Re:Trello, “Jira Sucks”, and Tool Dysfunction
by wpietri on Monday September 04, 2017 @10:10AM
(#15168303)
The times I've see it used, Jira is purchased and configured by centralized people with institutional authority, and then given to teams to use, like it or not.
I think the tool itself isn't that great. When you try to be all things to all people, it's easy to be tolerable for most and great for nobody. But the real problem is what it represents: a straitjacket for teams, used to force them to work in ways that people with political power deem appropriate.
The Lean Manufacturing folks put bureaucracy into two different categories, supportive and controlling.
Supportive bureaucracy is bottom up. E.g., by my door I have checklists for what I need when I'm going out running or swimming. Nobody makes me do it; I just was tired of forgetting something. Good teams do similar things, like an estimation checklist or a written-up release process.
Controlling bureaucracy is top down. It's where other people use systems to force you to work like they think you should. They're used as a poor substitute for trust. People experience Jira as sucking because it's a instrument of control, and controlling bureaucracy sucks.
I think the tool itself isn't that great. When you try to be all things to all people, it's easy to be tolerable for most and great for nobody. But the real problem is what it represents: a straitjacket for teams, used to force them to work in ways that people with political power deem appropriate.
The Lean Manufacturing folks put bureaucracy into two different categories, supportive and controlling.
Supportive bureaucracy is bottom up. E.g., by my door I have checklists for what I need when I'm going out running or swimming. Nobody makes me do it; I just was tired of forgetting something. Good teams do similar things, like an estimation checklist or a written-up release process.
Controlling bureaucracy is top down. It's where other people use systems to force you to work like they think you should. They're used as a poor substitute for trust. People experience Jira as sucking because it's a instrument of control, and controlling bureaucracy sucks.