Debugging project (having difficulty) 1

[Zoom1234]

Hi,

At present i am debugging a project which was developed by somebody else.
here is the history of the project :
The development took about 4 months for couple of people.
The people who were working on the project shifted to another department before the project completion..(i dont know why because i have recently joined the company)
Since the project was not complete, it was given to a third pary vendor.(they couldnt continue with the project according to the company policy) I dont know if the vendor messed up with the code or improved it, but when i saw the demo of the project, it still gave considerable amount of errors.
So my boss gave them the deadline to fix that bugs.After that there is no response from them.
Eventually i had to take charge of the project. Now we have got a cleint for that project which as always in a hurry for the delivary of the project.
We had a demo with the client and it failed completely.
(as expected).I am trying to debug the project, but there is another demo in near future before which i am sure that the project wont be debug free.
I tried to get help of the people who actually started the project but they dont want to involve in the project since that would mean their direct involvment of the project even after handing over it to third party vendor.
I need time to debug/modify the project.

What stand i shd take in such case.
Any suggestions would be much helpfull!!

 

[CajunCenturion]

Very difficult to say as there are lots of potentional issues at play, not only from the technical side, but also from the political side. And there is very little information from which to make an informed comment, much less a suggestion.

"(they couldnt continue with the project according to the company policy)" - Who is 'they', and what is the company policy.

What transpired between "my boss gave them the deadline to fix that bugs" and "Eventually i had to take charge of the project"? Take charge from whom? and under what authority?

I understand you went to some of the original developers, but they're not interested because they don't want to? or because of some direct involvement after third party involvement? If it's the latter, what's behind that? Is that a company policy? Liability issue?

What is the relationship between the client and your company? Can you meet directly with the client? Who is responsible for the financial relationship between the client and you, as related specifically to this project?

Have you talked to your boss about the situation?

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

 

[edfair]

Sounds like the makings of a lose-lose situation to me.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[kiddpete]

Sounds like you should give your manager a heads up. You will try, but do not expect to finish, getting no help, etc. That may give him some lead time to deal with the situation.

 

[SQLSister]

Suggest you tell your boss about the less than helpfulness of the company empoyees who previously worked on this. Maybe he can light a fire under them. Could be they know they screwed it up which is why they are happy to have moved on to a new project and stay out of this one. I wouldn't let them unless your boss is so mad at them for the problem that he doesn;t want them involved. This si definietly a boss issue, throw this hot potato to him, thats what managers eet paid the big bucks for.

 

[lullysing]

Essentially you picked up a project which is mostly doomed, no one will help you, the people that are supposed to fix it ain't fixing it..... and you actually took charge over this blabering mess?

Stop working immedialty on this. don't you touch anything from that project. Get the pointy haired people's involvement. No matter what, you are NOT RESPONSIBLE OVER THIS PROJECT ( you just simply happened to notice it doing a kamikaze dive). YOU ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE.

Act now or face becoming the victim ( or more appropriatly, roadkill).

_____________________________
when someone asks for your username and password, and much *clickely clickely* is happening in the background, know enough that you should be worried.

 

[Zoom1234]

Thanks a bunch for ur comments guys..

CajunCenturion
"(they couldnt continue with the project according to the company policy)" - Who is 'they', and what is the company policy.
Here they means the people who actually started the project.
Since they have shifted to the another department, and the project comes under the subject of the department i am currently working in (content development dept), the project shd be handled by someone from content development dept.Since there were no experise at that point of time, it was given to the third party vendor.

What transpired between "my boss gave them the deadline to fix that bugs" and "Eventually i had to take charge of the project"? Take charge from whom? and under what authority?
The deadline was give to the third party vendor by my boss who is handling this project as project manager.The funniest thing is he has also joined recently.
SO when there was no response from third party vendor, i had to take the project for debugging,customisation etc.
understand you went to some of the original developers, but they're not interested because they don't want to? or because of some direct involvement after third party involvement? If it's the latter, what's behind that? Is that a company policy? Liability issue?

I am sure its a liablity issue.

What is the relationship between the client and your company? Can you meet directly with the client? Who is responsible for the financial relationship between the client and you, as related specifically to this project?

The company has handled few projects (2) of this client, but the experience with client is not that good.
I cannot directly talk to the client.The communication is thru the project manager ie my boss.

