I never come up from my dungeon to talk to accounting. I send a precisely formatted, detailed, and concise email that they inevitably only read half of.
One of the first thing I learned in my IT internship is that you keep your receipts. That way management can’t blame you for implementing their stupid requests.
Another legitimately great strategy is the Wally Deflector (hate that Dilbert’s creator turned out to be an asshat). Force them to do some work. Anything really works, just something to slow down the firehose and enforce that it’s a partnership working towards a solution. Usually the best way is to just ask for clarification and actual hard requirements.
So many things just shrivel up and die when the person asking for it realizes IT isn’t going to just outsource their full responsibilities including domain specific knowledge or basic fucking thought for them just because it’s going to become digital or automated.
I never come up from my dungeon to talk to accounting. I send a precisely formatted, detailed, and concise email that they inevitably only read half of.
I’d rather have a paper trail anyway.
This. You do not want to be a scapegoat for some higher-ups ego trips
One of the first thing I learned in my IT internship is that you keep your receipts. That way management can’t blame you for implementing their stupid requests.
That’s why I send “summary” emails, even if the brass tells me not to, for in person discussions
Another legitimately great strategy is the Wally Deflector (hate that Dilbert’s creator turned out to be an asshat). Force them to do some work. Anything really works, just something to slow down the firehose and enforce that it’s a partnership working towards a solution. Usually the best way is to just ask for clarification and actual hard requirements.
So many things just shrivel up and die when the person asking for it realizes IT isn’t going to just outsource their full responsibilities including domain specific knowledge or basic fucking thought for them just because it’s going to become digital or automated.
“Okay, and here are your action items…”
Silence for two weeks thereafter. :D
I’ve got a customer right now who needs this lesson taught to them, but I lack the power to properly discipline them.