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Politics-Oriented Software Development
thelesserbean writes "Up at K5 there's a tongue-in-cheek look at the dirty world of software development's inside politics. Presented as a guide, it is actually full of useful advice and lessons learned the hard way. For instance, in the 'Ass-Covering' section, we read: 'The chief difficulty is reaching a satisfactory compromise between ass-covering and not appearing too negative. (...) The emails you sent will be used in evidence against you. Keep a professional tone: before sending any sensitive email take a moment to think how it would look at an industrial tribunal.'"
You know, universities should pay more attention to real world scenarios like this. Maybe then there would be less effort on screwing with politics, and more on doing a good job. Oh well, just add this to the list of things fresh programers get slaped with right out of college.
From the article:
Also remember that someone who points out a problem early is a troublemaker; someone who fixes a problem at the last minute is a hero.
That's a dangerous line to tread, because there's a third option: someone who identifies a problem at the last minute and can't fix it in time is shortsighted and incompetent.
The only part that I really disagree with is the first point 1. Most software fails because it is designed to fail
By the quite long experience the real reason why projects fail is much simpler: STUPIDITY
Be that stupidity of those who defined the project, stupidity by those implementing, stupidity by the management, stupidity by the client, stupidity by subcontractors, stupidity by equipment providers, stupidity by...
I am sure you get the point.
i might get modded down for this but the thing i find most interesting is that so many of the points being attributed to software-development in the article seem to be applicable in any project in any environment.
i help out in a school district and every single meeting i go to has me thinking about the same types of things. who is in it for education's sake and who just wants a feather in their cap?
maybe it's more of a human element that just happens to be looked at here in the context of programming.
Keep the faith, share the code
"Roll over and take it in the ass."
I have had jobs in restaurants, factories, warehouses, IT, and even telemarketing, and almost all of my past employers engaged in the sort of disgusting behavior described in the article. It's never enough to just go to work, do your job, and go home. Some insecure prick above you will not stand for it and will do whatever he can to get rid of you, legal or otherwise.
One of the things not mentioned in the article (at least not that I can recall) but worth pointing out is that this childish nonsense actually increases in frequency with larger companies, where there is typically more room for advancement. The best way to avoid this shit altogether is, as you mentioned, to start your own company; however, that is not plausible for most people, due to financial reasons, not having business know-how, et cetera. Unions aren't necessarily the answer either, as your union rep may be in with the person out to fuck you over (this was actually the case when I worked for a large plumbing-products manufacturer in Wisconsin). That sort of situation is, in fact, worse than no union representation at all because you pay your union dues every month and end up getting railroaded anyway.
Back to your post now. I find it very telling that you chose the phrase "wrong attitude." You claim you are not a manager, but this is exactly the sort of empty phrase that managers use to cast non-asskissing employees in a negative light. "Attitude" is purely subjective; there is simply no way to quantify it. Therefore, any discussion of "a bad attitude" in regards to an employee's job performance can be interpreted as: "This person is good at what she was hired to do, but I don't want to say anything good about her because she doesn't kiss my ass." If it's true that you're not a manager, my guess is that you wish you were.
Sorry for the long post, but I think you're dead wrong on this one.
Writhe your naked ass to the mindless groove.