CUBE LIFE! Office Etiquette

Post by **brian** » Mon May 04, 2020 2:07 pm

Have to do most of my meetings with video on now and have to catch myself before I start making wanking motions all the time.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu May 07, 2020 11:05 am

Our office is a disaster. We stopped working at the office on March 17 and finally today we have a call with the CEO. It's an absolute clusterfuck. The audio is poor, people struggling to call in, people can't mute their phones, I've already heard an F-Bomb. And they took questions earlier.

So why does this have to be live? Why isn't it just a recording since there's no Q&A. Why can't it be a slick recording sent to us?

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu May 07, 2020 11:09 am

Praying 4 U.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Tue May 19, 2020 12:34 pm

If someone left a position in a department you were interested in, would you approach the hiring manager before or after it's re-posted?

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Tue May 19, 2020 12:56 pm

degenerasian wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2020 12:34 pm If someone left a position in a department you were interested in, would you approach the hiring manager before or after it's re-posted?

Before.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Tue May 19, 2020 1:13 pm

Steve of phpBB wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2020 12:56 pm
degenerasian wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2020 12:34 pm If someone left a position in a department you were interested in, would you approach the hiring manager before or after it's re-posted?
Before.

Absolutely, why wait? If they think you are a good fit, why let them see other candidates before knowing you are interested? Maybe since you work for the government they will have to post the position anyways, but if not, any manager would be thrilled to fill a position without having to go through the recruitment process.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Tue May 19, 2020 2:36 pm

Is there such a thing as too soon? It was posted on the intranet that the person left on Thursday.

Why do I feel this is like dating? Why am I overthinking?

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Tue May 19, 2020 2:44 pm

The only weird mitigating factor here would be if you have dedicated internal recruiters who are presumably short on projects and might not want this to get handled too quickly?

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Tue May 19, 2020 2:53 pm

I mean, the only thing I can see is if there is an established procedure in terms of waiting until the job is officially posted to do any outreach. Some places, especially government entities, have to be very by the book for legal/statutory reasons.

Because if there is a process/procedure and you are bucking it, that would just be annoying to many managers. (raises hand)

GoodKarma · Post by **GoodKarma** » Tue May 19, 2020 4:45 pm

degenerasian wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2020 2:36 pm Is there such a thing as too soon? It was posted on the intranet that the person left on Thursday.

Why do I feel this is like dating? Why am I overthinking?

Because it is like dating...awkward conversations to start; trying to find common ground, etc.

The only too soon would be day that they left or maybe the day after, depending on circumstances. A new week definitely means game on so don't feel bad asking about it.

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Tue May 19, 2020 4:54 pm

If only your company had given you a seminar or something.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Tue May 19, 2020 8:27 pm

degenerasian wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2020 2:36 pm Is there such a thing as too soon? It was posted on the intranet that the person left on Thursday.

Why do I feel this is like dating? Why am I overthinking?

Unless the person died and you asked while the EMTs were still wheeling the body out, go for it.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Wed May 27, 2020 10:15 am

It's been a week since I reached out and no response, this really is like the dating game. Position has not been posted yet so they must be waiting for clearance or something. Or they are removing the position, but that would be stupid.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Sat May 30, 2020 7:01 pm

My workplace has put yellow tape around everyone's desk. We will all be Les Nessman.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Thu Jun 18, 2020 3:25 pm

How the flying fuck does everyone get the basic b.s. work lingo wrong? You "flesh it out". You do not "flush it out".

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Thu Jun 18, 2020 3:30 pm

wlu_lax6 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 18, 2020 3:25 pm How the flying fuck does everyone get the basic b.s. work lingo wrong? You "flesh it out". You do not "flush it out".

I have recently seen multiple articles on legitimate websites (twice on the Athletic) say it is "pumping the breaks". I get that it doesn't get caught by your spellcheck, but come the fuck on. This is way beyond the workplace.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu Jun 18, 2020 3:31 pm

wlu_lax6 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 18, 2020 3:25 pm How the flying fuck does everyone get the basic b.s. work lingo wrong? You "flesh it out". You do not "flush it out".

Well this is an all-timer.