Have you talked to your boss about the situation?
Not about the fact that its not possible in given time period.I guess i need to talk to him on that

 

[MakeItSo]

Hi Zoom,

really sounds as if you (and your boss) have been simply passed the buck.
So my boss gave them the deadline to fix that bugs.After that there is no response from them
It's easy to "overlook" some mail, especially when you completely messed sth up, like that 3rd party vendor. I think in this case you need confrontation I don't tell you to just go there and blame the vendor. But you need face-to-face communication with those involved in order to get as much information on what's been done and what hasn't in an acceptable time frame.
Your client/customer won't give a damn about whose fault it was and why it doesn't work. He'll blame you (your company) and nobody else.
Just like you can't go anywhere else than South when you're at the north pole, you cannot go anywhere but into failure with this job. So it's your challenge to either make it a sufferable failure or a gigantic one.
Have your boss grab all thos involved by the collar and pulled to a meeting. Perforate them with questions until you have sufficient info to locate and remove at least most the bugs.
Stay positive
MakeItSo

 

[CajunCenturion]

Although MakeItSo may be correct, I would not be quite so pessimistic (at least not yet).

First and foremost, you and the project manager, (your boss), have to get together and be in synch and on the same page. This is critical no matter what you do.

I suspect that there are so other factors in play that have not been shared, but given what, and only what, has been presented in this thread, I see a couple of possible avenues, with positives and negatives both ways.

First choice is for you and your boss to meet with the client, lay your cards on the table as to where the project is, explain what you know is wrong, acknowledge that your company has made mistakes in the past, but there's a new sheriff in town (and a new deputy) and we need to work together to put this project back on track. Mutually agree on where you want to go, on the functional requirements, work up a new schedule, and then get on with it. This is an approach that I would give serious consideration to. But note, you can only do this once. I also have no knowledge of the financial aspects of the project and how they will play out in this approach.

A second approach would be to get the 3rd party vendor, and the previous developers together and piece together where you are, how you got there, and where you need to be. I don't think you'll have much luck with this approach as it will most likely turn into a defensive finger pointing and he said/she said session. However, you might be able to get everyone to cooperate and get the information that you need.

The relationship with this client may not be so good, but without knowing how and why the relationship got that way, it is not something that decisions should be based on. Based on the history of this project, I don't blame the client for being upset. However, there are some clients that no matter what you do will also be upset. If that is the case, (but there is insufficient data to support that claim), then a third options does come into play and that is to cut your losses.

Something else to consider. You stated a previous thread around the circumstances of your hiring. Is this the same company? If so, then how they handle this situation, in conjunection with the hiring circumstances, might raise of serious questions of a long-term relationship with this company.that,

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

 

[Zoom1234]

CajunCenturion

Something else to consider. You stated a previous thread around the circumstances of your hiring. Is this the same company? If so, then how they handle this situation, in conjunection with the hiring circumstances, might raise of serious questions of a long-term relationship with this company.that,

Absolutely, its the same company i am talking about.

All
The latest update of this issue,
I have talked about the non possibility of the project debugging/customisation within the given time frame.
My boss agreed to it, and have succeded in getting approval from the senior persons from our company to redo the project, keeping the stuff thats working now as it is.
The estimation of the same (period,efforts etc ) will be given in short period of time.
We have yet to approach the client and telling them the scenario so far(it may not be as blunt as it actually is).
So it all depends on client response whether its ok with them.

You guys are great!! lots of helpfull tips and guidance.

Thanks to all of you.

 

[MakeItSo]

This sounds fantastic - despite my alarming around.
All the best wishes,
Andy
[blue]
The way to success: expect the maximum of yourself and nothing from others - Confucius[/blue]

 

[CajunCenturion]

That is good news indeed. Hang in there and show em what you've got.

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

 

[smedvid]

I would highly recommend getting a handle on documentation for the project. This would include all business requirements which are used to define the clients expectations upon delivery and acceptance of the product.

And, even get sign-off on these requirements so everyone is in full agreement of what will be delivered.

Next, consider developing defined test cases (test plan) that provide coverage of all critical functions within the system. This can instill confidence in the client that you are taking the necessary steps to insure that the product is well designed and tested before delivery.

Is there a SDLC Methodology at this company that already has documentation standards in place for development, client acceptance, QA/Testing, deployment steps, technical support, service level agreements, etc... If not, you should consider having them.

htwh,

Steve Medvid
"IT Consultant & Web Master"

http://www.saveourfarm.com

Chester County, PA Residents
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