Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

It has reached the point where I don’t even ask anymore. Working systems is so much important than documentation, that…well, you know.

Situation: Someone has a horrible problem. Someone else has asked them to do something that they simply cannot do. Someone asks me to look at this.

Me: Please show me…any one of the fundamental pieces of documentation that you know you should have to manage a system.

The Bearer of the Impossible Task: Uh, we don’t have that.

Me: Hmm, I think we both know the root of the problem.

The Bearer of the Impossible Task: But you have to understand.

Me: No, I don’t have to understand neglect.

The Bearer of the Impossible Task: But we have lots of problems here.

Me: I can see that, and so can you. Now, what are you going to do?

Consider:

Do you have someone who can disassemble your system, move it to a new location, reassemble it and have it work the first time? If not, you should have something that explains how to do that.

Do you have someone who can show you how every part of your system was tested and how it performed “good enough?” If not, you should have something that explains that.

Do you, not someone on your team, but you, know everyone external to your system who can turn it off? If not, you should…well, no use continuing.