Business Consultants or Atlassian Consultants

Summary

In this video, the speaker discusses the distinction between being a business consultant and an Atlassian consultant, emphasizing the need to choose a specialization. They highlight the importance of understanding the technical aspects of tools like Jira for Atlassian consultants and the process-oriented focus for business consultants. The speaker also touches on the value consultants bring to organizations through their experience and the significance of tool setup for efficient delivery and collaboration in agile environments like Scrum or Kanban.

Takeaways

• 🔧 The speaker discusses the distinction between being a business consultant and an Atlassian consultant, emphasizing the need to decide whether to focus on the technical or business aspects of consulting.
• 🛠️ Atlassian consultants are expected to have in-depth knowledge of the tools they work with, such as Jira, and should be able to add value by setting up and troubleshooting the tool for clients.
• 💼 Business consultants, on the other hand, may not need to be experts in the tool itself but should have a solid understanding of business processes and methodologies like Scrum or Kanban.
• 📈 The speaker highlights the importance of delivery and efficiency when using tools like Jira, stating that the primary goal should be to facilitate on-time delivery and cost savings.
• 👥 Collaboration and remote work are key aspects that tools like Jira aim to improve, making it easier for teams to find information and work together effectively.
• 💬 There is an overlap between the roles of business consultants and Atlassian consultants, as both may need to understand the business side and the technical aspects of using tools like Jira.
• 💼 The speaker suggests that business consultants should focus on the process and methodology, letting the technical consultants handle the tool-specific intricacies.
• 💼 Scrum masters or business consultants are expected to coach teams on how to work in an agile or iterative fashion, rather than getting too involved in the technical aspects of the tool.
• 🛠️ Atlassian consultants are often the highest-paid roles because they bring experience and add significant value to organizations by ensuring the tool works perfectly for their needs.
• 🔍 Jira's flexibility allows teams to customize their workflows, such as using story points or t-shirt sizes for estimation, and consultants can help tailor the tool to fit these needs.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video script?

The main focus of the video script is to discuss the roles and responsibilities of Atlassian consultants, particularly the distinction between a business consultant and an Atlassian technical consultant, and the importance of choosing a clear career path in these areas.

Why should one not be a business consultant along with being an Atlassian consultant?

The speaker suggests that one should not be a business consultant along with being an Atlassian consultant because the roles require different skill sets and focus areas. A clear decision should be made to specialize either on the technical aspects of the tools or on the business processes and methodologies.

What is the value that Atlassian consultants bring to an organization?

Atlassian consultants bring value to an organization by leveraging their experience with the tools, helping to set up and optimize the tools for the organization's specific needs, ensuring smooth collaboration, and contributing to efficient and timely delivery of projects.

What is the difference between releasing and deploying in the context of product development?

Releasing refers to making a feature ready to go live, while deploying is the actual act of going live with the feature. The speaker emphasizes the importance of the team's ability to deliver and the role of tools like Jira in facilitating this process.

How does the speaker describe the role of a business consultant in the context of Agile methodologies?

The speaker describes the role of a business consultant as someone who understands and can coach teams on Agile methodologies like Scrum or Kanban. They are expected to have some knowledge of the tools but should primarily focus on the business processes and team dynamics.

What is the importance of visibility in the context of using tools like Jira?

Visibility is important because it allows managers, Scrum masters, and leads to monitor and understand how teams are working, track the progress of tasks, and ensure that the tools are being used effectively to support the team's workflow.

What is the speaker's view on the overlap between the roles of a business consultant and an Atlassian consultant?

The speaker acknowledges that there is an overlap between the roles, as both need to understand certain aspects of the business processes and the tools. However, the main difference lies in the focus area, with Atlassian consultants being more on the technical side and business consultants on the process side.

Why are Atlassian consultants considered to be highly paid compared to engineers or developers?

Atlassian consultants are considered to be highly paid because they bring valuable experience and expertise to an organization. Their role is to add value by optimizing the use of Atlassian tools, which can lead to increased efficiency and better project outcomes.

What is the speaker's advice for someone considering a career as a consultant?

The speaker advises that one should decide whether they want to focus on the technical side or the business side of consulting. They should understand the specific demands of each role and choose the path that aligns with their skills and interests.

How can Jira be customized to support different Agile methodologies?

Jira can be customized by creating additional fields to capture different types of estimations like story points or t-shirt sizes, and by setting up automation rules or scripts to support the specific practices of the chosen Agile methodology.

