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FW: Re: WC:>: Congressional Exchange Server Crashes, ummm, Loops
Just like the place I work now... especially points 6-7.
----- Forwarded message -----
>rhetorical question:
>
>who recommended NT 4 and MSFT Exchange for Congress *anyway*??? don't these
>guys know about compliant POP mail systems?
as i understand it, they wanted not only the capacity for email, but also
the other features Exchange offers, like file sharing and directory
synchronization. as for who made the decision, my guess is that the blame
ultimately goes back to the least technical people in the whole scenario,
the users themselves. the basic sequence of logic (sic) runs like so:
1. the users see software that does something neat.
2. the users tell the tech staff they want that software.
3. the tech staff identify weaknesses in the software which
make it unsuitable for the environment where it will be
installed.
4. the tech staff search for an alternative product which
has a comparable feature set, and also fits the install
environment.
5. assuming such an alternative is found, the tech staff
submit a report recommending that instead of what was
first proposed.
6. the report is reviewed by someone for who considers the
laws of physics optional, preferring to worship at the
shrine of "user expectations".
7. if going with the alternative requires any demonstration
of sentience on the part of the users, the recommendation
will be denied.
8. eventually, whatever product requires the least amount
of short-term effort on the part of the users will be
installed.
9. any challenge to user expectations at the time of
installation will be blamed on the tech staff.
10. any failure of the product to support the same feature
set as vaporware in the latest PC mags (TIME, People,
Business Week, Wall Street Journal) will be blamed on
the tech staff.
11. any product failure not immediately attributable to an
act of God devastating enough to render the users
unable to drive to work and/or use their telephone
will be blamed on the tech staff.
in support of this hypothesis, i submit the fact that they were running
Exchange 4. the current version is 5.5, and the bug which crashed the
servers was a known issue for that release. resistance to upgrades is a
sign of an environment where the users resist change.
mike (ten days, four minutes, twelve seconds, and counting) stone.
mike stone <[email protected]> 'net geek..
been there, done that, have network, will travel.
--------------End of forwarded message-------------------------
--
Gregory S. Sutter My reality check just bounced.
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http://www.pobox.com/~gsutter/
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