3 ms·
From the article -- At some point, I realized that I wasn't using the right arguments either. Explaining that the software will be 'more stable' or 'make mainte
by ChuckMcM 3y ago
From the article -- At some point, I realized that I wasn't using the right arguments either. Explaining that the software will be 'more stable' or 'make maintenance much easier' is not palpable for someone who doesn't work in the codebase themselves. We need to speak about money. As developers, we need to speak about the cost of not doing QA. This is the language of business and managers in general.
The more general way of saying this is, "If you need someone's approval to do something, explain it as a good idea for them." Took me a bit to learn this in engineering, you would think "but it will be correct!" would be an unassailable argument but as the author notes, the person who has to sign off on it may not care if it is correct, even if you passionately do care. This works for everything at the job, not just fixing software correctly.
- sublinear 3y agoI've found the only true way out of this hellish situation is to work at a place mature enough for the leadership to already understand all this. If you have to explain why quality matters, they're at least as ignorant as you if not more. They deserve their fate. The upshot is you'll probably also get paid way better and more quickly develop a better sense of how business is supposed to be done at a mature company. Of course you also have to deliver on your promises that all the time you're spending will improve things and isn't just some amateur quixotic itch.