Re: Can IT deal with change? was:

In article <5kelplF3b3opU1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Pete Dashwood <dashwood@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

[snip]

More below...

<docdwarf@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:fbrojt$q5d$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In article <YedEi.37759$7e6.33697@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,

[snip]

My apoligies for the snipping... but I believe I've managed to leave the
intestines intact. Currently the folks who sign my time*** are of the
'if I don't do what they ask I'll Look Bad', even if 'what they ask' is,
as in this case, a contradiction of earlier explicit expressions and
accepted work.

It is bad that you are not getting management support over this, Doc. Given
the situation, and the fact that you have a documented trail of what has
gone down, your management should be raising it so it can be addressed and
dealt with. If they don't, the situation will not go away by itself. The
Company needs to "learn" that what they are doing is not working and get
something better in place. Stronger, more effective line management, for a
start...

Mirable dictu... just when you think you have these human-being type of
people figured out they show a different dance-step.

In this immediate case I mentioned... the Time***-Signers didn't get
involved, it was the User Liason. He's been involved in this project
since it began a year-and-change back and he, too, was Mightily Annoyed
that after months of 'Gee, that's great!' we received a 'Well... now we
want it *this* way.'

His solution? A lie.

He contacted the User and said we'd be more than happy to provide the
changes in format and processing desired... BUT... the program had, due to
earlier expressions of satisfaction, already been moved into Prod.

Now that it is in Prod an entirely different mechanism must be employed in
order to change it, of course... a Formal Change Request had to be made,
this Requests have to be weighed ('prioritised') against other Requests,
time will have to be allocated... oh, and fiscal year-end is approaching,
that's going to push things off... and then you're moving on into Calendar
year-end, that means another buncha stuff is going to be moved to the
front burner...

.... but we'll be glad to help, honest... you've done this before, they
have it all on the web; just go to www.support.page and initiate the
request there.

The lie, of course, was that the program had been moved to Prod... it
hadn't. We had contacted the user looking for a final 'all clear' before
surrendering our wills to The Scheduler.

Anyhow... I expressed admiration and gratitude over this, saying that...
it made me feel strangely; it is My Job to do what the User wants...

.... and he broke in on me right there, saying 'Sure, that's great... *if*
they know what they (fornicating) want. If they take any opportunity they
can to say 'Maybe we want it in blue this week' then... (fornicate) 'em;
what we have now is in compliance with six months' worth of emails *and*
the Federal Laws that started this whole mess. If they don't like that
let 'em issue a Change Request.'

[snip]

The most recent version of 'now we want it THIS way' was met such
documentation and a succinct 'To implement this contradictory request will
require a fundamental change in processing which, in the opinion of a
professional programmer, will be neither easy to do nor fast in its
doing.'

While I completely understand this position, in the broader scheme of
things, it isn't helping.

Actually... it *did* help, in that the aforementioned User Liason said it
made him smile but he couldn't tell the User this... so he had to lean
back and think of what to say.

Irrespective of whether the request is contradictory or not, the Business DO
need something, and they need it now.

That was just the point, Mr Dashwood... the Business' needs, in terms of
compliance with Federal Law, were already being met... the *User* wanted
something else.

Before I go on, perhaps it is important to ask yourself: "If I COULD deliver
on these contradictory requests, would I? Do I actually feel committed to
providing a service to our Business?"

The reason I say this is because it can happen, after many years of working
in these environments, that the real motivation for going to work in the
morning gets lost, and instead it becomes about being seen to be "right" and
collecting your cheque.

Mr Dashwood, I work in order to earn money and I make no bones about it...
but the greatest satisfaction I get from my work is when someone,
*anyone*, looks at me and says 'You know... this makes my job *so* much
easier!'

When that satisfaction goes then it'll be time to find another way to pay
the landlord, sure... but at the moment it still holds.

[snip]

Changes are welcomed, not seen as a source of aggravation.

All things in moderation, even moderation... it is the User's privelege to
request changes and the User's responsibility to at least make an attempt
to insure that the privelege is not abused. Changes take work, work takes
time, time is money... and Business' money is not to be spent unless there
is a Business benefit gained.

(I've seen far too Users say 'Well, the competition just introduced this
feature, we *must* have it'... and I've seen no-one (besides me) asking
'It might just be a passing fad, you know... is this feature making the
competition any more money?')

DD

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