Side-stepping from Bristol

[Sarah Baker]

Hi all,

I've been using Jira Software and Jira Core for a while now, but I've only recently finished the Jira Admin Jumpstart Kit and found this community!

There don't seem to be any groups in the West England/Wales area - are there any other people from Bristol here?

I've also had a look to see if there are any upcoming AUG events - none at present, but how often do these get run, and is there a cost to attending?

I look forward to communicating / collaborating with you.

[Helen Griffiths {Capgemini}]

Hi @Sarah Baker 

Welcome to the community!

I'm not based in Bristol, i'm based in Telford, Shropshire. Closest AUG to me is in Liverpool, however looking at a map, London may be the closest for you. There are four AUGs in the UK:

• Edinburgh
• Liverpool
• London
• Newcastle upon Tyne

You can find out more about AUGs here -> https://aug.atlassian.com/ 

There's no cost to attend AUGs, and generally there is some food and Atlassian swag on offer - alongside the great presentations by different users, vendors and Partners. You've just missed the London AUG (it was last week), but you can sign up on their page https://aug.atlassian.com/london/ for any future AUGs.

Hope this helps! :)

[Sarah Baker]

Hi @Helen Griffiths {Capgemini} 

Thank you very much - I think London probably is the closest and most convenient, and what a shame I just missed the event! I've contacted the Group Leaders, so hopefully can attend the next one.

Kind regards,

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

I can't say if other people in your area are active in the community, and it would be rude to just name people without checking with them first.

But I can tell you that I am aware of organisations using Atlassian stuff in Bristol, Bath, Cardiff, Swindon, Cheltenham, Gloucester, and several others (which if I named, would probably give away who they were).  Licence numbers would be in the tens of thousands of people easily, and that's just the organisations I do know of.

Now, if someone wanted to start an ACE in your area...  

(Pardon my acronyms - ACE is short for "Atlassian Community Event", the new branding for AUG/"Atlassian User Groups")

[Sarah Baker]

Hi @Nic Brough -Adaptavist- 

I completely understand not naming names without first checking - that would indeed be rude! Good to know there is a community over here, though.

I don't think I'm really in a position to start an ACE, but I'll bite and ask the question: what would this involve? Reading the comments of the past London events, there seems to be a bit of difficulty in getting speakers / venues etc. Are there any other responsibilities alongside event organising?

Kind regards,

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

There's a lot of work.  I only see bits of it.  In London, the sponsorship seems ok, as partners are happy to offer beer and pizza, but there is a constant search for venues and speakers.

If I were to do it (which I can't, but even if I were allowed, I know I don't have the tenacity to keep on top of it all), I would start with talking to Atlassian, as they have ACE managers specifically dedicated to supporting ACE leads.  I'd also try to get in touch with other ACE leads, especially the ones geographically nearer (London and Edinburgh for example, rather than Toronto, Moscow, New York etc)

[Helen Griffiths {Capgemini}]

Hi @Sarah Baker 

If you're interested in becoming an ACE leader, check out Atlassian's AUG site here. 

Like Nic, i'm not able to run a local ACE but I do run one internally for my company. I don't necessarily have trouble getting speakers, as there is a team of around 15 of us...but finding interesting topics for your attendees is sometimes a challenge. Examples of presentations we've done are:

• Everything great about Jira 8
• Atlassian Summit overview
• Best practices for using Jira & Confluence
• What to expect in the next Atlassian upgrade

Plus we've done talks around the top rated Marketplace add-ons.

There's a lot of support available to you if you did want to start your own ACE. There are Community groups full of Leaders sharing experiences (and presentations) to get you started too. Leading an ACE is a little daunting at first, but there are more Atlassian users out there then you think and completing an ACE is very rewarding.

[Alex Laycy]

Hi Sarah,

I'm Bristol based and as has been mentioned in this thread, i've certainly come across plenty of JIRA and Confluence usage within the area!

If you're still interested in potentially setting up an event or similar - let me know and i'd be happy to get involved.

- Alex

[Romy Ballhausen]

tbc

[Sam Lesser]

Hey there,

For those still living in the Bristol area and using Atlassian, I have started a Bristol chapter very recently, with the first in-person event taking place on March 8th. 

If you'd like to join us, please feel free to sign up through this link.

Hope to see you there!

Sam