DragonWriter sort of hit on this - and I'll leave the whole 'start over' concept to Joel and that older thread that seems to surface every few years. I don't develop software, I run an IT shop. And this issue bites me all the time - band-aiding apps and communications together until you don't know what is driving what.
You see, I'm constantly battling application creep - sometimes it's unavoidable because there really are not many options for some specialized needs. Sometimes I don't get to choose - it was purchased and the first I hear of it is to install. Although I'm morally in the clear to say 'go screw' - it's wasting money in the truest sense and I can limit that by 'getting it to work'. Now we hit on Weigel's post on technical dept. In an application - this might be easier to measure. With infrastructure, it's harder to document these future issues or temporary workarounds in some meaningful manner (open to suggestions). You of course are reminded when they bite you, but faced with time pressures of broken processes, wailing users, and the scramble to fix - the fix doesn't always get the proper attention it really needs. Again, we'll do the 'real' fix next week. (lather, rinse, repeat).
On the hardware front, sure I often get to choose the vendor and product - but it's still gotta perform some needed function - and at times I get to choose from bad, or really bad, or just won't work. I also have both inherited and purchased various servers that were available cheap or free (you keep on using that word - I don't think it means what you think it does), and then deal with odd ways of dealing with things like authentication, unique settings and variables (example = unique ways to identify 'today' or count time), and the growing skill set to maintain them. Again, not by choice or design, but by the reality of larger institutions.
I'd love to see or hear about ways to minimize this - or at least fend it off fairly well. I'm certain I'm not alone - but keep in mind the politics and realities of being in a larger institution.
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DragonWriter sort of hit on this - and I'll leave the whole 'start over' concept to Joel and that older thread that seems to surface every few years. I don't develop software, I run an IT shop. And this issue bites me all the time - band-aiding apps and communications together until you don't know what is driving what.
You see, I'm constantly battling application creep - sometimes it's unavoidable because there really are not many options for some specialized needs. Sometimes I don't get to choose - it was purchased and the first I hear of it is to install. Although I'm morally in the clear to say 'go screw' - it's wasting money in the truest sense and I can limit that by 'getting it to work'. Now we hit on Weigel's post on technical dept. In an application - this might be easier to measure. With infrastructure, it's harder to document these future issues or temporary workarounds in some meaningful manner (open to suggestions). You of course are reminded when they bite you, but faced with time pressures of broken processes, wailing users, and the scramble to fix - the fix doesn't always get the proper attention it really needs. Again, we'll do the 'real' fix next week. (lather, rinse, repeat).
On the hardware front, sure I often get to choose the vendor and product - but it's still gotta perform some needed function - and at times I get to choose from bad, or really bad, or just won't work. I also have both inherited and purchased various servers that were available cheap or free (you keep on using that word - I don't think it means what you think it does), and then deal with odd ways of dealing with things like authentication, unique settings and variables (example = unique ways to identify 'today' or count time), and the growing skill set to maintain them. Again, not by choice or design, but by the reality of larger institutions.
I'd love to see or hear about ways to minimize this - or at least fend it off fairly well. I'm certain I'm not alone - but keep in mind the politics and realities of being in a larger institution.