A Day Off

It was a very long day at work yesterday. Fourteen hours. And so many things were happening, it's hard to remember it all in any kind of logical sequence.

The important accomplishment was, of course, the software shipped. So to speak. It was an in-house shipment, which means it was put out on the network for the "customer" to download and use.

It's hardly worth the effort, though. There are so many things wrong with it. It all needs to be completely re-written. And there was a bug found at the very last minute, which means there wasn't sufficient time to test it before delivery.

But meeting schedule (and budget) is the all-important goal here. Quality is right out the window.

At meetings, they never mention how the product is doing in regards to meeting its technical requirements. It is always questioned whether it will ship on time, and how much money (or time) has been used in getting it done.

At the beginning of a project, long before anyone knows anything about the challenges and problems that will be forthcoming, they (the customers, the managers, etc.) demand to know estimates of budget and time required. Any intelligent or experienced person would balk at such idiocy, especially when designing a project of such complexity, with new and untried technology. But it is required.

So we make our estimates, and then our managers say, It's too much. So they trim it by anywhere from 20 to 50 percent.

And then they wonder why we can't get the Quality built in??

It doesn't help when the Customer keeps changing the requirements. Or doesn't even provide us with clear requirements to begin with.

That's why I like small projects, little embedded systems that do just a few things, and do them well. Little projects that one person can understand in detail. Where I can say with complete confidence that it will take six weeks to design and test.

This current project began five years ago. Can you imagine the difficulty of planning the schedule and a budget for a program that will last five years? With technical milestones along the way?

I can't even plan a night out with any confidence of schedule or budget!

But now there is a day to rest, to think, to play guitar, to enjoy my family again, before jumping back into the fray again on Wednesday.

Jammin'.