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Today's continued task... implementing a system that audits data collection point changes on 58 different servers.
For each server, add the task to run the vendor supplied command line tool that generates an XML output of any changes since the previous day. Place the files in a directory that will be copied to the network for parsing.
The parsing tool is written and working; the changes and e-mailed to administrators. Eventually, they will either be written to a database or copied to Sharepoint.
Almost done with the list...
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Sounds interesting! Seriously.
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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At least it's something to do?
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I am currently having issues with a guy at work who think he's a great programmer and knows everything about what is the latest and greatest technology, but alas, is not.
I work in mechanical development, so pretty much anybody who knows how to write an Excel macro is Bill Gates here, just for you to get the picture. As a former embedded and desktop coder, I am lightyears ahead of this.
Now these people, and that particular colleague, get sometimes involved in SW programming, when they create tools helping the mechanical design or write interfaces between internal systems and matlab for instance. And this leads to terribly poor technology choices, oversized, or obsolete before they were born, or so terribly programmed that the code cannot be maintained.
The programming "guru" however has powerful persuasion skills, so he drives management, who have not the start of a clue (otherwise they would have known they need professionals to design software), into believing that what he does is the right thing to do - not intentionally, he is genuinely persuaded he is a know-how holder
And this is eating up my patience. I am not directly involved in what he does, that is why I don't do anything about it, but I attend some meetings sometimes where I just could bang my head on the desk. To give you a feeling, it is as if you were looking over someone's shoulder and he would copy and paste 10 times the same code instead of making a for loop : it works, but gnngnnngn it is just plain wrong.
~RaGE();
I think words like 'destiny' are a way of trying to find order where none exists. - Christian Graus
Entropy isn't what it used to.
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Why not take one of his apps, write it correctly and present it to management as they way it should be done if a professional programmer were able to do it. As I used to have in my sig: if you think a professional is expensive, wait till you try an amateur.
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Exactly my thoughts!
New version: WinHeist Version 2.1.0 Beta
Have you ever just looked at someone and knew the wheel was turning but the hamster was dead?
Trying to understand the behavior of some people is like trying to smell the color 9.
I'm not crazy, my reality is just different than yours!
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Because of time: this is no two-week task I am talking about here.
~RaGE();
I think words like 'destiny' are a way of trying to find order where none exists. - Christian Graus
Entropy isn't what it used to.
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Considering your statement that the higher-ups have no clue about the quality of that guys work, the only way to convince them is using talk they do understand, i. e. the bottom line! Find an example where you can put your finger on and prove that the company is losing money right there, then suggest a different approach and make a modest estimation on how much money this is going to save the company. The better you are able to back up your claims, the more likely they will listen to you and follow your advice.
Better yet, if you can pull this through, and your numbers hold, they'll be more open to your suggestions in the future.
Depending on the kind of task, it may be difficult to find something to back up your numbers, but it may still not take the weeks you say it would require to actually complete the job.
P.S.:
I do agree with some of the other posts suggesting not to go over the guys head: tell him about your suggestion. The worst that could happen is he'll listen to you and follow your advice. If not, it's time to involve the higher-ups. In any case, don't bother until you have something tangible to back up your claims.
GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)
modified 23-Sep-14 3:15am.
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mark merrens wrote: Why not take one of his apps, write it correctly and present it to management as they way it should be done if a professional programmer were able to do it. Because making an enemy of someone who is very persuasive to management is an extremely bad idea.
Better, improve something, and show it to the guy himself.
Remember to smile and not to talk to him like he's an idiot. It's always preferable to open a discussion, rather than start a war.
[edited a typo]
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
modified 22-Sep-14 14:55pm.
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I disagree: once you show management that he is not what he says he is, his influence will rapidly wane.
If you show it to him, he'll just steal it and the credit.
Besides, how boring would life be without a few enemies.
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