{"id":5550,"date":"2018-05-10T10:28:10","date_gmt":"2018-05-10T09:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/?p=5550"},"modified":"2023-05-04T16:49:47","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T15:49:47","slug":"product-management-process-jira","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/product-management-process-jira\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Nail Your Jira Product Management Process"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Raise your hand if you\u2019ve tried to prioritize your product backlog in Jira<\/a>. That\u2019s everyone, right? But who has actually succeeded at it? Yep, just about no one. (If you\u2019re the lucky exception, give me a shout!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Using Jira for product management is like using a hammer to drive in a screw. It’ll get there, but it’ll be an ugly process and pretty much impossible to unwind.<\/p>\nJames Mayes, Co-Founder at Mind the Product<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Jira is a great development tool and it does what it\u2019s supposed to do: it helps you to manage the completion of development tasks. Jira is where your dev team plan their sprints based on tickets that are fully formed and ready to go.

As a product manager, your job is different. Along with managing stakeholders and projects, you need to protect your dev team from outside interference. As a product manager, it\u2019s your job to answer the question, \u201cWhat should we work on next?\u201d

We\u2019ve all used Jira for product management backlogs because there hasn\u2019t been a better way to manage them. However using Jira for product management also means that you create a lot of noise for your dev team to wade through – they don\u2019t need to see what may or may not be built in the next sprint or quarter, or look into ideas that may never see the light of day.

As a product manager, you don\u2019t want a list of stuff to build. Rather you need to figure out the right stuff to build. The right stuff is constantly evolving as you learn and iterate – and Jira is simply not designed to keep up with that.

The problem isn\u2019t Jira. It\u2019s how you\u2019re using Jira. It\u2019s time to think about splitting strategy and execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How To Build A Jira Product Management Workflow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The key to nailing product management with Jira is to break your process down into two distinct parts: strategy<\/strong> and execution<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Comparing<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Strategy<\/strong> is when you define what problems need to be solved, establish priorities and collaborate with stakeholders to develop solutions.

It\u2019s your creative phase – the phase in which you collect up the data and information in your product backlog to figure out what to work on and how you want to tackle it. You establish your roadmap, validate ideas and iron out what you plan to accomplish.

This element of your workflow doesn\u2019t play to Jira\u2019s strengths and is better suited to a tool which has been specifically built for the job – like ProdPad.

Execution<\/strong> is when you knuckle down and build.

This is your production phase. You set up sprints, release plans, manage resources and develop what\u2019s been sent over from the product team. This is what Jira is suited to.

In the diagram below the first three boxes show the strategy work that should be done in a tool like ProdPad, and the second three (green) boxes show the execution work that is suited to Jira.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"From<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

From strategy through to execution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Using a tool like ProdPad that focuses on a product manager\u2019s needs, rather than one that\u2019s been designed for the dev team, means that you can define the differences between strategy and execution.

It\u2019s a process that helps you to stay in control of what gets built and it means that nothing is left to chance. It also addresses one of the biggest problems of product management – that of leaving critical product decisions to the end when the dev team is about to pick up a ticket.

So before you move to execution in Jira for product management, you should be sure that your product specs are more or less solid. Are the ideas fleshed out and approved? Can developers open the task and see clearly and quickly what needs to be done? If the answer to these questions is yes, then you can push your product through to Jira and let the dev team do their stuff.

Using another tool for strategy means that Jira is only used for fully formed ideas. It means that you can work on what\u2019s coming up next, and the dev team can work on what\u2019s being built right now. And Jira is no longer a place where ideas go to die.

Get this strategy phase right and your dev team will know exactly what to build, and have lots of product context. It also gives you as product manager the space to build a roadmap of what\u2019s coming up in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 Steps to Getting Your Strategy Right<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Building your roadmap: Define your product vision and objectives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t leave home without a product vision<\/a>. Because\u2026 where are you going exactly? What value do you want to create for your customers? The product vision is the cornerstone of your product strategy and the anchor for every decision you make. That includes your business objectives (or OKRs), or the metrics by which you measure growth and success.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Product<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Even though your vision and objectives sit at the very top, they\u2019re an important part of everyday product planning.

They help you to focus on ideas that matter to your business and what ultimately makes it on to your product roadmap. Without a product vision and objectives, your roadmap won\u2019t have a clear focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Validate ideas in your product backlog<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You should always be collecting ideas with a business case for your product backlog. It\u2019s the beginning of the validation process. You always need a business case to understand what\u2019s behind this new idea and what problem it represents. Without this you run the risk of losing focus and product\/market fit.

We\u2019ve designed ProdPad to collect ideas with a business case<\/strong>. When someone submits a new idea, ProdPad asks them why they\u2019re submitting it before it creates an Idea Canvas.

The Idea Canvas is a powerful way of validating ideas. You can continue expanding your idea with all the following elements until it\u2019s a fully-formed product spec, ready to take out of the backlog and move to Jira.<\/p>\n\n\n\n