Re:My Angry Letter to My Ex-Employer
by cookiecaper on Friday September 25, 2009 @02:29AM
(#843028)
Heh, like they have memos or anything more than a verbal communication and private notes in that company. I could have referenced commit hashes, but decided that legally it'd be more prudent not to.
I did consider the succinct route but decided against it. Yes, I understand that makes it less likely that management will read it all or that it would come off whiny, but I think it shows more involvement and seriousness.
The executives already know everything is weeks behind schedule. I wanted to give them an idea why.
Re:My Angry Letter to My Ex-Employer
by cookiecaper on Friday September 25, 2009 @03:54AM
(#843105)
Also, the executives also know I was unhappy with the situation and attempting to make a ruckus, though I'm not sure they understand what parts I was ruckussing about. There is some point behind the exposition, though admittedly much of it is venting.
Other than his only working 10 hours a day (which seems generous of him if true), what could be considered passive-aggressive?
[Edit to add: Even supposing sending the letter was a good idea, it is terribly written, and it is entirely the author's fault that (quoting the last line) "I'll be surprised if anyone except IT reads this far".
Here, let's try this again:
Subject: Why Project X Has Missed Its Deadline
Dear Boss 1 and Boss 2:
Project X is currently 4 weeks past its planned deadline, $87,000 over budget, has 20% of the feature set yet to be implemented, and performance is 30% worse than the legacy system it replaces. These circumstances were preventable.
Functional code was repeatedly discarded during development, resulting in delays and cost overruns. This occurred as late as two days before the predicted shipping date, at which point a rewrite was guaranteed to negative impact the schedule. The technical justification for replacing the functional code did not advance company objectives.
Management of X was apprised at the time that the team was unable to resolve their difference of professional opinion as to whether to keep the functional code or reimplement for aesthetic reasons. Management was apprised that the decision to reimplement would negatively impact timely deliverability of X. Please find attached supporting memos #41 (request from team member to reimplement authentication), #47 (opposition by self to team member's request to reimplement authentication), #49 (decision by manager to reimplement authentication), #51 (warning by self that schedule would be negatively impacted), and #73 (request for authorization of 3 man-months to address slippage).
I am writing you out of professional courtesy. Management is aware of all facts in this memo. I recommend action to avoid further cost overruns to the company in the future; no reply to myself is required.
Respectfully yours,