Random Acts of Domestication

Sorry for the lack of posting. I’m sure all four of my readers have missed my compelling description of life in and around Loganville. But its has been one of those weeks.

My workplace is currently in the process of “redefining our development process”, which is a kind way of describing the scramble that happens when many engineering managers try to cover their ass after a cascade of bad things fall upon their heads. So I’ve been writing process documents, describing new source release procedures, and otherwise doing things that are not my job.

Actually, I’ve been down this road many times before. The general process follows a predictable path …

(1) Somebody notices their ass is about to be chewed off. They ask for ways to fix the problem, since covering their backside in lead plating is expensive and gets in the way of normal bodily functions.

(2) Knowing that I trained to design things and am not afraid to give my opinion, said person asks me for recommendations.

(3) I draw up a plan in clear language to describe what sucks, why it sucks, and how to move it back to standard atmospheric pressure.

(4) Said plan is either placed on backburner or ridiculed for being too hard to implement.

(5) Process repeats on a six month cycle.

In some cases, the stuff on the backburner comes in handy. The automated test process I developed sat in mothballs for months until (as I predicted) somebody got their ass chewed off for not testing the product properly. After a small reassignment of cubicle dwellers, the new test manager took my test system and ran with it. Thanks to his work it kicks serious ass and is working well for us.

It’s not a comfortable time at work, but I think this whole “process” thing is helpful. I’m not a big fan of over-management, but we do need a little guidance and procedure to get the job done. It’s just a pain in the ass to work this into our lack of internal structure. I have to work between my boss (no leadership skills, double-talking salesman, only works in panic mode, never consults the proper people when in panic mode), and two engineering managers (one laid back and shielding his folks from the pressure of missed deadlines, the other always trying to fix every short-term problem that comes along).

So today has nothing to do with work. Today is all about random acts of domestication … cleaning the bathroom, removing dust and dirt from the carpets using localized pockets of high-pressure, ripping new CDs into the MP3 collection, folding the backlog of clean laundry.

Today has no process document, no changes to the release procedure. I do not have to create an ISO document to move towels from the dryer to the bathroom closet. And that’s just fine by me.