What is the role of a Scrum master in a team following Agile methodologies?

The Scrum master's role is to facilitate the team's adherence to Agile principles and practices, help them work in an iterative sprint mode, and ensure that the team's workflow is efficient and effective. They should also address issues like team member idleness and promote collaboration within the team.

Outlines

00:00

🔧 The Role of a Technical Consultant in Atlassian Tools

The speaker discusses the importance of specialization when choosing a career path in Atlassian tools. They emphasize that one should decide whether to become a business consultant or an Atlassian consultant, focusing on either the technical or business aspects of tool utilization. The value that Atlassian consultants bring to an organization is highlighted, including their expertise in setting up and optimizing tools like Jira for efficient collaboration and delivery. The speaker also touches on the necessity for consultants to be well-compensated for their experience and the value they add.

05:01

🛠 Distinguishing Between Business and Technical Consultancy in Agile Practices

This paragraph delves into the differences between business consultants and Atlassian consultants, particularly in the context of agile methodologies like Scrum. The speaker explains that while business consultants, such as Scrum Masters, focus on coaching teams to adopt agile processes, Atlassian consultants are responsible for ensuring the technical tools support these processes effectively. The importance of understanding and integrating tools to meet specific business needs is underscored, as well as the consultants' role in adding value through customization and automation.

10:02

📊 Balancing Technical Expertise with Business Acumen in Consultancy

The speaker continues to explore the distinction between business and technical consultants, stressing that while there is an overlap in knowledge, their core competencies differ. Business consultants should have a broad understanding of various tools but primarily focus on team dynamics and process improvements. In contrast, Atlassian consultants should have a deep technical understanding to customize and integrate tools to fit the clients' needs. The speaker also discusses the importance of tracking work and identifying team members' contributions using tools like Jira to ensure productivity and continuous delivery.

15:02

🤔 Choosing a Path in Consultancy: Business or Technical Focus?

In the final paragraph, the speaker wraps up the discussion by encouraging individuals to consider their interests and strengths when deciding to become a consultant. They highlight the importance of choosing between a business or technical focus and understanding the implications of that choice for their career. The speaker invites viewers to ask questions and reach out for further discussion on career options in the Atlassian field, offering their website as a point of contact for additional support.

Keywords

💡Atlassian Tools

Atlassian Tools refer to a suite of software solutions designed to improve productivity and collaboration within a team or organization. In the script, the speaker discusses their focus on Atlassian's Jira, a popular project management tool, and emphasizes the importance of understanding these tools for both business and technical consultants.

💡Jira

Jira is a project management software developed by Atlassian, which is widely used for bug tracking, issue tracking, and project management. The script mentions Jira multiple times, highlighting its role in facilitating collaboration, remote work, and efficient delivery of products or services.

💡Consultant

A consultant is a professional who provides expert advice in a particular area. The video script discusses the distinction between a business consultant and an Atlassian consultant, emphasizing the need for consultants to specialize in either the technical or business aspects of tool utilization.

💡Business Consultant

A business consultant specializes in advising organizations on matters such as strategy, operations, and processes to improve efficiency and performance. In the script, the speaker suggests that a business consultant should focus on the non-technical side, such as coaching teams in agile methodologies like Scrum.

💡Atlassian Consultant

An Atlassian consultant is an expert in Atlassian's suite of tools, providing technical guidance on their setup, integration, and optimization. The script differentiates this role from a business consultant, noting that Atlassian consultants should have in-depth knowledge of the tools' functionalities.

💡Agile

Agile is a methodology for project management and product development that emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and rapid, iterative progress. The script mentions agile in the context of using Jira to support agile practices like Scrum and Kanban.

💡Scrum

Scrum is a framework within the Agile methodology that structures development into iterative cycles called sprints. The speaker in the script discusses the role of a Scrum master and how Jira can be used to facilitate Scrum practices.

💡Delivery

In the context of the script, delivery refers to the process of releasing a product or service to the end-user. The speaker stresses that the primary goal of using tools like Jira is to ensure timely and efficient delivery, which is critical for business success.

💡Integration

Integration in the script refers to the process of linking different tools and systems together to work seamlessly. The speaker mentions the need for Atlassian consultants to ensure that tools are well-integrated, which can involve automation and scripting.

💡Automation

Automation is the use of technology to perform tasks without human intervention. The script discusses how Atlassian consultants might use automation to streamline processes within Jira, such as setting up notifications or scheduled jobs.

