Sure, I can do the work of 30 people in a week... (jargon heavy)

[roxtar]

So, I'm a systems engineer and I mostly do software systems performance testing. I'm not going to say who my customers are, but know that they're the only game in town.

So in September, I get the specs for the next test they want me to run, and a basic schedule. These schedules always slide by a month or so due to various delays in the development process, but that's not the issue right now.

My process is as follows:
get spec, start building environment, get software from developer, finish building environment, test basic functionality, make corrections to environment as needed, code test scripts, develop test scenarios, execute test, analyze data, make performance tweaks, re-execute, analyze results (rinse, repeat), give preliminary results, compile detailed report.

This environment is not simple... I have 16 servers and 3 appliances spanning 4 subnets, and crossing 4 firewalls. I'm currently in the "make corrections" phase, just trying to get the system to function properly.

Well, today, 4 days before i'm supposed to start testing in earnest, I get an update to the spec for the desired test... which is roughly 6x the size of the initial spec.

Things I need to do to meet these crazy demands:
1: update another environment (that is currently being used for something else) and make sure it's working 100%
2: intergrate my current system to work with 3 other subsystems in addition to the 1 it currently works with (never been done before in any stage of the development process)
3: acquire, rack, power, cable, and build 2 more servers for my web tier. (or) allocate SAN space and find hardware space for 2 new "cloud" hosts (still need cabling, but with the added headache of getting the storage space)
4: modify firewall rules for these new servers
5: modify appliances to recognise these new servers
6: acquire licenses for these new servers
7: ensure I have enough licenses for my test software to meet the new user level (6-8x as many users) and requisition the new licenses if we don't have them.

so, I need a team of developers for each of the 3 subsystems they want me to integrate with
I need 2 more engineers to script the integration with the other systems
I need a crew of network engineers to make all the firewall/router/cabling/SAN changes
I need the procurement team to get me licenses for many different products as well as possibly a new physical server (we're talking ~$6k for the server, and ~$50k-$100k for licenses/maintenance contracts)
I need EVERYONE to ignore their processes for change control and approval because going through the process would take too long.

this kind of crap is becoming the norm, not the exception. Is there any wonder why I have 9 weeks of leave saved up? I'd take time off, but frankly, I have too much to do.

Just really pissed they sprung this on me today.

[Akasa]

I'd be pretty pissed too!
(I understood everything you had to say btw.)

[Racket_Man]

I too understood most of what was said (at least in princple)

and this is one of the reasons I got out of the IT field.

[skeptic53]

You need to amend your contracts to include boilerplate verbiage about charging usurious fees for change orders. Talk to anyone in the trades (construction, plumbing, etc); it is what generally keeps them afloat. Same for companies that contract with governments. Any changes and they sock it to them, big time.

Oh, and take the time off, occasionally say "no" just for the hell of it. They may be the only game in town but you may be their best and only hope of getting jobs done right, so you may have more power than you think. Give them 90 days notice and take 9 weeks off. I bet it changes your life for the better.

[PepperElf]

you know... sometimes i think they do this simply because they think "it's just typing", not realizing what REALLY goes into quality software creation

so they think adding on extra requirements just means adding in a line of two more of code and nothing else.

[HeroOfNotBashingSkulls]

I've got a better idea... Why don't you do this;

Wave your magic IT wand and get the elves to come do it for you? Simple, no?

[Captain Trips]

I've got a better idea... Why don't you do this;

Wave your magic IT wand and get the elves to come do it for you? Simple, no?

It's even easier - just press the EASY button! (Gawd, I hate those commercials - and I feel your pain. I work tech support, and our users are just as much an issue as yours.)

[dalesys]

Wave your magic IT wand and get the elves to come do it for you? Simple, no?

Wave it the slightest bit wrong and you get gremlins instead of elves.

[Jay 2K Winger]

Wave it the slightest bit wrong and you get gremlins instead of elves.

It's "leviosah" not "leviosar."

[Dadeo]

you know... sometimes i think they do this simply because they think "it's just typing", not realizing what REALLY goes into quality software creation.

I got the "just typing" comment from BossGuy. I replied with "let me show you what I'm just typing" and started to scroll through -one- include of our program.

And kept scrolling...

and scrolling...

and scrolling...

<2500 lines of code later>

"And that's just one of eighteen includes there, BossGuy."

All he said was "Um... okay..."

[Merriweather]

I got the "just typing" comment from BossGuy. I replied with "let me show you what I'm just typing" and started to scroll through -one- include of our program.

And kept scrolling...

and scrolling...

and scrolling...

<2500 lines of code later>

"And that's just one of eighteen includes there, BossGuy."

All he said was "Um... okay..."

Even so, in my experience, they still think it's only the time involved with the typing and nothing else - no hours (or weeks) of working out the logic and so forth. It's a bit like thinking an author writes a book in the time it would take to sit there and type the book. No resarch, no thinking up plots, just typing.

[RootedPhoenix]

I can attest to how long a book (a novel in my case) takes to write. It helps that I'm not as experienced with storytelling as I am with poetry, but...dude, there is SO much to sift through if you want a plausible and consistent story.

As for the topic at hand, even if you didn't need any research or any planning (lololololol), that'd still take an eon. To program is to specify every single thing and every little event needed. It is exceedingly concise because it has to be; computers don't think for themselves yet.

Computers =/= instant magic.

*hands over cookies*

[KatherineB]

I can attest to how long a book (a novel in my case) takes to write. It helps that I'm not as experienced with storytelling as I am with poetry, but...dude, there is SO much to sift through if you want a plausible and consistent story.

Agreed. My second title has just hit the shelves and it was a good six months in writing, with longer than that in rewrites and edits. I'm having the same issue with my thesis. "Oh, you have a 15,000 word chapter to write? That will only take a weekend, won't it? After all, you said you spent 16 hours a day at your desk. Don't you write fast?" etc. Blagh. I feel like shoving my books down their throats!

[RootedPhoenix]

My goodness. Have these people never written an essay? How frustrating!

[roxtar]

UPDATE!!!
they're backing off from the bulk of the requests... the PM in charge of the project has been reassigned... and I'm feeling much less homocidal!

YAY!