The same numbers. (meeting clients' goals)(The Last Boy Scout)

One of my first assignments as a programmer was to construct a data entry system to be used to enter customer charges. If the system were constructed according to the specifications from the clients, the result would have been a number of charges not entered and therefore not billed. I tried to talk the project leader into taking this issue up with the clients, pointing out if we did not change the system it would bleed revenue. His reply was "That is what the user wanted, and my paycheck has the same numbers whether it works or not."

The project leader's reply demonstrates some of the undesirable side effects of the division of labor. Along with a separation of tasks comes a division of responsibility and the potential loss of accountability. The project leader chose the path of least resistance, which was to build the system according to the clients' specifications even though it resulted in a system that would lose revenue. From where we stand, this appears to be absurd and in fact it is absurd.

Why build a system that will not bill all the charges? This will cause the company to lose revenue, and the company needs to generate revenue and convert it into cash if it is to pay us.

However, the project leader did not see the company as a whole. He saw the company from his vantage point of just an employee with a job to do. To him, revenue billed charges and cash flow were just numbers on a printout. He did not see how those numbers affected the numbers on his paycheck. Not that he was totally unconcerned about the outcome of his projects. He was concerned, but only in a myopic way. When he perceived that the project was going to be a costly fiasco, he systematically gathered up copies of all the correspondence regarding the failed system, in order to prove it was not his fault.

The project leader is not the sole demon in this scenario. From looking at some of the practices and polices of the company, one would think it was comprised of ...