Why didn't we need a process? Because everyone on the team knew how to do this stuff. They new what tests were needed, and how to do them. They knew how many people needed to be brought into it and when. In short they knew their application and had experience. Now they need a process because they don't have anyone who knows the application or has experience with it.
The reason they don't have it is because they decided that it cost too much to support with the experienced people. In my case I got moved off to manage a team in trouble. In the case of my people they got laid off. They were replaced with juniors. When you add up the total number of people working on the application, compared to what we had, and even factoring in pay differential for offshore, they are now paying more to support the application than they did before. The projects are also taking months where they used to take weeks.
So now they need a process. A process will make it better.
And no, I didn't voice an opinion on the matter. It's not what I get paid for. To point out that the policies of upper management have degraded the ability of the department. On paper productivity is the highest since we started documenting it. Unfortunately, for those of us who were here before the documentation started, it's lower than what it was.
In the end, I do realize that it's the process that they're paying for. It's the interchangeability of the parts. It's the changing of an industry from artisanship to a mass-production. It's what they've done in other industries and will seek to do in future industries.
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