Community Leader Ammar Butt shares his inspiration and path into Atlassian certification

To inspire us in our journey in learning more of Atlassian products, we've interviewed one of our Community Leaders, @Ammar Ahmed Butt, on their path into certification and the mindset that helped achieve these wonderful accolades!

ammar.jpg
"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


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 actually 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 my boss, Tauseef Rehman, my mentor Malik Waleed, and CEO Ali Aziz, they supported me and pushed me towards learning.

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 of doing things in a perfect manner. In order 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 had gotten their Bachelor's in Computer Science. In order 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, that I can be anything I want to be, and her faith and belief in me kept me running and motivated.

ammar.jpg

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 and learning.

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 and going to motivate them to keep pressing on, keep on learning, and exploring 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.

25 comments

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Rimsha Jamil April 28, 2022

Amazing work out there Ammar!

Really looking forward to learn more from you. 

Like Ammar Ahmed Butt likes this
Ammar Ahmed Butt
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
April 28, 2022

Thank you so much @Sharon Tan  for your kind words, I appreciate your thoughtfulness, you’ve made my day

 

@tamanna This wouldn't have been possible with my community manager! Thank you so much guys! 

Ammar Ahmed Butt
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
April 28, 2022

Thank you so much @Rimsha Jamil for supporting me and believing in me!! 

 

@TamannaRimsha is my colleague at work, she is an amazing person, I think she would be a perfect fit for Atlassian Community Co-leader from Lahore. 

Like Moize Ahsan likes this
Moize Ahsan April 29, 2022

Great work @Ammar Ahmed Butt !

Keep on learning and sharing the knowledge with your peers! ;)

Like Ammar Ahmed Butt likes this
Joanna Thurmann
Atlassian Team
Atlassian Team members are employees working across the company in a wide variety of roles.
April 29, 2022

Congratulations, @Ammar Ahmed Butt on your certification!  That's a great achievement.

Like Ammar Ahmed Butt likes this
Ammar Ahmed Butt
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
April 29, 2022

Thanks buddy!! @Moize Ahsan 😄

Ammar Ahmed Butt
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
April 29, 2022

Thanks @Joanna Thurmann :D

Kevin Tuei
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
April 29, 2022

This is really awesome @Ammar Ahmed Butt 

 

Congratulations and I am really inspired by your certification journey. 

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Ammar Ahmed Butt
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
April 30, 2022

Thank you so much @Kevin Tuei 

Dave Liao
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
April 30, 2022

@Ammar Ahmed Butt - awesome highlight!

I'm curious how you manage your product portfolio - are there any process tips you're proud of, or any Marketplace apps or features that you rely on to make this management easy (or easier)?

Like # people like this
Becky Mueller
Atlassian Team
Atlassian Team members are employees working across the company in a wide variety of roles.
May 2, 2022

Awesome article, @Ammar Ahmed Butt ! I really enjoyed reading about your professional journey and your positive experience with Atlassian University courses and certification. 

Like Ammar Ahmed Butt likes this
Ammar Ahmed Butt
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
May 6, 2022

Hey @Dave Liao 

Yes! I have been using some tools, and Atlassian product features to manage all the processes. 

Here is the Public Link of the Confluence Space where I have added almost everything. 

Like # people like this
Ammar Ahmed Butt
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
May 6, 2022

Thanks! @Becky Mueller :D

Alexander Bondarev
Rising Star
Rising Star
Rising Stars are recognized for providing high-quality answers to other users. Rising Stars receive a certificate of achievement and are on the path to becoming Community Leaders.
May 11, 2022

@Ammar Ahmed Butt , impressive success story! Good job!

@Sharon Tan thanks for this article, the information is well structured and interesting!

Like Ammar Ahmed Butt likes this
Ammar Ahmed Butt
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
May 11, 2022

Thank you @Alexander Bondarev for the appreciation, means a lot!  

Destin Kellian May 30, 2022

Thanks a lot. It always helps when leaders say that they make mistakes too, they were clueless when they started. Of course, this is inspiring. I wish everybody reading this to reach all the goals they are aiming to.

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Ammar Ahmed Butt
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
May 30, 2022

Thanks @Destin Kellian and Yes! We all make mistakes, but learning from those mistakes is the key to real success, and that's how I keep myself motivated after creating a new mess everytime. 😄😁

Like # people like this
Angie Wong
Atlassian Team
Atlassian Team members are employees working across the company in a wide variety of roles.
June 3, 2022

Thanks, Ammar for sharing your inspirational story! I head up Atlassian University and it's wonderful to see how you've taken advantage of our offerings to help further your career and like you said, "uniquely position myself with something that they don't have—something outside the box.". 

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Rilwan Ahmed
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
September 23, 2022

Amazing Ammar!!

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Ammar Ahmed Butt
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
September 24, 2022

Thanks @Rilwan Ahmed 

Alex Koxaras _Relational_
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
September 25, 2022

Inspirational story @Ammar Ahmed Butt ! Lead by example and I'll try to follow your path :)

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Ammar Ahmed Butt
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
October 1, 2022

We all have our own paths and I believe we all have something unique, which makes us special, which makes us stand out in a crowd, we all have to find that one thing that makes us special and in the journey of finding ourselves, we create our own Unique paths. 🌟

@Alex Koxaras _Relational_ 

Kevin Tuei
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
October 5, 2022

Having interacted with Ammar, I can say you are nothing but an inspiration to many including myself. 

Keep on winning, keep on keeping on. :)

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Bhanu
Rising Star
Rising Star
Rising Stars are recognized for providing high-quality answers to other users. Rising Stars receive a certificate of achievement and are on the path to becoming Community Leaders.
October 10, 2022

Congratulations on the certifications and all the hardwork you have put in to get certified. Way to go!!!!!!

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Ally July 27, 2023

Amazing work and Insightful

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