January 25, 2011 at 9:19 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item What Not To Say
January 25, 2011 at 9:27 pm
The sad part about this, "It works on my machine", is that I have seen. I have also the where the code changes work perfectly in development and during UA, but fail miserably in production.
January 25, 2011 at 11:57 pm
I must admit I have done
Company X has offered me $yyyyy. Will you match it?
before :blush:
It didn't work.
Unfortunately, yesterday I had to do a slight variation of the following one (from the original article):
1. "Just a heads-up ... I won't be able to finish the project that's due tomorrow."
It was in another context:
I received a phone call from my manager that it is possible that I start on a new (very important) project next Monday.
However, I'm currently working on another (not so important) project. So the project leader of that project has just lost his developer...
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January 26, 2011 at 12:10 am
Lynn Pettis (1/25/2011)
The sad part about this, "It works on my machine", is that I have seen. I have also the where the code changes work perfectly in development and during UA, but fail miserably in production.
I fail to see the problem with "It works on my machine". It could be an indication that the problem lies elsewhere outside your control and that maybe other ppl should look into the problem as well. Hell could be something as trivial as the antivirus program. From personal experiance Panda for instance doesnt work well with certain development tools in some cases (had to replace it with Avast).
/T
January 26, 2011 at 12:24 am
Lynn Pettis (1/25/2011)
... I have also the where the code changes work perfectly in development and during UA, but fail miserably in production.
IMHO, this would be indicative of not having an suitable dev/UA test environment. Especially the UA.
Wayne
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
Author - SQL Server T-SQL Recipes
January 26, 2011 at 12:28 am
I only mostly agree with #8 in the referenced article. Sometimes the issues that are causing you to look are out of the bosses control - or the issues are the boss.
Wayne
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
Author - SQL Server T-SQL Recipes
January 26, 2011 at 1:57 am
tommyh (1/26/2011)
Lynn Pettis (1/25/2011)
The sad part about this, "It works on my machine", is that I have seen. I have also the where the code changes work perfectly in development and during UA, but fail miserably in production.I fail to see the problem with "It works on my machine". It could be an indication that the problem lies elsewhere outside your control and that maybe other ppl should look into the problem as well. Hell could be something as trivial as the antivirus program. From personal experiance Panda for instance doesnt work well with certain development tools in some cases (had to replace it with Avast).
/T
Uh, no. I saw this all the time at my last company, and most often it was because the developers were running their own custom builds outside of the standard version (usually one or two versions from the base, customer released build).
The most frustrating thing was that they were given test systems with baseline builds that they had full access to, and still they insisted on running on their own PCs. I always felt like giving the response suggested in the article: "I don't give a F**K! Use the baseline build and hook your debuggers in there."
January 26, 2011 at 2:11 am
2. "That's not in my job description."
In my last post every job description was a set format and had as the last item "10 - Any other duties as required" which covers the second item in the original post. When something out of the ordinary was needed we'd just shrug, resigned to the fact we'd have to do it, roll the eyes and say "Clause 10". It certainly sorts out the jobsworths.
The current job has a similar catch-all and I would expect it in any properly written job description.
January 26, 2011 at 2:26 am
It is not too late to...
Only in a very few miniscule cases where I heard this start it was way too late to turn the ship (project) around and get it back on track.
It normally indicates that the person saying it wasn't any of the below
a) listening to the original proposition
b) planned not according to the original proposition
c) has no clue about the original proposition
d) suddenly feels the heat about getting it done
January 26, 2011 at 2:53 am
tommyh (1/26/2011)
Lynn Pettis (1/25/2011)
The sad part about this, "It works on my machine", is that I have seen. I have also the where the code changes work perfectly in development and during UA, but fail miserably in production.I fail to see the problem with "It works on my machine". It could be an indication that the problem lies elsewhere outside your control and that maybe other ppl should look into the problem as well. Hell could be something as trivial as the antivirus program. From personal experiance Panda for instance doesnt work well with certain development tools in some cases (had to replace it with Avast).
/T
I agree with you. I use this one all the time too. When someone tells me they are having a problem signing into a system, and I can sign in, it leads me to believe the system is working but the user might have forgotten their password or some other issue. If they say their Excel report isn't launching but it launches on my machine, I assume that the report is working and they might have a problem on their machine with Excel or the operating system.
January 26, 2011 at 3:53 am
"So that's what you wanted? Whoops!"
The explanation given for that doesn't ring true. What usually happens to cause that comment, in my experience, is that the specifications were extremely clear...they were just wrong, or the requirements changed partway through and your boss neglected to tell you. Conversely, if the specification IS unclear and you ask for clarification, I've known several bosses who would use that as a springboard for some sort of sarcastic comment along the lines of, "You want me to do the rest of your job for you as well?".
Communication is a two-way street, and this article is looking at it exclusively from one side...
January 26, 2011 at 4:19 am
I wonder if this article could be followed up with "Eight things your boss shouldn't be heard to say".
Semper in excretia, suus solum profundum variat
January 26, 2011 at 5:20 am
WayneS (1/26/2011)
Lynn Pettis (1/25/2011)
... I have also the where the code changes work perfectly in development and during UA, but fail miserably in production.IMHO, this would be indicative of not having an suitable dev/UA test environment. Especially the UA.
Actually, in this case it was the application itself. It was in actually a "Single User system in a Multi-user Environment". The code I wrote worked great in our development environment, passed the testing with the user, but when moved to production was yanked after 3 weeks of struggling to make it work there failed.
January 26, 2011 at 5:45 am
Hey, whoa! If you take away the phrase "It works on my machine" you've just eliminated 2/3 of any conversation I have with developers. What are they supposed to say now?
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
January 26, 2011 at 5:47 am
paul.knibbs (1/26/2011)
"So that's what you wanted? Whoops!"The explanation given for that doesn't ring true. What usually happens to cause that comment, in my experience, is that the specifications were extremely clear...they were just wrong, or the requirements changed partway through and your boss neglected to tell you. Conversely, if the specification IS unclear and you ask for clarification, I've known several bosses who would use that as a springboard for some sort of sarcastic comment along the lines of, "You want me to do the rest of your job for you as well?".
I've seen the first one far too often recently. Not fun.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
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