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Sunday, August 12, 2012

Being Right

One of the stereotypes of the computer industry is the person that knows they're right, and doesn't understand when it doesn't matter. I have been this person. I once got into a knock-down-drag-out fight with another engineer over the decision to make an API I had written accept case-sensitive data. He absolutely insisted that it must, even though pretty much any case that would require case-sensitivity would almost certainly mean abusing the system design for nefarious purposes. We argued over email. We argued over the phone. I would be damned if I would give in.

At some point my boss stepped in and told me I had to change it, because this person was one of the most important clients of the API and he didn't want to have strife between our teams. I was furious. I yelled at him. I told him we shouldn't negotiate with terrorists. It didn't make a difference, his decision was final. I made the change, and the other developer proceeded to abuse the system in exactly the ways I had predicted. But he also used it, which was all that mattered to my boss, and in retrospect, was more important for the success of the project than my sense of rightness.

As a manager, I find myself on the other side of the fray, as I negotiate with one of my own developers over doing something "right". The time it takes to do something "right" simply isn't worth the fight I would have to have with product, or analytics, or other members of the tech team. It's not worth the time we would spend debating correctness. (At this point, it's usually ALREADY not worth the time we've spent arguing with each other). It's not worth the testing overhead. It's not going to move the needle on the business.

No matter how much I say, you're right, but it doesn't matter, it doesn't sink in. They don't believe me that I know that they're right, that I agree with their technical analysis but that it's not enough to change my mind. They tell me that they understand that technical decisions are sometimes a series of non-technical tradeoffs, but in this case, why can't I see that this is just the right way to do it?

Here's what I wish my boss had spelled out to me, and what I hope I can explain to my own developers when we run into such conflicts in the future: I know where you are coming from. I have nothing but immense sympathy for the frustration you feel. I know that it seems like a trivial thing, why does that other team feel the need to insist that it would take them too much time to integrate, that they don't want to test it, why does that idiot say that it MUST be case-sensitive? Someday, you will be in my shoes. You will be worn down from fighting for right, and you will be driven to produce the best results with the most consensus and not distract everyone with the overhead of debating every decision. And you'll probably smile and think, well, that dude abused my system but he also drove adoption across the company, and I still resent my boss for not fighting for me, but I understand where she was coming from.

2 comments:

  1. I never bother fighting. I just send an email explaining the possible pitfalls and then do as I'm told. Work always provides enough challenges that it's best not to get too caught up on a single problem. plus, that email I sent effectively lays the blame for future problems on the person who requested it as well as providing documentation as to why and by who the decision was made.

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  2. Oh yeah, I remember you at that time. Woooo, you were ANGRY! But, my my my my my, you have changed! I think you know better now which battles you want to pick.

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