Slashdot Mirror
Who Plays the 'Blame the Tech' Game?
An anonymous reader asks: "I work for a marketing services company, and it is my department's role to develop and maintain reporting systems for all the data we collect. When a department manager sees a dip (or rise) in one of there KPI's the first thing they do is ask me to 'check out the reporting', because '[they] think there is a problem'? It's this just the culture of my company or have other readers experienced a 'blame the technology first, ask questions later mentality'?"
First let me say that the part where the researchers say "Get me the president!" isn't upon the first discovery of an impending disaster. It's usually after the data has been double checked & verified by other sources (if possible).
So, if your manager turns these reports over to upper management or shareholders & these have dire consequences upon how your department is viewed--then maybe it's not such a bad idea to double check the equipment or software.
Also, you're employed for a reason. If your manager ever handed over a faulty report, who's ass is on the line? Probably not yours. It's their ass that should get canned if they give faulty information. Now, if your ass was on the line and some outlying data came out in a report, would you constantly double check it?
And, has it ever been wrong before? If this is the twentieth time they've asked you to check it and it's never been wrong before, then maybe they're overdoing it. But if it's been faulty before, give them some credit for just trying to get to the bottom of things. Maybe this isn't the blame game, maybe this is just extreme caution. I don't get this kind of treatment where I work.
The sad part of it is that they're your manager & if they're blaming you, then they're probably saying that to the managers above them also. However, if I were upper management, I'd see through that and can your manager for their inability to take responsibility for those reporting to them.
My work here is dung.
if you liked being blamed for all of their problems
Don't assume they're lying. There's a problem somewhere. Experience has told them (and myself as a developer of products heavily reliant on reporting) that the problem is more likely in the software, than the type of paper stock they used in the printer.
If the problem isn't the reporting algorithims, it's in the data - maybe you need to check validation on the front end.
Do you always get so defensive about these things? I doubt it's a vast right-wing conspiracy.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
RIAA: Its not that our music sucks, its cause of PIRATES!
Ford: Its not that our Cars are crap, and expensive, its cause the Japanese imports are utilizing a weak Yen
Sub-Prime loan companies: its not our fault these loosers we gave $500,000 to buy a 2 bedroom house with an interest only loan are defaulting, its the Federal Reserve for raising the interest rates!
Blame is everywhere, its not technology, its the data. The reports he's questioning came from a computer. If "Ted" had tabulated the results, your boss would force 2 other people to double check the data in the report, cause maybe "Ted" screwed up a decimal place somewhere, even though Ted has a masters in statistics.
What are we going to do tonight Brain?
It's pretty simple. People always blame others first, and since the IT department is the closest thing to a scapegoat in the office... Well, you just need more red staplers i think.
:(" (which, by coincidence, is one of the first things new workers call for).
Also, if you're a computer-illiterate person, you get quite used to call the IT dept. as often as you can with problems which seem "strange" to you, so very soon it just goes as your natural reflex. In my opinion though, it has nothing to do with mentality, just the lack of computer experience. For example: "OH NOES, my mail client can't connect to the mailserver! Plz help me, IT Department!
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams [...]."
It seems to be an epidemic. In other words, I've experienced the same thing (repeatedly). Does it stem from too many bugs in our code or something else? I have no idea. All I know is that pushing the "send to voicemail" button on my tele makes the problem go away until my boss sends me a ticket to investigate. Darn, we get it on both ends.
Cheers.
There is an old saying: "A bank never makes a mistake in your favor".
If they screw up, and put someone else's money into your account, (had friends that have had this happen), they yank it right back out. If they screw up and charge you some fees you shouldn't have been charged, you have to bring receipts, statements, (even though they should have them) and spend lots of time getting it corrected.
What are we going to do tonight Brain?
It's everyone's fault. Users distrust software because there is a lot of untrustworthy software.
My users do the same. Before I verify a report is accurate, I make them go back and verify the data they entered is correct. Oftentimes, its user error, a missing field, or in my last case, a slight change in business practices, where a field used to be required, but now wasn't, which the report somewhat expected to be there. After they think they've verified the data, I'll go into the database and verify it by hand. Sometimes the report is wrong, but usually it's just displaying something different than what the user expects. 90% user error, 10% system error -- if you don't let anyone report problems, you'll never catch those 10%.
I try to give my users as many reports as possible and encourage them to pull multiple reports and cross-reference themselves. I don't hesitate to add reports, either, since they really take little time to adapt from other reports, even if it is just to help out that 55-year-old sales guy on the third floor that doesn't sell much but everyone likes because he's been there for 20 years. It gets me major kudos (and free lunches) from other staff who see a new report, run it, and realize that they could use it, too. "You're reading my mind, man! You just saved me 3 hours of work a week! How's about some lunch on me?!"
In other words: it's your job, now STFU & GBTW.
My wife is a horse-trainer/lesson-giver. Her students constantly make uninformed claims that the horse was having a bad day, or that the horse was just plain stupid, completely ignoring their own inability to ride.
How many teachers have been blamed by parents for not teaching their kids enough or teaching them poorly and thats why little Johnny isn't passing his standards tests?
What about high ranking political officials who avoid bad-press/prosecution by passing the buck to an underling?
"Blame the [fill_in_blank]" game happens for every industry, for every body. What makes you think this is a IT-only issue?
