4 ms·

Having been burned more than once, the questions I now ask are: "Do you conduct regular peer reviews of code and documentation?" "Do you have a bug tracking s

by mrlyc 10y ago

Having been burned more than once, the questions I now ask are: "Do you conduct regular peer reviews of code and documentation?" "Do you have a bug tracking system?"

mikestew 10y ago
"Do you have a bug tracking system?" At one time I would argue that this is a fair question to ask. But in 2017? I'm appalled at the experience you must have had to deem this a valid question in an interview today. Today I'd just assume...and according to you, wrongly so. Dare I even ask about whether they use source control?
- civilian 10y ago
  In 2012 I was interviewing at a startup and hanging out at their "office" (aka their apartment) and I was like: "oh hey Project Manager dude, what's that spreadsheet you have open?" "Oh it's our list of bugs". :] When I'm just working with my favorite designer and my favorite tester, and it's just us three, it's a lot of fun to just pass post-it notes around.
  - NikolaNovak 10y ago
    Do NOT take Code management system, or bug tracking systems, for granted. Even if you're on a multi-million / many-year project. Dante missed several circles....
- ryandrake 10y ago
  I took a job once where they: 1. Had no bug tracking 2. Had no source control (the official code was whatever was on one of the engineer's laptops) 3. Had no dedicated build machines (builds were done on that engineer's laptop) 4. Had no release process (build that went out was--you guessed it--copied from that engineer's laptop to a CD) 5. Had no formal QA 6. Had no documentation (either comments in the code, a spec, or a user manual) 7. Had no project management or roadmap planning (the CEO would just drop in and said we should do XYZ, and then a few weeks later "is it done yet?") They thought their software problem was just that they didn't have enough smart engineers. Yea. You have to ask about these basic "hygiene" things.
  - js2 10y ago
    OTOH, if you enjoy being a jack-of-all-trades, look at all the value you can add right out of the gate.
    - ryandrake 10y ago
      Definitely. The job was a terrific learning experience, and I've never had to wear as many hats as I did there. It was excellent experience and I saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime turnaround opportunity. The point is, you need to ask about the basics so you understand what you're getting into.
      - wheresvic1 10y ago
        I think that it's the attitude of the people whom you would be working with which matters the most in this scenario. If they were not open to change and improvement then you would be stuck burning CDs as well!

by mrlyc 10y ago

Having been burned more than once, the questions I now ask are: "Do you conduct regular peer reviews of code and documentation?" "Do you have a bug tracking system?"

mikestew 10y ago

"Do you have a bug tracking system?" At one time I would argue that this is a fair question to ask. But in 2017? I'm appalled at the experience you must have had to deem this a valid question in an interview today. Today I'd just assume...and according to you, wrongly so. Dare I even ask about whether they use source control?

civilian 10y ago
In 2012 I was interviewing at a startup and hanging out at their "office" (aka their apartment) and I was like: "oh hey Project Manager dude, what's that spreadsheet you have open?" "Oh it's our list of bugs". :] When I'm just working with my favorite designer and my favorite tester, and it's just us three, it's a lot of fun to just pass post-it notes around.
- NikolaNovak 10y ago
  Do NOT take Code management system, or bug tracking systems, for granted. Even if you're on a multi-million / many-year project. Dante missed several circles....
ryandrake 10y ago
I took a job once where they: 1. Had no bug tracking 2. Had no source control (the official code was whatever was on one of the engineer's laptops) 3. Had no dedicated build machines (builds were done on that engineer's laptop) 4. Had no release process (build that went out was--you guessed it--copied from that engineer's laptop to a CD) 5. Had no formal QA 6. Had no documentation (either comments in the code, a spec, or a user manual) 7. Had no project management or roadmap planning (the CEO would just drop in and said we should do XYZ, and then a few weeks later "is it done yet?") They thought their software problem was just that they didn't have enough smart engineers. Yea. You have to ask about these basic "hygiene" things.
- js2 10y ago
  OTOH, if you enjoy being a jack-of-all-trades, look at all the value you can add right out of the gate.
  - ryandrake 10y ago
    Definitely. The job was a terrific learning experience, and I've never had to wear as many hats as I did there. It was excellent experience and I saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime turnaround opportunity. The point is, you need to ask about the basics so you understand what you're getting into.
    - wheresvic1 10y ago
      I think that it's the attitude of the people whom you would be working with which matters the most in this scenario. If they were not open to change and improvement then you would be stuck burning CDs as well!