💡Estimation

Estimation in project management is the process of predicting the effort, time, or resources needed to complete a task or project. The script mentions different estimation techniques like story points and t-shirt sizes, which can be used in Jira to help teams plan their work.

Highlights

Discussion on the role of a business consultant in the context of Atlassian tools, emphasizing the importance of specialization.

The necessity for Atlassian consultants to have a deep understanding of Jira and its capabilities.

Consultants are expected to bring value by leveraging their experience with tools like Jira.

The high earning potential for consultants due to their expertise and the value they add.

The importance of tool setup for efficient collaboration and timely delivery in organizations.

The critical role of delivery in the success of using tools like Jira in a business context.

The difference between releasing and deploying in product development cycles.

The example of fintech mobile apps and the importance of continuous delivery and app reliability.

The overlap and distinction between the roles of business consultants and Atlassian consultants.

The expectation for business consultants to have knowledge of tools but focus on process and team dynamics.

The technical consultant's role in ensuring tools like Jira work flawlessly for a company's specific needs.

The flexibility of Jira to adapt to different methodologies like Scrum, Kanban, and others.

The potential for Jira to track work and monitor team member activity through commit messages and issue keys.

The challenge of managing team members' workload and ensuring even distribution of tasks in Scrum teams.

The importance of visibility provided by tools like Jira for managers and Scrum masters to make informed decisions.

Advice for those considering a career as a consultant to decide whether to focus on the technical or business side.

Invitation for viewers to ask questions about career options in the Atlassian field and offer of support via the website.

