RE: Performance Review -- MIDRANGE-L

Dan,
I would lean toward the T.S. house in your example but I don't see the house
as a good analogy.  In our shop we typically aren't going back to "build
additions" on our programs, it's more like building new ones.  Of course
there are occasions where the best route is to add functionality to an
existing program but that's not the norm for us.  We recently acquired
another company that is still running V2R3 and almost everything is written
in RPG II code, direct file processing, record identifiers, etc.  Will we
convert these to RPG III or IV? If we need to get into them for maintenance
we will (in most cases!).  This company has one director/programmer/operator
that has been with the company for 37 years!  Has he had or made the chance
to keep up with technology changes on the AS/400?  Maybe, maybe not, but the
bottom line is that that's what we bought.  They are a low profit margin
type of manufacturer so we are not going to spend a ton of money rewriting
or retrofitting things that aren't broken.  If we start doing that then we
own them because he hasn't heard of much less seen a lot of the op codes and
techniques that we employ on a regular basis.  I guess all I'm trying to get
across is that in my shop, a blanket statement doesn't work.

Ed Chabot
The Marlin Firearms Company
100 Kenna Drive
North Haven, CT 06473
(203)985-3254

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-midrange-l@midrange.com
[mailto:owner-midrange-l@midrange.com]On Behalf Of D.BALE@handleman.com
Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2001 5:14 PM
To: MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
Subject: RE: Performance Review


Jeez, I've spent so much time on the list mail today (thanks Joe, Leif,
Brad,
and others...)

I understand what you've said, Ed.  But let me ask you this.  Given the
choice
of having a T.S. house that allows you to, say for example, remodel, build
additions, etc., much less expensively than a non-T.S. house, and the T.S.
house costs only marginally more than the non-T.S. house, and you know
you're
going to be in that house for a long time and, so, you're fairly certain
that
"upgrades" to the house are in your future, wouldn't most people choose to
spend a little more up front?  I know I would.

If you chose the non-T.S. house, are you going to go back to the
architect/builder three years from now and ask why it takes so long and so
much money to build an addition?  And when the architect/builder answers
that
it was your choice three years ago that caused the addition now to be late
and
expensive, are you going feign ignorance and tell him to do it quickly and
less expensively than you're telling him it will require.  And you tell him
the risks, and you know the answer, and the cycle repeats itself.

Been there, done that, left for a better job.

Dan Bale
IT - AS/400
Handleman Company
248-362-4400  Ext. 4952
D.Bale@Handleman.com
  Quiquid latine dictum sit altum viditur.
  (Whatever is said in Latin seems profound.)

-------------------------- Original Message --------------------------
I think you overlooked part of my response...If both the technically slick
program/system and the not-so-technically slick program/system function
correctly, then I would want the cheaper of the two.  I feel the same about
houses and bridges.

Ed Chabot
The Marlin Firearms Company
100 Kenna Drive
North Haven, CT 06473
(203)985-3254

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-midrange-l@midrange.com
[mailto:owner-midrange-l@midrange.com]On Behalf Of NSmith@lincare.com
Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2001 1:29 PM
To: MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
Subject: RE: Performance Review


I know the points you are making are true, Ed, but it's not what us geeks
want to hear.  Would you feel the same way about the T.S. solution if it was
an architech designing your house (or even worse, the building in which you
were going to be occupying the 30th floor)?

Doesn't anyone care about quality engineering?  A bunch of un-educated
carpenters from the union hall could slap together a bridge and come in
on-time and under-budget and probably have a good time doing it, but I sure
wouldn't want to have to drive on it every day.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ed Chabot [SMTP:echabot@marlinfirearms.com]
> Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2001 9:32 AM
> To:   MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
> Subject:      RE: Performance Review
>
> Al,
>       I can't tell exactly what you are looking for, if indeed you're
> looking for
> input or if you're just venting after a rough experience with your boss.
> What I can offer is some input, as a manager, as to what I consider
> important criteria.  Please take these thoughts for what they are,
> observations based on my experiences with no details of your work, your
> work
> environment or your boss.
>       Being the best programmer that someone has seen or even being a
> technically
> superior programmer isn't as important to me as a person's ability to get
> along with the rest of the staff, the users and especially anyone in upper
> management that they may interact with.  If the technically superior
> program
> takes 1 1/2 times as long to write, test, debug and roll out than a less
> technically superior(hereafter referred to as T.S.) solution and they both
> do the same thing and are both maintainable then I don't want the T.S.
> one.
> In fact, it costs me money and time (which is sometimes more important
> than
> money!)  I think you are selling yourself short when you put all your
> value
> on the code you write.  In most cases, your boss will be less technical
> than
> you and won't be able to appreciate any "neat" coding techniques.  He or
> she
> will be able to appreciate things like getting the job done close to when
> you say it will be done, not having to go back to a program or system
> after
> it's been implemented, hearing positive things and/or not hearing negative
> things from peers, users, etc, having a positive, upbeat attitude, being a
> team player, etc.
>       Unless you were the one that fought for and convinced upper
> management that
> the AS/400 was the machine to have, I don't think you can take credit for
> the stability of your environment.  All AS/400 shops have that luxury
> (necessity?) and it's not a matter of how well the system is managed.  We
> have a company that has been running a 12 year old AS/400 that is still
> running V2R3.  We are changing that now, but my point is they don't have
> any
> AS/400 problems and they obviously are not managing their environment.
> The
> AS/400 is stable!
>       I may be wrong, but I don't think the only thing you are being
> judged on is
> the quality of your programs.  I hope this perspective helps.
>
> Ed Chabot
> The Marlin Firearms Company
> 100 Kenna Drive
> North Haven, CT 06473
> (203)985-3254
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