Lessons from My First Year at Atlassian: Navigating Scale, Culture, and Growth
Since joining Atlassian in July last year, I’ve had the opportunity to work on Jira Service Management, one of the largest and most complex products I’ve encountered. Coming from ThoughtWorks, where I was used to working on diverse client projects in smaller, more agile teams, the transition to Atlassian’s large-scale, interconnected environment has been both challenging and rewarding. In this issue, I want to share some key lessons I’ve learned about working in a large organization, from navigating scale and cultural shifts to leveraging social capital and driving my own growth.
The Scale Problem: Small Changes, Big Impacts
One of the most significant challenges of working at Atlassian is the sheer scale of the organization. In a large-scale environment, even minor changes can have wide-reaching impacts across multiple teams and products. It’s common to see messages like, “your branch is behind ‘origin/master’ by 689 commits” after switching branches, and in those hundreds of changes, previous practices you relied on may have become outdated.
In smaller organizations, the focus is often on fixing issues as quickly as possible. However, in a large organization like Atlassian, communication takes precedence. A small bug fix might require notifying multiple stakeholders, coordinating across teams, and ensuring that new knowledge is shared effectively. The scale of operations means that poor communication can lead to significant delays, rework, and wasted effort.
Key Takeaway: In large organizations, the balance between speed and thorough communication is crucial. Effective communication helps prevent misalignment and reduces the risk of wasted effort, even if it means things move more slowly.
Cultural Shift and Team Dynamics: Leveraging Social Capital
At Atlassian, I’ve learned the importance of social capital—building and leveraging relationships within the organization. In smaller teams, you can often rely on your own knowledge and experience to get up to speed quickly. However, in a large codebase that changes daily, individual knowledge quickly becomes outdated. Success in this environment depends heavily on the power of the team, not the individual.
For example, when faced with a complex issue, having established relationships with engineers across different teams can make it easier to collaborate and find a solution quickly. Social capital enables efficient cross-team collaboration, informal knowledge sharing, and quicker incident resolution. It’s the glue that holds the organization together and ensures that everyone can work effectively in parallel.
Key Takeaway: In a large organization, investing in relationships and building trust across teams is essential. Social capital enables smoother collaboration, faster problem-solving, and a more cohesive work environment.
Impact of Scale on Decision-Making: Formal Processes and Clear Communication
Decision-making at Atlassian is more formal and structured compared to the smaller, self-organizing teams I was used to at ThoughtWorks. In smaller teams, decisions are often made on the fly, relying on the team’s collective judgment. While this autonomy can be empowering, it also carries the risk of missing important steps.
At Atlassian, the decision-making process is clearly defined, particularly during incidents. There’s an incident manager to coordinate the response, on-call engineers to provide immediate support, and a well-documented process for escalation. This structure ensures that no critical steps are overlooked, even if it means the process takes longer.
Key Takeaway: In large organizations, formal decision-making processes are essential for managing complexity and ensuring that all critical steps are followed. While it may feel slower, this approach reduces risks and improves outcomes.
Learning and Growth Opportunities: A Wealth of Knowledge
One of the greatest benefits of working at Atlassian is the endless learning opportunities. The Jira Service Management codebase alone spans millions of lines of code, encompassing a vast array of techniques, patterns, and tools. Whether it’s digging into old design documents, discussing challenges with senior engineers, or exploring the codebase, there’s always something new to learn.
Personally, I’ve found that reading the code provides the most accurate understanding of the system. However, discussions with colleagues—many of whom are experts in their fields—offer invaluable insights and perspectives. This environment has allowed me to grow rapidly, constantly expanding my knowledge and refining my skills.
Key Takeaway: In a large organization, there are countless opportunities for learning and growth. Take advantage of the wealth of knowledge available through documentation, code exploration, and peer discussions.
Experiment-Driven Development: Data-Driven Decision-Making
At Atlassian, we embrace experiment-driven development. Before launching a new feature, we define success metrics and set up experiments to measure the feature’s impact. This approach ensures that every change is data-driven and focused on delivering value to users.
For instance, when rolling out a new feature, we might release it to a small cohort of users and monitor their interactions. If the feature performs well, we gradually expand the rollout. This method allows us to iterate on features based on real user feedback, reducing the risk of introducing issues at scale.
Key Takeaway: Experiment-driven development enables data-driven decision-making, reducing risks and ensuring that features deliver real value to users. Iterative, controlled rollouts are key to managing change in a large-scale environment.
Conclusion: Navigating Scale with Adaptability and Discipline
My first year at Atlassian has been a journey of learning, adaptation, and growth. The challenges of working in a large-scale organization have required me to develop new skills, build social capital, and embrace formal processes. The experience has reinforced the importance of communication, disciplined decision-making, and continuous learning.
As you navigate your own career, whether in a small startup or a large enterprise, I encourage you to focus on these principles. Invest in your relationships, embrace structured processes when needed, and never stop learning. These lessons will serve you well, no matter the size or scale of the organization.
Great perspective !