Transcripts

hello everyone so

these days i'm talking quite a lot about

things i mean in general carrier

in atlassian tools and of course my

channel is all about you know classroom

tools jira

and of course most of the times 99

percent of the times i actually show you

things in the tool but i think

i have so many videos i have covered

quite a lot when it comes to

doing things in the tool i think i think

from time to time i also like to share

with you

or talk about

you know

carrier options in atlassian tools and

also especially when it comes to

choosing

your path when it comes to

atlassian then i think i have

quite a lot to share so in this video i

actually wanted to talk about

business consultant now

think and of course now you might

disagree with me but you know we all

have our we have we all have our

opinions i think

uh you should not be a business

consultant

uh

along with the ajira consultant or or an

atlassian consultant you have to

basically decide whether you want to be

a business consultant and

you

have to also decide whether you want to

focus on the technical aspects of it i

think when it comes to classroom

consultation

and i'm being serious when it comes to

attaching consultations uh atlassian

consultants are supposed to be

uh i'm talking about the value that they

bring when you hire a when you hire and

consult when you hire an atlassian

consultant

they're supposed to

work

or they're supposed to know how tool

works and uh when it comes to a tool

like jira

uh there is no end to it right

if you're a consultant you can't really

say that say to your client that okay i

know about you know these things but

maybe you know not everything else which

is okay i'm not really saying that you

should know each and everything but uh

if you're a consultant you're probably

experienced

i mean that is why you are a consultant

that is why they have paid you money for

example consultants are usually the

highest

paid i mean i'm not really sure about

other levels i'm i mean maybe ceos ceos

are paid more for sure but our top

managerial positions but consultants are

definitely you know paid quite a lot as

compared to you know engineers or

developers because consultants

bring

their experience they add value to

what the organization is trying to

achieve with these tools and people when

they use a tool like in fact any tool

but if you talk about jira

uh

the whole idea of using a tool like jira

or confluence or you know github

or any other tool the whole idea is to

collaborate is to work remotely is to

make sure that people are able to find

their stuff easily and

the outcome is that you're able to

deliver on time you're saving money

you're working efficiently and if you

set up your tools correctly if you

ensure that your tools are not stopping

you not causing any problems when it

comes to delivering i think delivery

should always be the top most priority

if you're not delivering then

tools are of no use and when it comes to

business consultation i think

if let us let us let me give you a very

simple example let us say there is a

company trying to

develop

a product right and or maybe they

already have a product and they want to

launch

uh or leave something every

every other

week or maybe every year every other

month right let us say every other month

or maybe they are delivering every two

weeks so they are constantly

uh doing

things they are releasing things they

are deploying things and when it comes

to releasing i think releasing and

deploying is totally different when you

release something that you have

when you release something so you have a

feature which is ready to go live

but deploying is actually going live

right now uh what i'm trying to say is

that you are working in this environment

where uh

teams need to constantly you know

deliver right because that is the demand

of the industry for example if you're

working on fintech uh you know these

days we have a lot of those mobile apps

where uh

there are so many apps like there are so

many like in the uk we have monzo we

have revolut we have

counting up we have so many small or

tied whatever there are so many mobile

based banking apps uh like proper bag

bank

which is of course online on your mobile

app there is not even a website i mean

they do have a website but all the

banking is done using mobile app so that

mobile app

is basically

your business it is your retail right so

you need to always make sure that your

apps are working perfectly fine

uh you might not be adding a lot of new

features but

with the new

android versions different devices your

app should should basically

work flawlessly i mean if i'm if let's

say i'm trying to make a payment or if

i'm trying to maybe check my balance i

should be able to write so

it is a bit critical right because

you're dealing with people's money and

uh this is of course a very competitive

industry so this team i'm going back to

the team this team is of course supposed

to

work

uh

easily together

and let us say they are

using jira you know in a very simple way

they are just using jira where or they

want to use hero let us say they want to

use shira or maybe they are already

using jira but they want to improve few

things and they follow or they try to

follow scrum or agile and maybe

they they're not entirely sure whether

they should use story points or

or maybe they should use a t-shirt size

or you know some kind of estimation to

estimate the work

and maybe they need a bit of help with

how to create uh

a story or a backlog so i think this is

probably more on the business side where

you have let us say

uh you're gonna probably hire a

consultant and when i say business

consultant i'm talking about scrum

master someone who has been doing these

things and someone who can probably come

and coach these teams to maybe you know

uh use the use of course or basically

adopt these processes answer this their

questions on the on the business side of

things like on the on the process side

uh but of course they are also expected

to have some knowledge of the tool but

they are not supposed to be

like

the tool guy right now that is where

there is a difference we as an

attraction consultants we know really

well how tools how these tools like jira

conference big bucket work

we can

set up their pipeline we can we can make

sure that whenever something happens in

the tool uh they get notification so

in this particular case they might be

using jita in in the most simplest way

but maybe they have other tools and they

need to make sure that things talk to

each other

and

tools should work flawlessly so because

they rely on the tool and of course you

might need to do some integration you

might need to do some automation you

might need to you know write a script

for them or some scheduled jobs for them

to send them a daily reminder because

every company is different although jira

has a lot of standard features there are

a lot of apps but i think

when you really want to

uh because gita can do probably 80 of

the things the remaining 20 or 19

percent is probably

uh

can be achieved with the help of those

apps right but the remaining one person

is where you will

basically add value and you will

basically you know finish everything and

you will

basically make the tool work for them

and that is where you know the the value

will be added by you as a consultant as

a technical consultant because you will

basically make sure that the tool works

perfectly for them the way they want and

of course you can tell them okay this

will not work this will work from tools

perspective and of course when it comes

to you know tool like jeera for example

if i work with those scrub masters i can

tell them that yeah i know about uh you

know story points but i don't really you

know uh always

dictate or help them on the business

