifelong student. The more you learn, the more you earn and the more self-confidence you will have.
-
Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.
I make a lot of mistakes every day, but every time I make a mistake, I learn how that task could be better, and the probability of success increases with every mistake. I'm an optimist, always hopeful and confident. I share my knowledge with everyone and always leave the door open for learning. We can never know everything; every day is an opportunity to learn something new.
What’s one tip you’d give a fellow leader or an Atlassian user to take the next step in their learning journey?
I would suggest to learn from your failures and never get disappointed. Remember that failure is a stepping stone to success, and despite failing even once, don't lose heart.
Observe the mistakes that lead to failure and try to overcome them in your next attempt. Repeated efforts often lead to success!
- Always help others, too. You will learn something new while helping others, which is my way of doing things.
What courses would you suggest for new Atlassian admins or users? For experienced professionals, why would you encourage them to earn Atlassian credentials?
If someone is new to Atlassian products and wants to learn more, then I would recommend the free Fundamentals (Jira, Confluence, Jira Service Management). I suggest exploring the learning paths and choosing your path.
Earning an Atlassian credential helps you expand and sharpen your knowledge of Atlassian products, as well as showcase your skills to your peers, team, and organization.
What do you hope to inspire others to do through your story?
I believe that my story is going to bring strength to a lot of people, motivate them to keep pressing on, keep on learning, and explore new things.
Just believe in yourself!
Thanks, Ammar! Learn more about our Community Leader Program, the Atlassian University, and getting certified on in-demand Atlassian products.
Was this helpful?
Thanks!
Sharon Tan
About this author
Customer Marketing Content Manager
Atlassian Inc.
Austin, TX
4 accepted answers
27 comments