Common Sense is NOT Common!

We’re trying to set up a feed from a mainframe to display information on our site. I say: what info is available on the mainframe. The developer gives me a list of high level product sets. I say: what products are listed under each of these product sets? And what are the attributes associated with these products (I need to know this because if it’s not what the business needs to display, we will need to find out what other system does have the information). Developer hems and haws that he will have to get the information from the mainframe people, blah blah.. I say: last week you printed out screen shots for one product from the mainframe.. can’t you do that for each screen? (and the bubble in my head says: what is the big friggin’ deal? It’s maybe 20 pages). Finally, the Project Manager makes him do it. He makes a big production of telling me he’s faxed me the information I need, so the PM gets off his case. I’m in meetings all afternoon and finally when I get to look at the fax it’s ONE friggin’ product set out of the 7. Why would he pick one? Naturally, I need this information tomorrow for a meeting and of course he goes home at 4. Why do developers have no common sense? I mean: how hard is it to understand why I might need this information and not be a chump???

Sometimes Work is OK

especially when you get highly amusing emails like these in response to my report of a bug on our site which had been experienced by myself and another person:

developer: What are the reproduction steps (not in biological terms)

the other person responds:
Logged in
Logged out
Took a rubber band and shot Bill in the back of the head
He retaliated which set off a shooting war between Bob/Bill vs. Ben and me
We had to stop because one of the rubber bands flew into someone else’s cube and they complained
I went back to the browser to click on the Home page and got that error

yeah, I work with a mature bunch.. but it is entertaining.