> I rarely feel that bitchers have a true understanding for the extreme difficulty of the organization-wide problem Jira is trying to solve.
I think the problem is that Jira is optimized for productivity theater and top-down management.
When an organization deploys Jira it is usually because upper management thinks that it needs a deluge of task tracking so that everyone can stay perfectly "aligned" all the time.
This creates an annoying amount of make-work on the part of Engineers and their immediate managers, slows down velocity and the vast majority of the time spent on inputting data into Jira never results in anything actionable.
> Jira is optimized for productivity theater and top-down management
Hit the nail on the head.
I don't hate Jira.
I hate working for companies and with "micromanagers" that prioritize bs metrics over improving customer satisfaction, and busywork over impactful projects. And these kinds of people / companies always use Jira.
I think the problem is that Jira is optimized for productivity theater and top-down management.
When an organization deploys Jira it is usually because upper management thinks that it needs a deluge of task tracking so that everyone can stay perfectly "aligned" all the time.
This creates an annoying amount of make-work on the part of Engineers and their immediate managers, slows down velocity and the vast majority of the time spent on inputting data into Jira never results in anything actionable.
Jira is just a symptom of the disease though.