URGENT!!! (but not available right now)
It always feels like a problem when you’ve pressing tickets to complete by the end of the sprint. When something goes wrong, when a token expires or you’re unable to install the latest SDK (which you need to install because security demand that you do so) means you’re blocked.
You keep getting asked in standup when the ticket will be delivered. You keep chasing the ticket that blocks you. You need help from someone, and you need that help right now.
The Rising Panic
I remember when I couldn’t get access to the office because I didn’t have an access card. No problem, I simply tailgated other people when entering the office. At the same job I couldn’t get a laptop to (you know) work, and I brought my own to create a POC application so I’d get started on the project and actually deliver.
There isn’t any way to raise the urgency of the ticket. Nobody seems to care that you can’t work, but the deadlines for the features is just getting closer and closer. This isn’t a broken coffee machine, this is an existential problem for your career.
The Issue
You keep pushing the ticket. You aren’t able to expediate it any further, you can’t do anymore.
Then you have an important planning meeting, you must attend and you have to contribute.
At that time suddenly, you get a ping on Slack.
“Hey, saw your ticket. Can we hop on a call?”
It’s assumed that you’re available right now after days of waiting to fix the issue. No meeting, just right now or wait again until who knows when. Sometimes you simply cannot put off what you’re doing at the behest of IT support.
You put it as nicely as you possibly can.
“I’m in meetings all afternoon. Can we do this tomorrow?”
No response. You never know when they’ll contact you, if at all?
Alarm Bells
Some software developers feel important. They’re pushing features and getting software out of the door and (frankly) making the money for the business, doing the stuff that keeps the heating on in the office.
Yet when it comes to things outside your control that is worth nothing. It’s simply going to be your fault if you do not deliver that feature in time for the marketing campaign. You’re doing it, right? Right?
Supporting on call
Even worse is when you are on call. At our company when you’re on the 24–7 rota you’re going to be working hard by definition. You’re going to be woken in the night and you’re going to be expected to solve issues with code you haven’t worked on and don’t have context for.
So when support tells you that you need to update your machine at 6pm on a Thursday as an incident is just starting…that’s an issue. But it’s something you as the software developer are required to resolve and make work. At our place you cannot delay the update, and it’s a forced reboot whether you’re in a meeting or not.
Memorably we were given new machines as part of the upgrade cycle at the convenience of company systems, which meant that we needed to transfer our dev environment within a week. Again, if you are on call that’s a problem you need to solve (but you’ll need to solve it quickly.
For whatever reason there is no investigation. There is no understanding of what pressure devs might be under at any given moment. You simply need to ride out the wave as best you can as support isn’t really going to give you (well) support when you really need it, and really need help.
The Silent Hero Problem
I’ve made this sound really dramatic and traumatic. Because there is an actual issue here. When a person quietly resolves the issue themselves with no panic, they get ignored. You get your job done and that’s somehow less valuable than someone else screaming into the void and disappearing.
We’ve built a culture where sounding the alarm matters more than fighting the fire. Where a broken dev setup at the wrong time turns you into a spectator.
Conclusion
You’re going to have to manage things yourself. You’re going to need to ensure that you keep those services running and do you job. Keep things running. Keep things going.
You simply have to do it.
About The Author
Professional Software Developer “The Secret Developer” can be found on Twitter @TheSDeveloper and regularly publishes articles through Medium.com
The Secret Developer once spent 45 minutes trying to fix an “urgent” incident while reinstalling their dev environment. They failed to reinstall their will to live.