I think I need to go over my bosses head. 2

[officeroamer]

I was hired last year rewrite the companies 7 year old software. The company produces custom (built to each patient) product. I know they have systems in a few countries and have a great international business.

When I was hired my primary goal was to tear apart the old software and learn the algorithms that it used.

Once I learned the algorithms I worked with the different departments to see how they used the system and what updates that were needed.

In February we got a blade system in and I started testing the new software I wrote with the new scanners that they developed.

In April they upgraded some of there larger clients to the new scanners and saw a 30% increase in sales, fewer software issues, fewer “fit” issues, and the customer service representatives love working with the software.

In June the company got in 800 scanners and fast tracked upgrading there current clients. 400 of the units were going to be saved to try to move us into a different market, but they upgraded around 750 clients.

At the end of June the new system started lagging and we added a third blade into the cluster. At this point the system was handing about 40% more orders than it was planed to handle at that time.

In the next few weeks the will receive a shipment of 500 units of hardware that they plan on using to upgrade most of there international clients. From what the rummer is they have 2,500 more units on order and they will be coming in over the next 6 months.

It's rather obvious to me that the SQL back bone will not be able to handle the expected loads in the next 3 months. The IT manager has spent most of his budget on the new scanners and trying to phase out the old ones so he can get ride of the old system. I tried talking to him about the SQL servers and the amount of data they can handle, but he says they can handle the load.

At what point is it right to go over my bosses head?
Who do you go to (owner, president, or someone else)?
I know I'm not the smartest with SQL is there a way to get an idea on how much more the servers can handle?

 

[goombawaho]

I think I need to go over my bosses head

Always a bad idea - very simple. Unless there is something criminal going on and then only maybe.

Just document your concerns to your boss about the SQL servers via email and then you have covered your rear. Plus, it's not even your responsibility (the SQL servers). A huge mistake is brewing in your brain. Abort, abort.

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> At what point is it right to go over my bosses head?
Outside of criminal behavior and/or imminent bodily harm to someone, rarely, if ever.

That being said, I'm not sure that a problem exits. It may seem rather obvious to you, but the IT managers thinks otherwise. Let's be honest, the IT manager may well know more about the situation than you do. There may be server upgrades in the pipeline that you're not aware of. In any case, let's play it out. You go over your boss's head to the higher boss and express your concerns. What's (s)he going to do? (S)He's probably going to ask the IT manager if there is a concern. The IT manager will say that no, there's not a concern. And there may not be. So it comes down to your word against the IT manager's word. Whose word do you think the higher boss will more likely accept? Afterwards, who is pissed at whom? Who will be thought as having wasted no only the IT manager's time, but also a higher boss's time to deal with a problem that doesn't exist?

Don't go there.

Document your concerns in writing with your supervisor. That's your job. Do your job. Let other people do their jobs.

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[Noway2]

I agree with the above, document, report, do your job and shut up. If and when things do hit the fan, politely offer to help as best you can. Keep copies of your reports showing that you raised the issue as CYA and be prepared to pull them out if need be. Until that day comes, make like a duck.

 

[carp]

Agree with all of the above, with emphasis on "if need be". If/when things go south, don't whip out your documentation and say "I told you so!". Just keep it handy in case somebody tries to throw you under the bus. Think "Defense". If somebody higher than your supervisor asks for your assessment, give it. Otherwise, document/save/follow your boss' lead.

 

[flapeyre]

Document (via e-mail, if possible), and archive, archive, archive.

Don't be confrontational, and avoid saying "I told you so" if things go south. All that will do is create more resentment. And who knows, it might work after all. Tread lightly.

-- Francis
There are laws to protect the freedom of the press's speech, but none that are worth anything to protect the people from the press.
--Mark Twain

 

[officeroamer]

I don't truly work under my boss the IT manager. I do get paid out of his budget, attend the IT meetings, I do have a desk in the IT department, but the 8 work assignments I have gotten in the 17 months I have worked there have come from the owners or the presidents secretaries.

