Re:How complex systems fail (2002) [pdf]
by Jtsummers on Sunday August 13, 2017 @02:29PM
(#15004187)
jdjebc82747's dead comment:
>"get it done" meanwhile holding them accountable for any mistakes.
Sorry, is there an area of business that is not like this?
It's not that other areas of business aren't like this, it's that management creates an environment where mistakes are more likely (and in some cases almost certain) to happen, and then penalizes people when they happen.
An example: Bosses refuse to provide funding for materials and time to automate the test framework (embedded systems). So testing is done mostly manually, this consumes a great deal of time or tests don't get conducted due to the lack of time or capability (I can't flip a switch 10 times in a second, or at a particular and precise time). So either we don't have enough time to take the test feedback and correct the system, or we never get the test feedback (because some tests aren't done) in order to correct the system. Errors are virtually guaranteed to slip into production if you're operating on either short schedules or complex systems under these circumstances.
Management expects perfect results, but ties the engineers hands too much so that they aren't able to execute effectively, and then blames (and often dismisses) the engineers as a result.
It's not that other areas of business aren't like this, it's that management creates an environment where mistakes are more likely (and in some cases almost certain) to happen, and then penalizes people when they happen.
An example: Bosses refuse to provide funding for materials and time to automate the test framework (embedded systems). So testing is done mostly manually, this consumes a great deal of time or tests don't get conducted due to the lack of time or capability (I can't flip a switch 10 times in a second, or at a particular and precise time). So either we don't have enough time to take the test feedback and correct the system, or we never get the test feedback (because some tests aren't done) in order to correct the system. Errors are virtually guaranteed to slip into production if you're operating on either short schedules or complex systems under these circumstances.
Management expects perfect results, but ties the engineers hands too much so that they aren't able to execute effectively, and then blames (and often dismisses) the engineers as a result.