September 4, 2018 at 9:08 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Back Yourself Up
Hakim Ali
www.sqlzen.com
September 5, 2018 at 2:16 am
Nice article Hakim. Thanks. I suspect my wife would cope better without me than my co-workers would!
Really good process documentation takes a huge amount of time and effort. Generally not time the company is willing to pay for. If you do put in the large amount of extra time to carefully document your tasks then you are also in danger of making yourself redundant! I guess that could arguably apply both at work and at home!
Be careful not to make it too easy for them to get rid of you!
September 5, 2018 at 4:34 am
Thank you Hakim. Lots of food for thought in this article. I need to follow up at home as my partner has no idea about our bills and mortgage payments etc. Equally I don't know how the TV or central heating work so I guess we both need to do a bit of knowledge-sharing 🙂
When I start new contracts I try to document everything I learn while I'm there from PC/environment set up to servers, who to talk to, and any bespoke IT processes & systems. This benefits not only the few key staff members who normally have to bring new joiners up to speed, but also me as I am very forgetful and it's good to have these documents and wiki pages to refer to from time to time.
September 5, 2018 at 8:09 am
allinadazework - Wednesday, September 5, 2018 2:16 AMBe careful not to make it too easy for them to get rid of you!
Thanks. On that note, if the only reason, or even a major reason, a company keeps an employee (or a person keeps their spouse) is lack of documentation rather than "wanting" them to stay, then maybe it's time to move on anyway... 🙂
Hakim Ali
www.sqlzen.com
September 5, 2018 at 8:20 am
Very good article. I like the "backup analogy" and thinking of all the various aspects of your life. It's a topic that we often don't broach and we really need to.
I'll add having a Will and Living Will and Power of Attorney all setup are good things too. Think about Aretha Franklin's and Prince's estates and the mess that's going to be since they didn't do those simple things. If you want to go further to ease your passing, have your funeral & burial arrangements discussed/planned/pre-paid. My Dad passed away in June and it has been very hard on my mom just getting the pension and Social Security stuff figured out. (Some nimwit at Social Security killed her off - which cancelled her medical insurance and her social security payments and on and on ... it's been a real mess!)
September 5, 2018 at 8:26 am
hakim.ali - Wednesday, September 5, 2018 8:09 AMallinadazework - Wednesday, September 5, 2018 2:16 AMBe careful not to make it too easy for them to get rid of you!Thanks. On that note, if the only reason, or even a major reason, a company keeps an employee (or a person keeps their spouse) is lack of documentation rather than "wanting" them to stay, then maybe it's time to move on anyway... 🙂
LOL... Good point indeed!
September 5, 2018 at 8:51 am
IowaDave - Wednesday, September 5, 2018 8:20 AM(Some nimwit at Social Security killed her off - which cancelled her medical insurance and her social security payments and on and on ... it's been a real mess!)
Shaking my head in frustration...
Hakim Ali
www.sqlzen.com
September 5, 2018 at 9:21 am
Whenever our DBA team piles into a car for our lunch outing, we (usually) leave behind one or two designated survivors.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
September 5, 2018 at 9:23 am
Eric M Russell - Wednesday, September 5, 2018 9:21 AMdesignated survivors.
Ha! Nice terminology. 🙂
Hakim Ali
www.sqlzen.com
September 5, 2018 at 9:30 am
Excellent points Hakim.
I feel for anyone who has to deal with the bloody minded bureaucracy when dealing with a bereavement. There is a lesson here for all parents and spouses. Without giving them a motive make sure your nearest and dearest know what your wishes are and where the will and financial details are.
Documentation for business processes is an odd case. I got really bored having to tell people to search on Confluence as I had written absolutely everything down.
There is a definite discipline and skill in writing documents to be easy to find. I've said it before but I think there is a definite need for a business role akin to a librarian or museum curator.
September 5, 2018 at 10:55 am
David.Poole - Wednesday, September 5, 2018 9:30 AMExcellent points Hakim.
I feel for anyone who has to deal with the bloody minded bureaucracy when dealing with a bereavement. There is a lesson here for all parents and spouses. Without giving them a motive make sure your nearest and dearest know what your wishes are and where the will and financial details are.Documentation for business processes is an odd case. I got really bored having to tell people to search on Confluence as I had written absolutely everything down.
There is a definite discipline and skill in writing documents to be easy to find. I've said it before but I think there is a definite need for a business role akin to a librarian or museum curator.
Occasionally I will work on projects that are organized and funded enough to employ a designated "business analyst". This is typically a patient individual with good people skills who specializes in both the business and technical aspects of documentation. In an Agile environment this person may also wear the hat of scrum master. It helps if the person developing the documentation is separate from the people developing the applications and processes, because they will ask questions and the final product is more useful externally.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
September 5, 2018 at 3:03 pm
IowaDave - Wednesday, September 5, 2018 8:20 AMMy Dad passed away in June and it has been very hard on my mom just getting the pension and Social Security stuff figured out. (Some nimwit at Social Security killed her off - which cancelled her medical insurance and her social security payments and on and on ... it's been a real mess!)
Sorry to hear about your Dad.
My dad died just a few weeks ago. He and mom did a good job of taking care of all of the paperwork ahead of time, but there's still lots of stuff my mom has to follow-up on. I told her it feels like there's a lot of work to death.
Going back to the article where it said, "make the effort to create great memories with the ones you love. When they look back, maybe the first things that come to mind are those happy memories, which may offer some comfort." That is so, so true. I can testify that they do indeed offer comfort.
September 5, 2018 at 3:11 pm
Marcia J - Wednesday, September 5, 2018 3:03 PMGoing back to the article where it said, "make the effort to create great memories with the ones you love. When they look back, maybe the first things that come to mind are those happy memories, which may offer some comfort." That is so, so true. I can testify that they do indeed offer comfort.
Very sorry for your loss. Thanks for the feedback. I'm suddenly thinking wow, this is not just abstract anymore, this just got real...
Hakim Ali
www.sqlzen.com
September 5, 2018 at 5:26 pm
Marcia J - Wednesday, September 5, 2018 3:03 PMSorry to hear about your Dad.My dad died just a few weeks ago. He and mom did a good job of taking care of all of the paperwork ahead of time, but there's still lots of stuff my mom has to follow-up on. I told her it feels like there's a lot of work to death.
Thank you. My sympathies to you and your mom too. I hope she doesn't have any of the pain my mom has gone through. From an outsider's perspective it's so absurd that it's funny (e.g.- receiving a signature-required letter from Social Security that cost the government $7.65 to mail telling my mom she had to go to a the Social Security office to prove she was alive and then, when she arrived, being told that letter should have never been mailed it was fixed weeks ago over the phone!), but it has cause my mom many sleepless nights and much worry.
September 5, 2018 at 7:25 pm
IowaDave - Wednesday, September 5, 2018 5:26 PMThank you. My sympathies to you and your mom too. I hope she doesn't have any of the pain my mom has gone through. From an outsider's perspective it's so absurd that it's funny (e.g.- receiving a signature-required letter from Social Security that cost the government $7.65 to mail telling my mom she had to go to a the Social Security office to prove she was alive and then, when she arrived, being told that letter should have never been mailed it was fixed weeks ago over the phone!), but it has cause my mom many sleepless nights and much worry.
I'm sorry she's had to go through that. It's hard enough when you lose someone you love without having to put up with bureaucracy.
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