During the first few weeks of work I found that the IT manager did not like that they hired me. He will only sing off on my requests for stuff only if he feels it is essential for me to do my job. I was given a laptop, book bag, a book rack, and a notebook. The rest of his staff have every thing they want. I still have the stack-able lunch room chair at my desk when everyone else in the IT offices get to chose what brand and make the want. When I wanted a test server so I could start testing the software I was writing I was told to go dig through the shelves of spare parts and put something together.

Any time I need or want anything I go to the presidents secretary.


Today at 12:32 one of the 2 nodes for the lab went down and they had to stop production on of the lines till around 1:45. They dumped everything from the system that was more than 7 days old if it had shipped or not. Around 2:00 I started searching the primary database for orders that had been active but not shipped and restored the info to there server before I left for the day.

I was talking to one team leaders after I had restored the info to the server. She had over 450 stop orders from the server shut down and half her employes were doing non production work. She was planning on staying till she got the orders sorted and about half of them were going to end up in the trash. Tomorrow around 9:00 she wants me to give her a list of all her active orders with the time, date, and who worked on the orders last.

Before I left I did get a e-mail that was sent out to the IT department form the president about a meeting he set up for the morning.


I do think you'll are right that it's not my place to bring up my feelings about the the stability of the SQL servers.

 

[goombawaho]

I hear that you're itching about the situation, but put some calamine lotion on the itch and lie low. If you don't take that advice, I'm ready to say "I told you so". Never have so many replies in this forum been so close.

^^Even though you might not work directly for him and he's not enthused you're there. If one of the higher ups asks you your opinion, you can say you are concerned, but don't throw the IT Manager under the bus. Make things clear, but not shooting at him with poison darts.

 

[officeroamer]

This morning at the meeting the president asked a bunch of questions about a few of the servers and the amount of down time they have had over the last 2 months. I sat there quietly as I was working on the lab server.

When I was directly asked my response was “I think that all the SQL systems need to be consolidated with new hardware”. The tech that dose most of the SQL stuff agreed with the new hardware, but was unsure if the current network between the lab and the server room in the main building would handle the traffic without running a new fiber line.

I did push for a time line to be made for the replacement of all the old scanner units and the plans to launch of the scanners into the new market. I did show that we were getting 27% more orders since they lunched the new scanners and once all the scanners have been upgraded the increase will be 38 to 42% biased on the current trends.

They want me to work with the SQL tech to look into a new SQL hardware solution, but I’m lost on SQL hardware before I even start looking.

At the end of the meeting the owner asked the IT manager to turn in his notes, keys, and passwords. One of the HR ladies moved to his desk and is going to work with us until they find a replacement and get them up to speed. The IT manager was moved into an empty office to work on his notation of the systems.


Over all I spent 5 hours in the IT conference room today. We drafted the time line for the scanner update, mapped the current network on a 18' long wall using permanent markers, found 3 newer servers that were running and not being used, found a temporary solution to stabilize the lab servers, and came up with a plan for working Saturday to mover some servers around.

After years working for IT managers let me tell you how different it is working directly under someone that is trained as a HR manager.

 

[flapeyre]

At the end of the meeting the owner asked the IT manager to turn in his notes, keys, and passwords. One of the HR ladies moved to his desk and is going to work with us until they find a replacement and get them up to speed. The IT manager was moved into an empty office to work on his notation of the systems.

Glad it worked out. Good thing the higher-ups saw the obvious. Good luck with your hardware/software issues.

There is only so much software tuning you can do; at some point the hardware becomes the chokepoint.

-- Francis
There are laws to protect the freedom of the press's speech, but none that are worth anything to protect the people from the press.
--Mark Twain

 

[goombawaho]

Nobody ever said you weren't RIGHT. It was just a matter of how you express you are right (and your manager wrong) and who you tell it to. It worked out perfectly.

Now just hope he doesn't come back and shoot the office up. Times are tough, people are on edge.