side of things i let them do their

things i i of course you know let them

uh

work on their process and i of course

i'm usually part of their way of working

when they are trying to adopt a new

methodology for example maybe some teams

want to adopt kanban because my

responsibility is to make sure that jira

works for them and at the same time i

can straightaway tell them from the very

beginning when they are trying feminine

when they're having those discussions

along with the business consultant that

yes

uh

jira can do that or maybe not but maybe

there is a workaround or maybe don't do

it at all but

atlassian consultants are different from

business consultants there is slightly

there is an overlap there there is

definitely you know

because

there are a lot of things that you need

to know about those things on the

business side

uh and that business consultant need to

know about how tools how these tools

work but i think

apart from that overlap

when it comes to that remaining one

person where you will basically bring

value because you're at your business

consultant your scrum masters might not

know how to write a script right they

might not even know how to use a smart

value they might be able to create those

simple automation rules but i i don't

really think they should probably worry

about the tool in fact they need not

even look at the tools they shouldn't

they should probably focus on

how the teams should work uh

like

in

scrum or kanban fashion or whatever

methodology that they want to follow and

also at the say at the same time good

thing about jira is at jira if you talk

about jira software

if you want to follow agile you can but

jira will not really enforce you or

i'm talking about out of the box

settings the jira software features you

know the backlog and the sprints and the

ranking i think it is really uh i mean

it is in a way

very similar to what uh scrum teams want

to do but at the same time it is not

very it is not very restrictive there

are some flexibilities for example i did

make i think i made a video recently

where i mentioned

uh you need not to use story points you

can always use

something like

numbers right which is like estimation

based on

your original time estimates good thing

about jira is that you can always create

some fields to you know capture those

you know other additional things like

t-shirt size for example and there are a

lot of ways of doing it by the way and

we all know about poker planning you can

also do poker planning there is also an

app for that in a couple of apps along

with mobile apps but talking about the

skill sets talking about i mean this

video is focused on business consultant

versus

atlassian consultant attraction

consultants uh although there is an

overlap but attraction consultant is on

the technical side of things business

consultant is on the business side of

things and

when you're trying to hire someone or

maybe when you're trying to

decide whether you want to be a business

consultant if you want to be a business

consultant great but don't worry too

much about the tool in fact you should

know

about maybe multiple tools you know a

bit of everything but even if you don't

know about jira or rally or any other

those

uh tools that will let teams work

using using scrum it is totally okay you

just need to tell them what scrum is you

just need to make sure that make sure

that teams know how to uh work in a

uh iterative

uh sprint

mode and not many people are actually

able to do it to be honest when it comes

to agile um it is a bit

difficult for teams because uh

the whole idea of a scrum is i mean i

know quite a lot i'm not a dsc master by

the way but i know a lot about it

because

i've worked with people i've worked with

teams in the past so when it comes to

let's say

those sprints the whole idea is that you

have a team let us say of three people

or four people or five people you give

them the start these responsibilities or

you know these stories that they decide

that okay i can deliver in the next two

or not day but maybe the product owner

the longest commaster

when they agree agree it's the right

word when they agree okay we can deliver

this in the next two weeks then they

should focus on that and

uh sometimes i mean not sometimes quite

regularly when these teams work

in this iterative session sometimes

they're able to deliver

everything sometimes they're not even

really able to deliver everything uh

usually

if you talk about let us say team

members it happens quite a lot by the

way uh let us say you have a team of

five in your scrum team two of them are

really good and they basically do their

work in two or three days and then and

the remaining time they are a bit idle

which is a bit of a problem because they

have delivered because you know they

have delivered what they agreed to but

at the same time

they are of course idle uh which is

probably

not okay for a long time i mean it is

okay to be ideal for like you know

uh sometime maybe you know during the

day if you are maybe able to deliver for

maybe if you're if you're able to

deliver what you agree to deliver in in

maybe three hours four hours then of

course it is fine you can of course

enjoy your remaining time learn

something but as a manager as a scrum

master you need to identify these things

that you know some of the team members

are really good so maybe promote them

maybe make them responsible for

uh helping others and tools like jira

can definitely

help

with these things you can actually

identify for example you can build a

report to identify okay the time that

people are logging you can also identify

uh for example if you have like a very

good system where

let us say you're writing code right

your team is writing code so let them

write code but make sure that the commit

messages should have issue key so the

moment they have issue keys i mean if

they're committing their code

then

or maybe make make it a habit or not not

really have it but there should be this

culture where they should probably co

commit their code regularly so whenever

they commit their code uh you can check

for the keys and whenever there is a key

in bitbucket there is a possibility to

basically make sure that there are some

pre-commit hooks so that uh

each command should have a key and

when you have a key then of course you

can track the work

and

you can also track whether people are

logging time or not if not

then of course you can probably chase

them or maybe you can monitor or you can

probably just understand to understand

how teams are working i mean the whole

idea about these tools is that these

tools will

give you

uh this visibility of what is happening

but end of the day it is for you as a

manager as a scrum master as a lead to

make it work for you but of course i

think i'm probably you know just

talking about i think i'm not talking

about something else but uh what i'm

trying to say is that if you are

trying to become a consultant then then

decide whether you want to focus on the

technical side or not non-technical

sides set side of things like you know

the the business side

all right so that is all that is all i

wanted to talk about in this video i

hope i hope i have given you some ideas

these days i'm talking of course

quite a lot about

these things

career options

in

atlassian

atlassian field do let me know if you

have any questions for me i think you

have been sending me those questions but

uh

if you have more questions about carrier

in general in this particular area in

this particular domain

i'll be more than happy to answer your

questions and by the way you can always

go to my website ravi sagar dot in

slash support or visage if you find this

contact button

reach out to me i will answer your

question

all right

thank you very much bye