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Background: I work in IT for an organization that distributes various types of housing assistance. There is only myself and my Boss for 70-100 users, along with equipment in various stages of obsolecence. I will be using some replacement terms to obscure my workplace a bit:
<Main Program>: The main program we use to track clients and housing units. Third party, and customized for our group.
<Rent Changes>: Database of historical changes in client's rent.
<Update Process>: Process that has to be run after a change to update all the databases.
AR: Annual Review process, which all clients must go through every year
The Players:
Me: long-suffering IT tech
NPS: Nun-Punchingly Stupid cow-irker
Comments: Now In Blue!
The Email string I was sadly involved in yesterday, presented uncut except certain name replacements:
NPS:
<Tenant1>’s Annual Review effective 10/1/10 is not listed in <main program>, however it is listed in <part of program>. Can you explain to me why her 10/1/10 has been deleted from <main program>? Another account, <Tenant2’s>, same thing except her AR was not listed in <part of program>.
NPS has a reputation for blaming everything but herself. Here we see her claiming "someone" is deleting her entries, because she couldn't possibly have done things incorrectly.
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Me:
<Tenant1> needs to have a <Update Process> run to update the account.
For <Tenant2>, I see a transaction for 8/8/2011, but nothing within months of 10/1/2010. On checking, those records cannot be deleted by anyone at My Workplace, including Boss and myself. There is no indication that any AR transactions for <Tenant2> were run for the 10/1/2010 date.
Note, I had run the first one in the test environment to confirm this was the issue. Easy-peasy. It also turns out the information she refers to is in databases only the Third Party owner of the program we use can modify.
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NPS:
<Tenant1> <update Process> was updated to the account on 9/17/10 & submitted to PIC on 10/4/10. It is not listed in <Main Program>. Some how it was removed.
Nope, there's a record kept of all updates run on each account. No update is in the DB for that time period.
<Tenant2> <Update Process> was updated to the account on 4/16/11. It was not listed in <Part of Program> & in <Main Program>. Unfortunately, I had to resubmit the file.
Where the #^$! did 4/16 come from? Maybe that would have been good information to pass along the first time, instead of saying it was just like the first record. Gah!
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Me:
Running a <Update Process> on <Tenant1> in the test environment caused the 10/1/10 date to propagate. Try it in the live environment to see if that fixes your issue with her.
Subtle Hint: Run the damn update!
I see an AR with a date of 4/26/11 entered in the <Notes> and <Database>, but no <Update Process> was ever run until 8/8/11. This probably caused the issue of certain sections not getting updated properly. A <update Process> must be run after changes like an AR to fully update the system.
Note, she still didn't get the date right, but put me close enough to find the correct entry. Obvious problem, she didn't update the damn database until 8/8, when she resubmitted the Review, so both probably went through at the same time. Not a problem, but it could have been fixed four months ago by following the process correctly.
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NPS:
I have always been in the live session of <Main Program>. I have never used the test module.
As I stated a <Update Process> was ran. The AR is missing from <Main Program>. I can understand if you don’t or can’t explain these issues.
You...what? I just...*snap*GRAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! DARWIN DEMANDS SACRIFICE!
Epilogue: After a few moments of door-closed me-time to bring the anger levels down, I ended up showing my boss the full email exchange because I was done with her after that last email. Boss just shook his head and said he'd take care of it.
Don't worry, nothing will happen to her. NPS has pulled like things over and over again, and all that happens is she get shuffled to another department when her manager gets tired of dealing with her mistakes and blame-passing. Meanwhile, I have a nice, new, head-shaped dent in my desk.
<Main Program>: The main program we use to track clients and housing units. Third party, and customized for our group.
<Rent Changes>: Database of historical changes in client's rent.
<Update Process>: Process that has to be run after a change to update all the databases.
AR: Annual Review process, which all clients must go through every year
The Players:
Me: long-suffering IT tech
NPS: Nun-Punchingly Stupid cow-irker
Comments: Now In Blue!
The Email string I was sadly involved in yesterday, presented uncut except certain name replacements:
NPS:
<Tenant1>’s Annual Review effective 10/1/10 is not listed in <main program>, however it is listed in <part of program>. Can you explain to me why her 10/1/10 has been deleted from <main program>? Another account, <Tenant2’s>, same thing except her AR was not listed in <part of program>.
NPS has a reputation for blaming everything but herself. Here we see her claiming "someone" is deleting her entries, because she couldn't possibly have done things incorrectly.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Me:
<Tenant1> needs to have a <Update Process> run to update the account.
For <Tenant2>, I see a transaction for 8/8/2011, but nothing within months of 10/1/2010. On checking, those records cannot be deleted by anyone at My Workplace, including Boss and myself. There is no indication that any AR transactions for <Tenant2> were run for the 10/1/2010 date.
Note, I had run the first one in the test environment to confirm this was the issue. Easy-peasy. It also turns out the information she refers to is in databases only the Third Party owner of the program we use can modify.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NPS:
<Tenant1> <update Process> was updated to the account on 9/17/10 & submitted to PIC on 10/4/10. It is not listed in <Main Program>. Some how it was removed.
Nope, there's a record kept of all updates run on each account. No update is in the DB for that time period.
<Tenant2> <Update Process> was updated to the account on 4/16/11. It was not listed in <Part of Program> & in <Main Program>. Unfortunately, I had to resubmit the file.
Where the #^$! did 4/16 come from? Maybe that would have been good information to pass along the first time, instead of saying it was just like the first record. Gah!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Me:
Running a <Update Process> on <Tenant1> in the test environment caused the 10/1/10 date to propagate. Try it in the live environment to see if that fixes your issue with her.
Subtle Hint: Run the damn update!
I see an AR with a date of 4/26/11 entered in the <Notes> and <Database>, but no <Update Process> was ever run until 8/8/11. This probably caused the issue of certain sections not getting updated properly. A <update Process> must be run after changes like an AR to fully update the system.
Note, she still didn't get the date right, but put me close enough to find the correct entry. Obvious problem, she didn't update the damn database until 8/8, when she resubmitted the Review, so both probably went through at the same time. Not a problem, but it could have been fixed four months ago by following the process correctly.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NPS:
I have always been in the live session of <Main Program>. I have never used the test module.
As I stated a <Update Process> was ran. The AR is missing from <Main Program>. I can understand if you don’t or can’t explain these issues.
You...what? I just...*snap*GRAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! DARWIN DEMANDS SACRIFICE!
Epilogue: After a few moments of door-closed me-time to bring the anger levels down, I ended up showing my boss the full email exchange because I was done with her after that last email. Boss just shook his head and said he'd take care of it.
Don't worry, nothing will happen to her. NPS has pulled like things over and over again, and all that happens is she get shuffled to another department when her manager gets tired of dealing with her mistakes and blame-passing. Meanwhile, I have a nice, new, head-shaped dent in my desk.
*gives GK boozings*
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