Just show me where we are?
A technique some writers like to use to explain their view, is to kick off with the phrase “In my experience there are two types of….” as if to point out that Project Managers are from Mars and Delivery Managers are from Venus.
I want to do that this week, based on a recent conversation I had with a Delivery Manager who just assumed everyone should look at source material to understand progress.
So here were go… clears throat…. There are two kinds of Delivery Managers. Those who think everyone should just look at Jira (other products of frustration are available), and the rest of us who spend our lives producing coloured boxes of indeterminant lengths to show a thing is happening.
Why do we produce plans and reports?
The simple answer is because most of the “source data” is in a system, folk just have no desire to look at.
Jira is where your day to day tickets are created, but is it really a reliable source of data to show progress is being made? It tells you that Dev 1 is working on Ticket ABC123 – but where does that fit on a plan? And is it 100% reflective of what they are doing?
So is Jira really a plan view? Even with the appropriate paid extension provided.
“Where we’re going, you don’t need plans” – which is something a person I have made up might say, that we laugh at. You still need a plan when working in an agile way.
What a person – Project Sponsor, CEO, Senior Stakeholder twice removed – wants to know, is that you started something, you are going to finish and there is a little line or star/symbol that shows where you are. That way, they will know if you are on track, behind or somewhere in between. There is always somewhere in between.
Where this becomes difficult, is that a plan is published based on what is confirmed today. Not always showcasing what might be known, what is blocked or what could be at risk. It is also updated, not always showing what has changed since the last plan was thrown in the bin.
Therefore, the artefact in front of you is a timestamped view, which means it could already be out of date. Plans are subject to change. Please consult your Rune stones for further confirmation.
So does that mean Jira is more accurate and reflective of where you are? Is it the perfect star or tube map symbol for the reader to digest?
Well, answer me this – are all of your Jira tickets up to date? Do you have all of the tickets you need on your backlog? Are they all sized for the remainder of the engagement? Is there any chance they will change?
Remember, this is someone wanting to understand progress. Not what is in the next sprint or release, but what is in every sprint or release until you can confidently say we are DONE DONE!
Nothing is done until you say it twice.
There really is no real correct answer. Plans are not worth the paper they are printed out on if there is any guess work, shenanigans or even false information provided. Jira is useless if people outside of the project team refuse to look at it.
Striking a balance is key. Which is what I recommend to all Delivery folk.
Understand your audience, create the visuals that resonate with them, but keep on top of the detail in the day to day format. If Jira is out of date, you don’t have a hope of creating anything to showcase progress. If a plan doesn’t reflect what you have in Jira – then your team will start to lose faith in you.
Align, understand and create the right level of information you need to provide assurance that you have a clue where you are, and how quickly you might get somewhere other than here.
Me? I hate both Jira and PowerPoint/Gantt charts – but what is a man to do if gut feel is no longer a measure of success in this world.
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