Post by **brian** » Thu Jun 18, 2020 3:35 pm

wlu_lax6 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 18, 2020 3:25 pm How the flying fuck does everyone get the basic b.s. work lingo wrong? You "flesh it out". You do not "flush it out".

We used to call our weekly product development meeting the "Flush" for a couple of years because one of the owners once used it that way and the name (making fun of him) stuck.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Thu Jun 18, 2020 3:36 pm

wlu_lax6 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 18, 2020 3:25 pm How the flying fuck does everyone get the basic b.s. work lingo wrong? You "flesh it out". You do not "flush it out".

You flush out a horrible idea during a brainstorm session.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu Jun 18, 2020 5:06 pm

No bad ideas in a brainstorm!

(I always say that when I'm moderating one, but I always add "but you will be mocked and ridiculed for stupidity.")

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu Jun 18, 2020 6:56 pm

There are no stupid questions or stupid ideas, only stupid people.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Wed Jul 15, 2020 10:14 am

I am enjoying the "no confirmation of conference call time" thing going on with my current project.

Emailed yesterday to ask if 11am works, an older email I was not listed four separate times as possibilities. I replied 11am is fine, but I can do any of the suggested times. The other person adds that 11am is good.

Nothing since, of course.

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Wed Jul 15, 2020 11:10 am

Is this a safe space?

I fucking hate Agile Program Management. Between the stupid daily 'virtual stand-ups' and the end of sprint cram sessions, it wears me out.

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Wed Jul 15, 2020 11:11 am

I've never heard praise for Agile.

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Wed Jul 15, 2020 11:15 am

P.D.X. wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2020 11:11 am I've never heard praise for Agile.

Even just calling them 'sprints' is maddening. I'm already working hard...now I'm supposed to be 'sprinting'?

And I don't know if this is Agile specific..but the whole 'User Story' vs 'Feature' vs 'Task' vs 'Defect' thing. Geez, just tell me what I'm supposed to be working on.

Post by **Shirley** » Wed Jul 15, 2020 2:44 pm

Like any process, the implementation matters a lot more than the supposed rules. Agile is a great way to build software in many situations, but it doesn't fit them all. Actually, "Agile" itself isn't even a methodology, but really a set of ideas. Scrum is the most common implementation of Agile.

It can be used for lots of products, but it really makes most sense for web applications where you can easily deploy new versions regularly.

Post by **brian** » Wed Jul 15, 2020 2:59 pm

Shirley wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2020 2:44 pm Like any process, the implementation matters a lot more than the supposed rules. Agile is a great way to build software in many situations, but it doesn't fit them all. Actually, "Agile" itself isn't even a methodology, but really a set of ideas. Scrum is the most common implementation of Agile.

It can be used for lots of products, but it really makes most sense for web applications where you can easily deploy new versions regularly.

Yeah, we use it as well. Once you get used to the terminology, it's not really too different from any other method of software development/project management, but it does a good job of being able to manage complex interconnected tasks required to develop new features and build out apps.

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Wed Jul 15, 2020 6:03 pm

Shirley wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2020 2:44 pm Like any process, the implementation matters a lot more than the supposed rules. Agile is a great way to build software in many situations, but it doesn't fit them all. Actually, "Agile" itself isn't even a methodology, but really a set of ideas. Scrum is the most common implementation of Agile.

It can be used for lots of products, but it really makes most sense for web applications where you can easily deploy new versions regularly.

I'm just salty because I got assigned a task, which was sized by a different developer, and it turned out to be a huge nightmare, and took me at least 3 times longer then was assigned. Made for a weekend of working and a couple of really late nights/early mornings.

Also...one of the Devs on my team was let go because he was 'having trouble meeting his goals'. Yikes..nothing like some anxiety to add to the mix.

I'm now being super generous about my time estimates. I don't want to be caught short again.

Post by **Shirley** » Thu Jul 16, 2020 9:08 am

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2020 6:03 pm
Shirley wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2020 2:44 pm Like any process, the implementation matters a lot more than the supposed rules. Agile is a great way to build software in many situations, but it doesn't fit them all. Actually, "Agile" itself isn't even a methodology, but really a set of ideas. Scrum is the most common implementation of Agile.