Trying being an Oracle DBA maintaining databases of testing results and data for engineers that were plagued with Ingres for decades. Every time they screw up a query and get zero results, the call comes in to check something relating to Ingres that Oracle doesn't have or need. Either that or the servers get bogged down because the network group refuses to admit that there might be a problem with the network and that I need to "check my settings". Nevermind that all interfaces are either set to auto-negotiate or forced to maximum performance.
Anyway, I digress.
I have experienced it before and it comes and goes as the people in charge move up the ladder and others take thier places. Often times it can be incredibly difficult to get past it. However, that is one of the challenges of being in IT. Convincing people that the technology isn't the problem is difficult. I think the difficulty lies in the fact that as an IT professional, if you are doing your job correctly, your work should be invisible to the users. They should think that you do nothing all day. If that is the case then you have already done your job effectivly unless they are complaining about something. Then, of course, you have to fix it.
However, users are funny creatures. They will not notice the systems and immerse themselves completely in the computing environment...until something goes wrong. Then it's like The Matrix is skipping a beat and Agent Smith jumps in and gives them the stink eye. Then the phones start ringing and you, you slackass, you ain't doin' nuthin'! Since they never realize the good because it works the way they have come accustomed to it working, problems that boot them out of the environmental warm-fuzzy are glaring. It's not only a work stopage but it's like waking someone up by dumping a bucket of water on thier face. It's jarring to them and leaves as much of an emotional/mental impact as a work stopage leaves a physical impact.
The reaction then becomes more of a fight or flight type deal. A work stopage or less then rosy data results can be devasating to anyone. When these people you are dealing with see thier numbers come up less desireable that expected, the first thing they tend to do is panic. The blame starts flying every which way to get them back to thier non-panic striken happy place.
You will never solve the "blame techonology" problem because it isn't really rooted in a lack of education. It's human nature to find a scapegoat to accept blame to avoid the pain, physical or emotional, of dropping the ball and getting called on it. About the only thing you can do is do you job as best as you can. If they call asking about the reporting program, be professional and calm and work through thier problem with them. Afterall, you know things are OK on your side and things aren't ok on thier side. They don't know that though. They are just trying to follow every path as quickly as possible to find out what is wrong so that they can get a handle on it and maybe put a stop to the downward slide, quickly.
Above all, don't take it personal, you likely do not report to them. If they become unmanagable, refer them to your management and have your manager act as the intermediary. If you are the management then it is your responsibility to find an amiacable solution.
When our software generates erroneous or otherwise false reports, i blame George W Bush.
First, LEARN ENGLISH. ("role", "their") Until you do, respect will continue to evade you.
Second, if you submit something obscure to Slashdot, explain it. Specifically, WTF is a KPI?
Third, your manager DID ask you a question. If you want to avoid more of these questions, why not make the process of creating whatever a KPI is more transparent (e.g., make an interim detailed report available as a CSV) and let the questioners check their own work?
At the moment, people "don't trust the tech" because they don't trust the whiny, snot-nosed newbie churning out their KPIs. Prove yourself to be a reliable and detail-oriented person (OK, basically a 21st-century secretary) and maybe they will.
Maybe they're just trying to hint to you to use the new coversheet format.
Xbox reviews.. We think they're funny.
According to Joel on software people don't sue you because you admit the mistake, people sue you because they are mad at you. If you admit the mistake and try to fix the problem, they aren't going to sue you. If you try to pretend there is no problem, then they will sue you. The article linked above is a very good read for anybody doing any kind of customer support, or working in the tech industry in general.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
It's not a well-kept secret that, if you are not an asshole about it, most banks and credit cards will forgive occasional charges and fees if you just ask.
I have reversed checking overdraft fees and Visa late fees and interest this way. (I've had my bank account for 20+ years and my Visa for more than 10.)
Last month, I asked Visa to refund the $29 late charge on my account since I paid one day too late. "Of course!", they said, "and why don't we refund the $10 interest too?" And they did.
Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
Right now I'm going through a big cluster f*** at work with respect to a new, bloated, and slow web app that's about to be rolled out. Of course, it must be *my* fault that he app is slow, because it's the "network".
It can't possibly be because the web app unloads a 1/4 MByte steaming pile of Javascript into the user's browser on first page load, can it?
Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
So what's the problem? They're blaming the reporting, not you - and, after all, it is your job to "check out the reporting", isn't it?
Sorry, maybe I'm just a bit narky on this subject. I had a job a while ago where week after week, month after month, year after year I'd get pulled up because the coversheets on my timesheet and job accounting reports were literally a sea of red, marking out dozens of supposed violations every day. Every time I got hauled up about this, I turned the page over to the actual reports and located the raw data for every single supposed "violation", showed how they were due to errors and incorrect assumptions in the incoming data and report generation, exactly where and how the errors were occurring, and exactly how to fix the data collection and reporting - or, failing that, the one thing they could do to prevent making the incorrect assumptions.
Their suggestion? To fiddle the system (which in fact broke other, less important, reports!) with the effect of slowing down my workrate, just so these particular reports came out "correct".
When I left that position 2 years later, it was still going on...
The problem, y'see, was the opposite to yours. In my case, the management's assumption was that the whole process of data collection and report generation was infallible. Despite repeatedly proving and explaining at least 100 times why it wasn't, it was still considered to be so.
Stop being so sensitive, and do your damned job.
What part of "a well regulated militia" do you not understand?