Deadlines and Requirements changes

[SQLSister]

Ok I just just really venting here because I'm really annoyed. We have a demo website that needs to be unveiled at a conference Tuesday. We also have to implement required changes to our current website for the same conference.

Today we had a meeting to show management the demo and they want it changed and kept trying to add more functionality.

I don't mean they want to fix some little errors, but they completely want to change the design of the page and add new features that will involve rewriting the existing source code (which by the way we are using the same stored procedures as the production site so any changes for the demo would impact the production site because they suddenly want to show information in the demo that does not show in our production site. And oh, yes, both sites have to be absolutely error free when they go to this conference.

Now granted they never saw the page displaying the information before today because it wasn't designed until today. Of course it could have been designed months ago, but they laid off the graphic designer because the "systems analyst" could do her job as well as her own. She even got a pay raise (her second this year, at least 20% each time!)for picking up the graphic artist's duties when no one else in company could get a raise because we were in a raise freeze.

Of course she couldn't do the graphic artist's job and never even attempted to design the pages even though we have known this redesign was going to happen since February.

Anyone with any brains knew she couldn't handle it because she couldn't even do her official job before this happened as she is a secretary promoted to systems analyst because she is sleeping with the CEO and she has no technical skillls whatsoever.

So here she was with two positions that need to be done before we can do our work and she does neither and we are the ones blamed if we can't get everything done on time because we are the ones at the end of the cycle.

The sum total of requirements we had for this project were to create these three functions and make them work exactly as they do in the production site but in the new look. Oh yeah, no instructions on the new look either. Why no requirements? Because our system analyst thinks they are not necessary!!!!

Well they did decide to hire a graphic artist again (she didn't lose the pay raise though even though they took the duties away. Yet our best programmer hasn't had a raise in 2 years.) She showed up 2 weeks ago and has been so busy doing promotional materials, she hasn't been able to do the page designs she was hired to do which is why we didn't have a design to build from til today.

I guess what really makes me angry is this is the third year in a row, thay have been changing major requirements two or three days before they need to appear in public error free.

I realize this place is hopeless and I need to either start sleeping with the CEO (not high on my list of things to do!) or move to another job. And I will certainly leave as soon as I find another job. But in the meantime how do I keep from killing the management and the CEO's friend? I am sick and tired of getting the blame for not getting things done when she and several other people we need support from never do anything until two days before the deadline and then never get any of the blame because their stuff is done (sort of). Of course this one woman hasn't succesfully performed a nonsexual task in the 2.5 years I've worked here, but she's classed as an outstanding performer. Her last boss quit because he wanted to fire her and the CEO wouldn't let him.

Not really looking for career advice, just needed to rant before I spend the next two days working unpaid overtime while she takes the weekend off. So can anybody help me with come up with good revenge fantasies?

 

[ulteriormotif]

errr... uhhh... you go girl!!

That's quite a rant.

All I can really suggest is that you take the energy built up here and put it towards that move... because I doubt you're going to effect any real change here... and given the relationships and how far up the ladder they go, you could really blow your rep on any revenge tactics.

 

[BJCooperIT]

I am not critizing here because I have been in a similar situation, but I would have simply said:
"That is not possible in your timeframe."
I once had a very wise project leader who, when told that an additional 400 hours worth of modifications needed to be made to a system with a fixed deadline, simply asked "Which of my other priorities drop off the list?" I was, at the time, in shock. I had never dreamed that you could basically tell your boss "No"! It was an valuable lesson learned for me.

You may not be in a position to do this and it may be too late now. It is a very tough position in which to be. I wish you lots of strong coffee, error-free code, a crash-free system and freedom from ever having to serve slave duty again.

[sup]Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.[/sup][sup] ~George Bernard Shaw[/sup]
Consultant/Custom Forms & PL/SQL - Oracle 8.1.7 - Windows 2000

 

[Onyxpurr]

Ys, I think the nest thing I ever learned to do in Senior Project at school (working with an actual client) was say, "Yes, we can do that, but I'm afraid it isn't in the scope of the project. If you want it done, it will push back your deadline x months."

I do agree though that I'm tired of users, managers, requestors, thinking just because we're in the computer industry changes can be made overnight. Lemme see, where's that "change application" button on my keyboard?

