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It Takes 6 Days to Change 1 Line of Code

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Re: It Takes 6 Days to Change 1 Line of Code

#141

Post by mkopinsky »

marbletiles wrote: post #104

"It Takes 6 Days to Change A Fundamental Business Practice" sounds a lot more reasonable. Should you be able to extend the backlog of a factory by an entire month just by changing a variable, pushing a build and going for lunch? No.

The problem, imo, is not that it took 6 days of reviews to change a major variable. The problem is that the reviews were entirely immaterial to the actual change taking place. Whether variables are hardcoded, have an audit trail, and use proper naming conventions will have no impact on ACTUALLY mitigating the business risk of making a giant change.

Re: It Takes 6 Days to Change 1 Line of Code

#142

Post by rorrr »

badclient wrote: post #52

This shit happens at my job and leaves me feeling depressed and at times questioning my own skills because I know and my bosses know that on my part, I just had to make a tiny, tiny change. But when you have a dozen such experiences, I feel like something is wrong with me because when the dust settles, this was a one line code change that took me a week to push to production. It also makes my bosses question my estim…

Solution: stop taking requests from people. Tell them to file tickets, and your boss will have to prioritize them.

Re: It Takes 6 Days to Change 1 Line of Code

#143

Post by jrs235 »

mahyarm wrote: post #121
jrs235 wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My place of employment is similar to yours, I've moved myself up the ladder in order to start isolating and enabling my dev team the peace and quiet they need to be most productive. What if, while you code, you think out loud, like really out loud... louder than you would talk in conversation? Perhaps if YOU bothered EVERYONE then maybe they'd put you in a private office? It's worth a try while you are looking for ot…

That kind of passive aggressiveness will make your coworkers hate you and could get you fired because they know you don't have to do that.

But if you are planning to leave, what harm will it really do? When you have pocket aces, bet and play them!

EDIT: Maybe you'll inadvertently help the next guy. Yeah they might not care much for you but maybe, just maybe, something will click and the folks will realize... yeah I guess disturbing him was stupid on our part. If not and they don't get it... who gives a crap about people that don't give a crap about you!?

Re: It Takes 6 Days to Change 1 Line of Code

#144

Post by jimbokun »

badclient wrote: post #118
sdfjkl wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Be a grumpy bastard. Someone taps me on the shoulder, I'm grumpy the first time, I growl the second time and if there is a third time I'll shout at them. Hasn't come to the shouting yet (although one guy got pretty close, but I just glared at him last time he approached and he grasped it). Also, ask if you can work from home since your office environment is bullshit for writing code.

Work from home was turned down pretty quickly though I'm not sure if that would have addressed the root problem. I think the root issue is they need a developer who just does tech support for the other 10 non tech people. And then a developer who can actually build shit quietly. If my whole job was to do tech support all day there would be no problem. Of course it wouldn't be fun and I'd prolly end up leaving, the pr…

"A part of me just wants to send him a link to this thread :)"

That's probably the single best thing you could do for him, if he is serious about wanting to attract (and retain!) good technology people.

Re: It Takes 6 Days to Change 1 Line of Code

#145

Post by eli »

jrs235 wrote: post #143
mahyarm wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That kind of passive aggressiveness will make your coworkers hate you and could get you fired because they know you don't have to do that.

But if you are planning to leave, what harm will it really do? When you have pocket aces, bet and play them! EDIT: Maybe you'll inadvertently help the next guy. Yeah they might not care much for you but maybe, just maybe, something will click and the folks will realize... yeah I guess disturbing him was stupid on our part. If not and they don't get it... who gives a crap about people that don't give a crap about you!…

That's not playing a good hand, that's being a dick simply because you can probably get away with it. Don't be a dick.

Re: It Takes 6 Days to Change 1 Line of Code

#148

Post by theoj »

vacri wrote: post #89
theoj wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This quote is appropriate here: Skilled people without a process will always find a way to get things done. Skill begets process. But process doesn’t beget skill. Following a recipe won’t make you a great chef – it just means you can make a competent bolognese. Great chefs don’t need cookery books. They know their medium and their ingredients so well that they can find excellent combinations as they go. The recipe be…

Er... great chefs do need cookery books. They may not refer to them as often, but you won't find many chefs out there without a collection of cookery books. They still use recipes for things they're not familiar with. Besides, skill may beget product , but it doesn't necessarily beget process .

>> Besides, skill may beget product, but it doesn't necessarily beget process.

Oh boy, talk about not seeing the forest for the trees. For skill to beget a successful product, you must follow a process to get from nothing to product. So in the course of creating a successful product you have automatically created a process -- the process to build the product. That process may be used one time, or multiple times -- but it's still a process.

Re: It Takes 6 Days to Change 1 Line of Code

#149

Post by lotharbot »

Dove wrote: post #50

That "legacy code must be brought up to current standards whenever it's touched" policy doesn't seem very wise. I'm all for practical refactoring, but it's a major decision to be treated with care when it comes to legacy code. You don't always want to invite it. I certainly wouldn't want to enforce it. I mean, it's one thing when your oldest legacy code is two years old, and it's all one program. It's something else…

This is similar to laws that require buildings be brought entirely up to code any time any renovations are done. The intent is to keep buildings up to code, but one of the nasty side effects is that buildings which are already substandard continue to deteriorate because of the massive expense (in time and effort as well as money) that is required. I've seen half a dozen instances with churches and other nonprofits deciding against simple renovations (like adding a wheelchair ramp) because they didn't want to have to redo the entire building's wiring, widen every doorway, and put in an elevator.

If you require a massive overhaul to be tied to a minor fix, one likely outcome is that the minor fix simply doesn't get done.

Re: It Takes 6 Days to Change 1 Line of Code

#150

Post by DannoHung »

badclient wrote: post #82
ajross wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This doesn't sound like a process problem at all, actually. Really it's the reverse: your work environment is a mess, no one has the ability to do their own job except to bug you to do things they need. And that's a disaster too, but it would be helped by adding process, not hurt. Also, dude: learn to say no. Learn to prioritize for yourself instead of expecting your slag pile of a management structure to do it for y…

And if your workplace environment really doesn't permit that, move on. Doing just that :) It's basically a startup with 10 of us where I am the only in house developer. I've tried many things like asking folks to Skype me instead of walking over to my desk or calling my name. I've gone to great lengths to get em to understand why skyping to get my attention is different than other ways. None of these guidelines reall…

On this subject: Whenever someone chats me in the following manner, I want to kill them. Straight up. Just fucking take an ice pick and jab it right through their skull:

    Other Dude: Hi.
    Me: Hello
A minute elapses

    Other Dude: I'm having a problem
    Me: How can I help
A minute elapses

    Other Dude: ACTUAL PROBLEM THAT THEY NEEDED HELP WITH
    Me: Oh, here is your resolution which took all of 15 seconds to give to you.
WHAT THE FUCK MAN?! WHAT THE FLYING FUCKITY FUCK?! YOU JUST BROKE MY FLOW AND STOLE 2 GOD DAMNED MINUTES! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! IT'S FUCKING IM, YOU'RE NOT GOD DAMNED STANDING NEXT TO ME! AND WHY THE HELL DOES IT TAKE YOU A MINUTE TO TYPE EACH THING ANYWAY?! DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO TOUCH TYPE?!

I mean, CHRIST, if this happened once in a blue moon, fine, whatever, but it seems like EVERY motherfucker uses IM the same way. EAT DICKS.

...

I might have went a little overboard on this.

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