[AccessD] And now the other...

Mark Simms marksimms at verizon.net
Tue Dec 20 18:12:45 CST 2011


Got a short term (aka "stinker") contract for some Excel development work.
2 "layers" (i.e. commissions) of consulting firms involved....the first one
pretty "smarmy"...they initially lied about the legal engagement aspects to
rope me in.
This is so typical of these agency firms. I haven't met one over the past 5
years with any kind of respect for business ethics...not one.
The second is a huge global IT Consulting firm with ties to military
contracts. However, this contract is a follow-up to an original contract
from 3 years ago with a non-military client of theirs.
They had one of their contract employees build some VBA to create a
sophisticated Linear Programming model in Excel.
They were unable to get the original developers to commit to the enhancement
work, so they came to me. Those guys effectively "ducked out". I always
wondered why ?

I spent a few weeks getting to understand the system and it's flows....as
well as the nature of the processing.
There was no technical documentation.
I started into the 4500 lines of VBA code last week. Pure crap. No comments
or few comments or misleading comments in the code. Poor writing style, no
variables were named properly. There was no error trapping. Option Explicit
missing from many modules and forms.
Even worse: the original developer would take some crappy code from one
place, clone it in another, and make slight changes. Finally, the GUI design
of the forms and in-sheet controls was horrendous. For instance, instead of
coding a Title to a OpenFile (GetOpenFilename) Dialog, they would first
pop-up a Message Box with the title trying to indicate the nature of the
file that needed to be selected, and then call the function without a title.
This is just one example of the shoddy work done on this.
Now they want the system revamped, and "enhanced" with new features. Keep in
mind, this is a CRITICAL operations system for their client.
After a few days of working with it, because I didn't have intimate
knowledge of it, it kept blowing up on me.
In some cases it was mistakenly opening up the wrong workbook. Instead of
detecting that condition, it would go on it's
merry way....till it blew-up processing the wrong data.

So I write-up all of my findings in excruciating detail. What do I get in
response ?
Here it goes: "Well then Mark, we'll ALL have to put in some 'extra' time on
this if you've got to spend so much time cleaning up this code. We have a
fixed budget for this work."
By 'extra time', they of course meant "free" time.
What a load of B.S. So I asked the project manager about the "code reviews"
on the initial project and he didn't say a word. Also, I told him a few
weeks ago to get a second opinion. Once again, no response.

So I haven't said much lately since that missive of mine went out. But I
definitely am not going to work for free...no matter what. Because of their
poor oversight and use of a programmer who didn't know VBA, didn't know the
Excel Object Model, and couldn't design a GUI to save his soul, they've got
to take the "fall" on this. It's only right. If I have to, I'll get a lawyer
and make them look really stupid.

Well this one should end this final chapter in my career which has become
repetitive with these situations, stressful, and unjust. I'm almost without
words about how I feel about this awful dev business today thru agencies. I
do the work, they make the money. I thought slavery was abolished !.
But NO.....because when all of the Indian insourcing and outsourcing was
instituted, the net effect has been reduced opportunities and reduced wages.
So slavery has come back to America...at least in the IT contracting world.
What a change from the high status occupation it once was 15 years ago.






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