How do you protect your expression from corporate politics?

Question

I can’t tell you how many times I have come across situations where a higher level says "Look, just do it." Obviously, this is due to the rigidity of the planning process and is likely to affect product quality.

At the moment, I have more experience with this, and with this I am sure that we will maintain the quality of the applications that we produce here.

How would you deal with this problem?

Are there any of the managers who used this just do it for the programmer? Why?

Answer 1

The most likely reason that you said “just make it” an advantage is information asymmetry: either of you or both of you know something that the other side does not have. The manager may not tell you that in a large problem diagram this particular problem is rather unimportant or they are just looking for a quick fix, because there is still a lot of pressure from someone to quickly do this or simply did not plan to stick to long enough to take responsibility for effects.

Similarly, they will not be able to fully assess the risks associated with an unfavorable choice, perhaps deliberately making the “wrong” choice, since it helps them achieve their personal goals, etc. Information asymmetry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_asymmetry is a well-known concept in the field of economics, and you can read this topic.

The most probable reason, however, is the impending deadline, the lack of planning and, consequently, the complete lack of time for any maneuvers.

There are many solutions . There are two that worked for me best:

a) improved communication; communicate more often and more effectively. This means that you are listening more, trying to understand whether the problem is a lack of understanding of the risks associated with low quality, insufficient assessment of the quality of software and the adverse effects of quick access to future maintainability (it strikes me that these are often the same people who buy only the most expensive cars of the highest quality and insist on making shortcuts in the creation of software, emphasizing the difference in how personal and non-personal varieties are processed nt).

Or the problem may be that, in fact, fully appreciating the value of the quality of software and understanding the impact of future support for the system (in my personal experience this is less common), they make an informed decision to take a cheaper route.

In fact, communication here means not so much an attempt to actively sell what is on your mind, but to try to absorb as much information as possible from the environment and the manager. Then it will be much easier for you to figure out the next step.

b) Alliances and partnerships. It is impossible to overestimate the value of alliances. Even when your project manager or sponsor does not provide adequate quality support (which is part of their work), the right alliance can significantly improve the situation. Find those who care and unite. This can be a project sponsor who cares when a project manager does not do this, or he can be a project manager when team mates do not. This can be a quality manager, director, developer or business analyst or tester. Bad guys will refuse or leave you alone to do everything right, and then be sure to jump on a boat to collect loans. Look at the politicians when they try to achieve something in the first place, form a coalition. Unfortunately, when you said “just continue with this,” you are already involved in politics, whether you like this smell or not.

Find a person who has a significant share in the success or failure of projects in terms of quality and will make them an ally.

Answer 2

It is very important for me to be able to estimate the time taken to complete tasks. If a manager gives you a crazy task, be able to tell him in a relatively short period of time a realistic expectation of the time that will be required to fulfill his dream. At least in this way, the manager can decide how important it is for him / her to complete his task.

Answer 3

Usually I have a good working relationship with managers. What I usually try to do is give them a compromise: "I could do it, but then ... If I did it instead ...", then I let them make a decision. I once developed a de-normalized database — a completely flat table structure for each type of query — because the boss asked me to. I was 1 month at work, and I knew, because my boss shared the history of the project with me in advance, which probably could not convince him to do it differently. He just hated all kinds of associations. Now that the boss is gone and I have a project in my backlog to rework the original database to add some extensions, and I normalize it as refactoring. Now that I have been here longer, I most likely will not consider the alternatives that I offer in part, because I really left the decision to the one who pays the bills when this person cares.

Answer 4

Whatever you offer your boss, make sure he looks good in Powerpoint. If he looks good in Powerpoint, most likely he (or she) will go for it.

Answer 5

I certify that I document the requirements of this boss, fill out the code and document it, and insert in writing a “sentence” on how to improve the process. I put these sentences in the code comments, in the documentation and in the single page specification that I usually write.

Most of my “just do it” assignments were because the boss wanted X to happen, and couldn't be busy with any planning. So I closed my ass by writing down my objections on all the papers, but kept my job (and my salary), “just by doing it”

I no longer work there, and this company will never be as big or successful in projects as the place where I am now. The lack of a process and the “just do it” mentality are signs of a small company. I dealt with this by moving to a new outfit in order to advance my career.

Answer 6

Take the class “How to Sell” or read “Sale for Dummies”, seriously, but all about how you present the solution, and SELL the idea that you want them to PURCHASE. I had been in sales for some time before being a full-time software engineer, and I really can appreciate the value of what I learned there.

Answer 7

Some of these problems are caused by poor specifications.

However, you also need to consider whether the manager really knows better? (yes, this can happen sometimes!), they may be familiar with some information that you do not have.

Ultimately, if you have to deal with this all the time, you can look for a different position.

Take a look at this book that discusses politics in detail: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Career-Programmer-Guerilla-Tactics-Imperfect/dp/1590596242/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223055601&sr=8 -2