This is the way. If you aren’t at capacity then the manager can step in and say “yeah, we can do that, let me get a ticket/issue/record of it so we can track it” and then proceed to work on it. This works in Kanban really well. If you are at capacity or have planned a sprint already and are midway through the run, it’s ok to say no and get it prioritized in the backlog. If you’re DevOps and the Ops part of the role requires you to respond to tickets in a timely manner then this breaks down.
What we are saying though is that having a plan is a good thing. Protecting the plan is a good thing. Adopting work and helping others is a good thing. The work being adopted needs to be planned and prioritized though. If it’s a small task (like the OP said, it was a 5 minute thing) than opening a chat with them about it after creating the necessary record is fine. The fact they agreed (regardless of classification that they were technical so they would understand) shows there’s hope in your org for empathy.
What you shouldn’t do is say no to adopting the work while you sit back and play wordle until you feel the person has waited the necessary amount of time. Also, don’t write systems that require 14 approvals and a shaman and waiting 48 hours for a status change before you can begin work.
What we are saying though is that having a plan is a good thing. Protecting the plan is a good thing. Adopting work and helping others is a good thing. The work being adopted needs to be planned and prioritized though. If it’s a small task (like the OP said, it was a 5 minute thing) than opening a chat with them about it after creating the necessary record is fine. The fact they agreed (regardless of classification that they were technical so they would understand) shows there’s hope in your org for empathy.
What you shouldn’t do is say no to adopting the work while you sit back and play wordle until you feel the person has waited the necessary amount of time. Also, don’t write systems that require 14 approvals and a shaman and waiting 48 hours for a status change before you can begin work.