 

[sleipnir214]

This definately falls under that part of project management that causes the failure of most projects: expectation management.



Want the best answers? Ask the best questions:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[CajunCenturion]

Although the office politics is a mess, the story also underscores why milestones, checkpoints, and intermediate sign-offs can be beneficial to the development effort.


Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[KornGeek]

This topic touches on one of my pet peeves. All too often my requirements change midstream. It's the "Ready, Fire, Aim!" approach.

One thing that might have helped and might help in the future is to make sure you get requirements in writing. The easy way to ask for this is a simple "Could you please send me an email about that. I want to make sure I remember everything." Alternatively, you could send an email with your understanding of the requirements and ask them to review it to make sure you understood correctly. Email is the easiest way to get people to put things in writing.

Also, you could use email in your requests to get others to perform their jobs. Back in March you could have shot off an email asking for a date when you would have something to review. A cc to an appropriate manager may or may not be appropriate.

Using these techniques, you are unlikely to actually get any better results. However, when the fecal matter hits the spinning blades, you'll have a paper trail to back you up.

Good luck, and remember that there are many of us working this weekend. You're not alone.

 

[flapeyre]

You have to tell the users - "I can either do it the right way or do it in a rush. Those are your two options, and they are mutually exclusive."

At my job, almost everyone chooses the first option.

Unfortuantely, some users think they can wish an application into existance.


"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth with your eyes turned skyward, for here you have been, and there you will always long to return."

--Leonardo da Vinci

 

[jancebk]

SQL Sister:

You are definitely between a rock & a hard place.

In addition to the problems with the person who is out of her element supposedly performing two jobs, what screams out to me is that there are little or no project management techniques being applied to this project.

Is there a project manager? If so, that person needs to be held accountable to identify a plan and the tasks & resources necessary to accomplish the plan, get requirements nailed down, identify risks & issues and ways to mitigate them, and wave the red flag when the schedule is slipping or someone wants to change requirements. If there is someone with this title already there, they are failing to do their job.

You haven't said how large your company is; I'm guessing it is fairly small. In small organizations there may not be one person dedicated to just managing a project, but instead have a developer who also functions as the project lead or manager.

Many of the other posts in this thread have all pointed to the lack of project management for this project. Changing requirements, unknown expectations, missed deadlines - there are project management methods for addressing all these items.

It's Tuesday now (the deadline you mentioned) - so this may all be moot. One way you might be able to improve your lot there at the company is to educate yourself in some project management concepts and present it to upper management as a solution to prevent the types of disasters that have been occurring. (It's not going to solve the who's getting extra benefits cuz they are involved with whom situation... but...)

Tek Tips has a Project Management area - just an FYI.

Hope this helps.

Jan

(and yes, I am a project manager. ;-) )

 

[Genimuse]

Just to chime in with the others, it is indeed project management that failed. More to the point it was the lack of a project plan that led to failure.

If a project plan was in place that said the graphic design had to be done two months ago then no one would be able to say that the CEO's bimbo got her work done on time -- her deadline was two months ago (or two weeks, or whatever the plan says). During project review meetings (you do have those, right?) it's very easy to point to the plan and say, "This deadline has been missed; further delay of this piece of the project jeopardizes completing the project in time." As time wears on and deadlines aren't met, the project plan is adjusted showing very clearly the impact of her inaction (or the company's, or whatever).

Even if no one has the title of "project manager," a real, regularly-updated project plan with clear assignments and a critical path is the perfect tool to avoid this problem in the future.

Now how to convince your company to implement it.

 

[carp]

I have to agree with the foregoing - the only way I've been able to get a tenable situation is to inform the requestor that it will take xxx hours/days/months to do what they're asking for. Keeping a running prioritized list is also helpful (I have a web-based one so (a) my manager can see what my dance card looks like and (b) we can pull it up in his office when we need to decide which "emergency" issue isn't really such an emergency after all).

Failing that, you and the lead programmer have three choices:
1. Suck it up and press on.
2. Find another place to work.
3. Start sleeping with the manager.

Good luck!

