Atlassian Agile Coach
Atlassian's free guide to how agile software teams work day to day: scrum, kanban, standups, sprint planning, story points and estimation, retrospectives and more. Clear, short articles that explain the rituals you will meet in your first job. Some pages mention Jira, but the ideas apply whatever tool your team uses.
Guide
Career Growth
Atlassian
A few hours across the topics you need
Beginner
Free
What it is
The Atlassian Agile Coach is a free collection of articles at atlassian.com/agile, written by the company behind Jira, Confluence and Trello. It explains agile ways of working in plain language: what agile is, scrum and kanban, standups, sprint planning, backlogs, user stories, story points and estimation, retrospectives, and how teams adapt these practices.
Why it matters in a first job
Almost every software team you join will use some version of these rituals, and most new engineers learn them by guessing in their first sprint. A daily standup, a ticket with acceptance criteria or a planning session where people hold up numbers can feel strange if nobody explained the idea behind it. Reading the relevant pages before or during your first weeks means you understand why the team does what it does, and you can take part rather than just watch.
Useful pages for a new engineer
- What is Agile? The overall idea and the Agile Manifesto values.
- Standups. What a standup is for, a common format, how long it should take and tips for remote teams.
- Story points and estimation. Why teams estimate in points rather than hours, how planning poker works and how to learn from past estimates.
- Scrum and kanban. The two frameworks you are most likely to meet, and how they differ.
- Sprint planning and retrospectives. What happens in each and how to contribute.
A note on bias
Atlassian sells Jira, so some pages show Jira screens and templates. You do not need Jira to use the ideas: the same concepts apply in Linear, GitHub Projects, Azure Boards or a spreadsheet. Take the practices, ignore the product pitches.
Free vs paid
The articles are free to read with no account. Pair them with the official Scrum Guide, which is short, free and the primary source for scrum itself.
Is it worth it?
Yes, as a reference you dip into when a ritual comes up. You do not need to read every page. Read the standups and estimation pages in your first week, and the retrospective page before your first retro.
Common questions
Is agile the same everywhere? No. Teams mix and adapt practices; your team's version is the one that counts. Ask your buddy how your team runs each ritual.
Do I need a certification? Not for an engineering job. Understanding how your team works matters far more than a scrum certificate.
How long does it take? A few hours in total, spread over your first month.
Ready to start?
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Stuck on something specific?
Writing only gets you so far. If you want an answer to your situation rather than the general case, book a session and we will work through it together. Sessions are free for approved Sefism members, and a few slots open each week.
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