Random thoughts, observations, and opinions of a software engineer in corporate America.
Do I Laugh or Cry?
Published on July 8, 2004 By CS Guy In Blogging
Emergency work on our most recent software release has caused work on the next year's build slip a couple months. Because we have a hard deadline for this current version, we have to address any and all issues that pop up as the highest priority. This means that parallel work for the next two major releases (a one year schedule) has suffered. That's not such a big deal, since plans can change.

Next week we were to travel to our sister site for a 3 day re-plan meeting to decide what schedules to slip or what scope to reduce. This is really not an easy thing to do since a lot of our capabilities for these next two builds are poorly defined. It's really no ones fault there, it is just that a lot of information and expertise has to come together, along with management issues, for these details to come to light. So this re-plan meeting should be a good thing.

However, we just learned this morning that our customer wants to be briefed on our re-plan changes early next week. So now we are having to try to pull together what information we can.

Basically, we need to brief this important man on the results of our re-plan meeting before we have our re-plan meeting.

I'm still looking for that Scott Adams e-mail addres...

Comments
on Jul 08, 2004
CS:
This was an actual conversation I overheard in 1980 (just so you know that your situation is not new and never resolved):

Enginerr 1: We have to get together and solve this problem. It just won't wait any longer and we've put off discussing it twice.
Enginerr 2: You're right, you're right. I have a meeting this afternoon, but I will be done by 3.
Enginerr 1: 3, oh, no, that won't work (looking in his dayplanner). I have a dental at 2:45, got to have a wisdom tooth looked at. How about tomorrow?
Enginerr: 2: Tomorrow is the update on the expansion project. All day. You know how my boss is. Say, look, how about Thursday?
Enginerr 1: No, I start vacation on Thursday, be gone through the next week. How about the 14th when I get back?
Enginerr 2: Darn, that's when I start mine, be gone until the 23rd.
Enginerr 1: Well, I guess it will just have to wait then. Maybe I get Frank involved.

They were on their way at the time to lunch! (But they probably had more important things to think about).
on Jul 08, 2004
(just so you know that your situation is not new and never resolved):


Oh I am well aware of that. I've been experiencing it for many years in a variety of environments.
on Jul 14, 2004
Send your mail to:

Scottadams@aol.com

Include the word "Dilbert" in the subject line to pass his spam filter.
on Jul 14, 2004
Send your mail to:

Scottadams@aol.com

Include the word "Dilbert" in the subject line to pass his spam filter.


Heh, yea I actually do know how to contact Scott. I was just using that as a literary element. It was a rhetorical question.
on Jul 14, 2004
I kinda figured it might be, but it was the second time you asked, so I thought I'd go ahead just in case.
on Jul 14, 2004
I kinda figured it might be, but it was the second time you asked, so I thought I'd go ahead just in case.


Too much knowledge is better than not enough, in my book.