On Wed, 19 Dec 2007, UNIX admin wrote:

[ ... ]
> When I see something like that, I go through the roof. Probably because I 
> experience it every day, so I've grown extremely sensitive to it.
>
> You wanted to help. The other guy was just trying to put the blame on someone 
> else hoping that the problem would go away.

I agree with you there. I only posted a followup to explain a bit where 
this sort of behaviour comes from.

I'm actually pretty disillusioned about this "analytical troubleshooting" 
stuff. What the advocates thereof miss to state is that _NOT_ everyone can 
be made into a good troubleshooter by virtue of a managemented "process" 
for how to perform troubleshooting - and that really good troubleshooters 
actually employ such techniques without having to force themselves into 
the corset of a "process" either.

But then, if the boss (who makes the training + process mandatory) and the 
salesperson (who wants to cash in on the comission for the training sale) 
agree that it's a good thing, then it will be _made_ into a good thing. At 
all costs [ which won't reflect in this boss' budget ] ...

You've pretty much shown already how good troubleshooting works - ask all 
the time "what else can I find out [ before asserting blame ] ?". That is, 
as I called it earlier, "optional thinking". If one wants to, one can find 
it in the abovementioned process, but I've _never_ seen it mentioned / 
taught as the key deciding element in properly doing it. All that's being
taught is the procedure to follow.

Unfortunately, all the goal-oriented and process-focussed behaviour at 
work often discourages or sometimes even punishes optional thinking and 
inquisitiveness. If all the worker has is a direction "don't spend more 
than <X> minutes on it - get it off your desk and this is how", and that 
worker is a procedural person, they will just execute. Get it off their 
desk, no matter what.
If your boss gives you pushback for having spent too much time "analyzing" 
instead of "helping the customer", do you have the stamina to tell him off 
[ and get your coat & leave ] ?

You're right that long-term average, doing technically bad work will have 
negative effects. But then, who, these days, works to a ten-year vision ?

(Merry christmas, in any case !)
FrankH.
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