stop worrying! and love the workflow

and the workflow

Emma Rush

Stop Worrying!

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• Overview of the problem project• Pain points• Setting up a workflow

• Approach

• How we used the workflow and JIRA to take the pain away

Agenda

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• A library of training videos• Hundreds of videos• Focusing on specific tasks• Very short• Several stages in production

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The Project - Micro Videos

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Ease the workload

• Labour Intensive• Changes difficult to apply• Lack of clarity

Project Problems

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• Not working well with high volume• Problems on the horizon• Need a searchable video library

Management Problems

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Process Mayhem

Reporting Problems

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• No Reporting• Lack of visibility• Canʼt delegate tasks

Productivity Problems

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• Abundance of Time Suck• Manual Reports• Lots of page editing

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No Clear Pathway

• Process Clarity• Searchable Library• Management Reporting• Increased Productivity

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Needs

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Headache

• Ad-hoc Workflows• Scaffolding• Reporting• Chart Macros• Advanced Search• Some Bespoke Work

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Use Confluence?

Use the right application for the task. ”“

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JIRA Panacea

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Where to begin?

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Learn by sketching

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http://bit.ly/mGAD78

Configuring Fields and Screens

When learning workflows, hands on,

practical experience is vital”“

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http://bit.ly/aXJuRc

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Enlightenment

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The pen is mightier than the mouse.

(in the first instance)“

”

Planning• Important Stages in the Process• Stages and Linked steps• Transitions• Screens and Custom Fields• Roles and Notifications

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Collaborate with stakeholders early to get the best

design for your workflow”“

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Everyone loves a flowchart

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• Learn JIRA Admin Concepts• Try out example workflows• Make your plans on paper• Convert plans into something you can share• Improve with feedback, iteratively• Build

Planning

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Create Script

Video Requested

Get ReviewCreate VideoGet Review

Publish

Create RequirementsGet Review

Video Accepted

• Process can be constantly improved• See problems clearly, early

Kaizen up your process

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Clear Pathway

• One Project for Training videos• One Issue Type

Using JIRA

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1

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The Boiler Plate

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Reporting

• Use statuses for reportingHow many tickets are open

Which status they are in

Where the bottlenecks are

Reporting. The key to getting a project on track”“

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Reporting

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project = TRAINVIDS AND issuetype=”Training Video” AND status = Open

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Dashboards

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Dashboards put information that your team needs

at their fingertips”“

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47Ticket Wrangling

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How to keep on top of your tickets

• What information will you need to find quickly?• Make custom fields to suit

keeping content fresh

find tickets for specific software version

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Issue Management

• Pimping out the workflow with Conditions• Custom Fields Vs Components and Versions• Additional options in the workflow

Reflections

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I the workflow

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Get your project on track. Put it in a JIRA

workflow ”“

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• Reporting• Visibility• Added Review and Testing into the Process

Manage Process

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I the workflow

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Attributionhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/bispham2/3997915098/• Process Mayhem

• Unclear Pathhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/osucommons/3230009752/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40230585@N08/3695173456/

• Enlightenment

Attribution

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationallibrarynz_commons/4535966085/sizes/o/in/photostream/

• Wrangling

• Boiler Platehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/mk94577/4081258769/

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!"#$%&'&(

!"#$%&"'(")*

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!"#$%&'&(

!"#$%&"'(")*

A Brief History...

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JIRA Text-Based Editor

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• Better than XML• Part of Core JIRA

• No Visual Representation• Requires Lots of Planning• Not Very Intuitive• Frustrating

JIRA Text-Based Editor

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GOOD BAD

JIRA Text-Based Editor

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NOT GROOVY

SysBliss Workflow Designer

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• Prettier than text• Visualizes Workflows

• Looks Different than JIRA

• Takes Over Entire Interface• Lots of Right-Clicking• Does Basically what JIRA Does

SysBliss Workflow Designer

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GOOD BAD

SysBliss Workflow Designer

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Groovy, but

NO LOVE

JIRA 4.4 Workflow Designer

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• Built Into JIRA• Clean UI matches JIRA• No Right-Clicks• Functions Not Possible in Core Editor• UX Enhancements = SPEED• View Workflow From Any Issue• 120+ Issues/Features Resolved

JIRA 4.4 Workflow Designer

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!"#$%&'&%!!"#$%&"'()"*+

• Workflow Creator is not the Consumer• Back and Forth - “Can you see it now?”

• Paper / White Boarding

• Gliffy *nod*

• Never catch everything

• Consumers Have No View into Problem Areas• Difficult to Revise Once Implemented

Up-Front Workflow Design

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• Easy Creation: The Diagram IS the Workflow• Consumer View Enables Collaboration• Easy Revision: The Diagram IS the Workflow• PNG Export Enables Workflow Diffs• Donʼt Feel Like You Have To “Get It Right”• Ongoing Collaboration = More Beer!

Iterative Workflow Design

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Initial Collaborative Design

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• Controlled by JIRA Permissions• Link on View Issue Screen• Highlights the Current State

Workflow Test Run(read-only workflow views)

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Update and Publish

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A Workflow For Making Workflows

An Educational Video

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• Collaborate on Initial Design in Workflow Designer• Super Fast Edits

• Immediate Feedback

• Test Workflow in JIRA

• Donʼt Worry About Breaking Stuff

• Easy to Change

• Freedom to Grow Workflow Over Time•

Summary

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Try It Now!

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http://atlss.in/jiraeap