IBM Mainframe Assembler List <[email protected]> wrote on 07/23/2014 11:38:50 AM:
> I would contend that in a large shop (hundreds of programmers) with > geographically and time-zone dispersed development teams and ever- > tightening project schedules, a central tools team and tool support > system is needed. Otherwise there is no synergy towards the > ultimate business goal of delivering quality products that clients > want to use, on time and with zero defects. > Peter Well said Peter. But the unfortunate and incinvenient truth is that a number of factors tend to subvert the ideal which you outline above. One such factor is internal politics. I worked for over a decade in a very small development/support group for a small but mission critical area. All technical persons were former system programmers and/or developers of system level software for vendors on multiple hardware and software. The majority of the code we had responsibility for was assembler, except the online CICS Cobol. We did not have the visibility within the corporation to effect change outside our area. We could report issues w/tools, including macros, but could not drive the changes needed. Our usual response was to copy the source of the tool and make fixes and enhancements to the copy. Sometimes the tool was repaired, sometime not. When the fixes were made, we tended not to use the fixed tool, but our copy. Ironically, as I was transitioning out of the group, tech support approached us to help study and repair some systematic issues with application jobs. Which showed we had visibility and confidence where we had been able to create it. If management does not have the vision, those managed will tend to act blindly. So it goes. <> Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction. - John F. Kennedy Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride. - Bette Davis (as character Margo Channing) _All About Eve_1950 Furious activity is no substitute for understanding. - H. H. Williams Our greatest danger in life is in permitting the urgent things to crowd out the important. - Charles E. Hummel Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur. ----------------------------------------- The information contained in this communication (including any attachments hereto) is confidential and is intended solely for the personal and confidential use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient or an agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this communication in error and that any review, dissemination, copying, or unauthorized use of this information, or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail, and delete the original message. Thank you