 

[Tarwn]

As far as defense against requirements changes midstream, I have to say I follow the KornGeek philosophy there. I generally cultivate the fact that I have a bad memory, make the occasional joke about it etc, so that when a project comes down no one is surprised when I ask for the description to be emailed to me.
My company hasn't been big on requirements in the past year since I was hired (until real recently), but I am able to implement an almost informal software engineering approach using my "bad memory" as an excuse.
I get the original email with the description, I rewrite that with some extra details that might have been missing and send it back to "make sure I am understanding correctly" (can we say "requirements spec"? ;-) ). Then once I get the go ahead I make sure I explain, sometimes in casual conversation, what the major steps are going to be in order to complete the project. I mention these steps in future conversations (milestones, see how sneaky i am) and judge the amount of time/work left in a project by them. When the requirements wish to be changed, I am so horribly apologetic. "I wish we had thought of that months ago. It's no problem, we'll just have to rewrite the first half of the code." then a few minutes later: "Well, maybe we should see if what we gain from these changes is worth the extra month it will add to our completion date". At that point "extra month" registers and the manager calmly agrees that the customer is out of their mind to request changes so late unless they feel like putting off the completion date...See, it's a team effort (or at least it is by the time I am done talking), as long as you convince the manager your agreeing with him and backing him up every step of the way, then tell him what his opinion should be, he'll think he came up with it...

Luckily one of my coworkers recently decided to write a large piece of software with no software engineering principles whatsoever...the demo was due out in February and, well, we still haven't gotten it out (the demo). So now on my latest project, when I mention requirements specs and milestones and accountability, upper management and the sales guys start salivating and let me take my time and do it right. Never for a minute realizing that I'm doing this not just for their piece of mind, but so I could slip in the revisions clause they're signing later today in the requirements spec. Basically "Your not allowed to make changes, if you beg, I will consider them but probably throw them away anyways in order to keep my sanity...". Woohoo, no feature creep

BTW, I do have a bad memory, I just overemphasize it sometimes...

 

[bcking]

What came of the project?

Did you manage to come up with a good revenge fantasy and get the chage to live it?

Hope that it worked out OK for you and that it didn't involve sleeping with CEO, unless that was your only option of course, was it fun ?

Brett

 

[earlrainer]

OK ,but ever wondered how do these non IT people develop the idea that programming is a very simple thing to do...

I guess its all those movies that show all these super genius programmers , who can solve any computing problems ..like hacking into computers or producing complex 3-D graphics with a few clicks.

well I guess, these people are under the impression ,if hacking into FBI computers takes 4 clicks, then maybe that "simple" accounting software should take just 2 clicks to make..........

well most of the time I simply have to bite my tongue to control my anger when the management gives me one of those "you-are-taking-so-much-time-on-this-simple-program" talks.

imagine the time when I was given this task to completely change the looks of a package that had about 90 forms in delphi...and when i had not completed it in 5 days..this guy comes along and says "why are you taking this long..even my 12 year old son could have done it faster, he made a webpage in 10 minutes"....
(and I had seen that webpage earlier..it had a red background and a blue caption saying 'welcome to my web page' )

 

[mikeg8]

Just say 'No!'. Actually a little hard to do the first time, but you get used to it, I have!

It is the most unexpected answer for any manager to receive. They are used to arguing and pleading and prevarication, but not to a simple, polite, 'Sorry, not possible.' Try it, you'll get to like it - they'll hate you for it, it frightens them, they're not used to being told 'No!', they're used to having their own way. Of course, they do have the option of showing you the way out - let me assure you, their loss, not yours (yours in the short term - How you gonna pay them bills?).

Don't get taken for a patsy - nothing is worth that!

Mike

 

[LUEBBKEVIN]

Funny thing is the company I work for now is very similar....they had me create a system on the 400 for a critical piece of the business for one of the bigger client companies. For specifications, they handed me the specs from the old server based system. I was on the job for two weeks and had no prior knowledge of either the new or old systems.
two years later, management is still trying to pull together the requirements....making changes to business rules on a daily basis. the project management team chalked this project as completed months ago!
the management here are people that have no management skills and therefor have no business running other people's careers.
But it's like that all over....some not so bad, some worse. One can only hope that the economic predictions for an improved job market and economy in 2004 are true. Can't wait to bail out of here!