It can be used for lots of products, but it really makes most sense for web applications where you can easily deploy new versions regularly.
I'm just salty because I got assigned a task, which was sized by a different developer, and it turned out to be a huge nightmare, and took me at least 3 times longer then was assigned. Made for a weekend of working and a couple of really late nights/early mornings.

Also...one of the Devs on my team was let go because he was 'having trouble meeting his goals'. Yikes..nothing like some anxiety to add to the mix.

I'm now being super generous about my time estimates. I don't want to be caught short again.

Anyone with any experience in software development should be used to estimates sometimes being way off. It's expected. You can't judge someone's performance by that, especially when you're just talking about one data point. Now, if it happens every time ...

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Thu Jul 16, 2020 11:13 am

Shirley wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2020 9:08 am
DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2020 6:03 pm
Shirley wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2020 2:44 pm Like any process, the implementation matters a lot more than the supposed rules. Agile is a great way to build software in many situations, but it doesn't fit them all. Actually, "Agile" itself isn't even a methodology, but really a set of ideas. Scrum is the most common implementation of Agile.

It can be used for lots of products, but it really makes most sense for web applications where you can easily deploy new versions regularly.
I'm just salty because I got assigned a task, which was sized by a different developer, and it turned out to be a huge nightmare, and took me at least 3 times longer then was assigned. Made for a weekend of working and a couple of really late nights/early mornings.

Also...one of the Devs on my team was let go because he was 'having trouble meeting his goals'. Yikes..nothing like some anxiety to add to the mix.

I'm now being super generous about my time estimates. I don't want to be caught short again.
Anyone with any experience in software development should be used to estimates sometimes being way off. It's expected. You can't judge someone's performance by that, especially when you're just talking about one data point. Now, if it happens every time ...

What's happening now is that every Dev on our team is tripling our estimates. That way if we get stuff done more quickly, we look like heroes!

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Thu Jul 16, 2020 11:29 am

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2020 11:13 am
Shirley wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2020 9:08 am
DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2020 6:03 pm
Shirley wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2020 2:44 pm Like any process, the implementation matters a lot more than the supposed rules. Agile is a great way to build software in many situations, but it doesn't fit them all. Actually, "Agile" itself isn't even a methodology, but really a set of ideas. Scrum is the most common implementation of Agile.

It can be used for lots of products, but it really makes most sense for web applications where you can easily deploy new versions regularly.
I'm just salty because I got assigned a task, which was sized by a different developer, and it turned out to be a huge nightmare, and took me at least 3 times longer then was assigned. Made for a weekend of working and a couple of really late nights/early mornings.

Also...one of the Devs on my team was let go because he was 'having trouble meeting his goals'. Yikes..nothing like some anxiety to add to the mix.

I'm now being super generous about my time estimates. I don't want to be caught short again.
Anyone with any experience in software development should be used to estimates sometimes being way off. It's expected. You can't judge someone's performance by that, especially when you're just talking about one data point. Now, if it happens every time ...
What's happening now is that every Dev on our team is tripling our estimates. That way if we get stuff done more quickly, we look like heroes!

FogBugz (company started by early Excel Program Manager, Joel on Software, Trello, StackExchange) had a neat featue that took orstarteginal estimates versus actual dev times. Over time it started to give some perspective to dev's ability to estimate work (both over and under).

Post by **Shirley** » Thu Jul 16, 2020 11:33 am

I'm a FogBugz fanboy, but I haven't been able to use it since MS bought the startup I was working at.

DiS, that kind of sizing calculus is also pretty common. And it's not necessarily wrong. Experienced devs learn over time that things often take longer than you think, so you learn how to properly pad estimates. That usually works out well. If you're just tripling numbers because of fear of reprisals, that's not a healthy environment and pretty quickly mgmt will learn to just discount the estimates anyway.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Fri Jul 24, 2020 2:28 pm

It certainly would be great to tell a vendor that their system is an absolute pile of fucking garbage (both my company and the vendor in question are cogs of a much bigger machine).

