I was recently hired because of my technical knowledge in software development. One of the office techs was showing me the basics when we were interrupted by a manager.
Manager “Sorry to interrupt the training, [Tech], but I was wondering if I could add another feature to the project?”
Tech “Heavy sigh* “What do you want to add?”
Manager: “Well, I heard about these things called pee… dee… effs.”
Pause
Tech: “PDFs, it’s a file format.”
Manager : “I heard they’re really good. So, I was wondering, when a user uploads a document to their account on the software, can the software convert it to a PDF?”
Tech: “Hmm… that’s a lot of work, but I think we can make it work. We might need an extra week.”
Manager: “You got it!”
The manager walked away happy.
Me: *To the tech* “Uh, I know I’m new here and I don’t know everything yet, but you just showed me the upload feature, and it converts to PDF automatically?”
Tech: “Yup. If he read the weekly reports that we send — which he should be doing as the project manager — then he should already know that.”
Me: “Then that extra week…?”
Tech: “Non-technical project managers never give us enough time for testing. I just bought us an extra week. In fact, there might be some ‘unforeseen technical issues’ as we try to add that feature, so we’ll need two.”
Me: “And this… this is allowed?”
Tech: “Allowed? It’s a d*** necessity! Project managers know nothing! Nothing. I’m training you, so let that be the most important lesson for today.”
I was dubious at first, but sadly, he was right. Over the next year, that project manager kept asking for things that showed how little he knew about computing and software. When he was asking me if I could make an intensive process go quicker, he said:
Manager: “I heard that cloud computers might make things go quicker. Shall I order a cloud computer?”
