What does it take to create a hands-on Atlassian event from the ground up? This week, we sit down with some of the organizers behind Build IT Together — Lina Ortiz, Shawn Doyle, and Josh Golosinskiy — to hear the full story of how a community idea became one of the most practical Atlassian gatherings around.

We trace the origins back to the Atlassian Builders Summit, the spark that planted the seed for something different: an event where attendees don't just sit through sessions — they actually build. The team walks us through the evolution of that vision into Build IT Together, a two-day, in-person training and conference held right before Atlassian Team '26 in Anaheim, California.

We dig into what makes BIT stand out from a typical conference. Attendees pick a real problem, choose a learning track — Rovo AI Agents, Forge Apps, Project Management, or Enterprise Service Management — and leave with a working solution, not just notes they'll never use. It's beginner-friendly, technically deep, and built by practitioners for practitioners.

Lina, Shawn, and Josh share what goes into curating the speaker lineup, designing tracks that produce real outcomes, and building the kind of room where Jira admins, consultants, and project managers feel right at home. We also talk about the unique positioning of BIT right before Team '26 — so attendees can go from building to being inspired in the same week.

Whether you're thinking about attending, speaking, or just want to understand what a community-driven Atlassian event looks like from the inside, this episode is for you.

🗓 Build IT Together takes place May 4–5, 2026 at the Clarion Hotel in Anaheim — a short walk from the Team '26 venue.

🎟 Tickets start at $47 for the conference day, or $447 for the full training + conference experience.

Learn more and grab your seat at https://buildittogether.events

Thank you to ikuTeam for connecting and collaborating with The Jira Life.

https://ikuteam.com

The Jira Life

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Hosts:

- Alex "Dr. Jira" Ortiz

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexortiz89/

https://www.youtube.com/@ApetechTechTutorials

- Rodney "The Jira Guy" Nissen

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rgnissen/

https://thejiraguy.com

- Sarah Wright

https://www.linkedin.com/in/satwright/

Producer:

- "King Bob" Robert Wen

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-wen-csm-spc6-a552051/

Executive Producer:

- Lina Ortiz

Music provided by Monstercat:

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Intro: Nitro Fun - Cheat Codes

https://www.youtube.com/c/monstercat

Outro: Fractal - Atrium

https://www.youtube.com/c/monstercatinstinct