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Mon Jul 27, 2020 1:51 pm

Sitting on a coffee shop patio working today and a table near me has an older woman entrepreneur interviewing a young blonde girl for a marketing position. However, the 'interview' is entirely consisting of the older woman telling her about how awesome she is and what a fighter she is and her entire life/journey story. It's gone on for like an hour with the interviewee only nodding and agreeing. All I want to do is shout FUCKING RUN

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Mon Jul 27, 2020 3:26 pm

P.D.X. wrote: ↑Mon Jul 27, 2020 1:51 pm Sitting on a coffee shop patio working today and a table near me has an older woman entrepreneur interviewing a young blonde girl for a marketing position. However, the 'interview' is entirely consisting of the older woman telling her about how awesome she is and what a fighter she is and her entire life/journey story. It's gone on for like an hour with the interviewee only nodding and agreeing. All I want to do is shout FUCKING RUN

Startup I worked at interviewed me for like 4 hours and I got asked a single question. Most of it was just pitching me on their vision and why all companies would need to become tech companies. Great company to work for.

Post by **Shirley** » Mon Jul 27, 2020 3:35 pm

wlu_lax6 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 27, 2020 3:26 pm
P.D.X. wrote: ↑Mon Jul 27, 2020 1:51 pm Sitting on a coffee shop patio working today and a table near me has an older woman entrepreneur interviewing a young blonde girl for a marketing position. However, the 'interview' is entirely consisting of the older woman telling her about how awesome she is and what a fighter she is and her entire life/journey story. It's gone on for like an hour with the interviewee only nodding and agreeing. All I want to do is shout FUCKING RUN
Startup I worked at interviewed me for like 4 hours and I got asked a single question. Most of it was just pitching me on their vision and why all companies would need to become tech companies. Great company to work for.

Yeah, sometimes interviews are more like recruiting meetings. This is especially true of second/third/etc rounds. If this was an initial interview, it's certainly odd.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon Jul 27, 2020 3:37 pm

I can see if the meeting was about what the company is doing and how awesome their ideas are and how they're going to change the world, but if it's just the interviewer gushing about themselves that seems odd.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Jul 27, 2020 3:43 pm

A_B wrote: ↑Mon Jul 27, 2020 3:37 pm I can see if the meeting was about what the company is doing and how awesome their ideas are and how they're going to change the world, but if it's just the interviewer gushing about themselves that seems odd.

Could you do me a solid and change that post to ".. gushing about curry and themselves ..."?

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Mon Jul 27, 2020 3:57 pm

wlu_lax6 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 27, 2020 3:26 pm
P.D.X. wrote: ↑Mon Jul 27, 2020 1:51 pm Sitting on a coffee shop patio working today and a table near me has an older woman entrepreneur interviewing a young blonde girl for a marketing position. However, the 'interview' is entirely consisting of the older woman telling her about how awesome she is and what a fighter she is and her entire life/journey story. It's gone on for like an hour with the interviewee only nodding and agreeing. All I want to do is shout FUCKING RUN
Startup I worked at interviewed me for like 4 hours and I got asked a single question. Most of it was just pitching me on their vision and why all companies would need to become tech companies. Great company to work for.

Did you get a good rundown of their failed marriages?

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Mon Jul 27, 2020 4:17 pm

P.D.X. wrote: ↑Mon Jul 27, 2020 3:57 pm
wlu_lax6 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 27, 2020 3:26 pm
P.D.X. wrote: ↑Mon Jul 27, 2020 1:51 pm Sitting on a coffee shop patio working today and a table near me has an older woman entrepreneur interviewing a young blonde girl for a marketing position. However, the 'interview' is entirely consisting of the older woman telling her about how awesome she is and what a fighter she is and her entire life/journey story. It's gone on for like an hour with the interviewee only nodding and agreeing. All I want to do is shout FUCKING RUN
Startup I worked at interviewed me for like 4 hours and I got asked a single question. Most of it was just pitching me on their vision and why all companies would need to become tech companies. Great company to work for.
Did you get a good rundown of their failed marriages?

No but that would not have shocked me looking back at that experience. My boss (CEO) was a certified lunatic. We had a great prescription drug plan but not an amazing overall healthcare plan due to his requirements.