resources, our shiny software fails completely, resulting in angry email threads and finger pointing. At this point, there is no way to turn back, and we now live in fear of the next time someone adds a new application in the network. There are ways to work around these issues, but people seem unwilling to do the necessary work and are only interested in our group “just fixing the code.” Of course we can patch and hack the code to work around temporary problems in the network, but that does not really address the problem. Why is it so difficult for people to understand when they are using a tool the wrong way?

Wrong Way Round

http://www.acm.org/dl

There is probably
a good reason for
your company to
use the code you are
complaining about.

Dear Wrong Way,

Whenever I see people taking one tool and using it—usually poorly—for the wrong job, I am always reminded of screwdrivers. You can use a screwdriver to drive screws, yes, but you can also turn the screwdriver around and use the handle as a hammer to drive nails. Of course, doing this means you are at risk of poking your eye out, but, you say, “I need to drive only this one nail, I am sure it will be OK.” And it is OK, until the day when it isn’t. Software, being far more malleable than a screwdriver, is subject to this extension problem far more often than physical tools.

There are a couple of ways to make your point in these situations. One is simply to let the code break and watch people suffer. I recommend against developing an evil laugh or learning to cackle, as that will give you away. While this is an enjoyable fantasy, it is not very practical in a work environment. There is probably a good reason for your company to use the code you are

complaining about, and it behooves you to do what you can to help your company use it correctly.

Instead of screaming, or cackling, or pulling your hair out, you can try to explain to one person, rather than to a group, how the software works and its limitations. If you can find one other person who understands the problem, that can help you in two ways. First, it will make you feel less crazy—there is nothing worse than being the only person who sees or understands a problem. Second, it will help convince others of the correctness of your position. If you can get momentum behind your idea, then maybe you can convince the powers that be to use the system correctly and within its design parameters. Failing that, at least you will have someone to commiserate with when the system collapses again.

Like so many problems in computing, the screwdriver problem is a human problem and not a technical one, and thus it requires a human solution.

kV

Code that people
do not find a use
for rarely causes
problems, because it
rarely gets executed.

Related articles on queue.acm.org

A License to Kode

George Neville-Neil

http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=1217262

Coding Smart: People vs. Tools

Donn M. Seeley

http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=945135

Building Scalable Web Services

Tom Killalea

http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=1466447

George V. neville-neil ( [e-mail]) is the proprietor of neville-neil Consulting and a member of the ACM Queue editorial board. He works on networking and operating systems code for fun and profit, teaches courses on various programming-related subjects, and encourages your comments, quips, and code snips pertaining to his Communications column. Copyright held by author.

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