How to handle these two scenarios at work?

[Z064life]

Hi

Two scenarios at work. 1) I see very often. 2) a one off. I'd like to manage both correctly, being assertive and standing my ground (i.e. with 1). Any suggestions?


1) Constant interruptions at my desk to do a "small" task i..e give permissions to an IT system or a license to an application, which should follow procedures and to ensure no adverse effects.


2) Project Managers procuring professional services time from an IT Vendor for an implementaton of a product without consulting internal technical expertise. The booked time is then grossly underestimated. I am generally very reliable and good at managing expectations, in this scenario i've highlighted this risk a week before the arrangement and during the arrangement too, but I'd rather not get embroiled in an unorganised mess.


Thanks!

[Yipper]

1. Set written processes to follow, so no-one bothers you.

2. Almost all IT projects go wrong (80-90%). As the old saying goes -- think of a time and budget and then double it.

[GrumpyTwig]

1. "Log a ticket" end of, no argument, everyone gets the same treatment. No "oh just quickly...." log me a damned ticket. First come first serve, record of the work, audit trail and your workload is visible.

If you can, put some headphones in. It provides a physical deterrent to people interrupting you.

[edc]

1) Re-training and publish/communicate again the procedures. Get agreement on the implementation from relevant stakeholders across the business and get managers to be firm and roll down the message too.

[anonymous-user]

Yipper said:

1. Set written processes to follow, so no-one bothers you.

2. Almost all IT projects go wrong (80-90%). As the old saying goes -- think of a time and budget and then double it.

1. Agreed, refuse all requests unless procedure is followed. Audit trail and all that jazz.

2. remove all procurement rights from Project manager, remind them of their place and tell them to stick to admin tasks and nagging their colleagues. Or alternatively hobble them and throw them out with the trash where they can add value for a change.

[Taita]

I used to say 'if I can guide you through something in under 60 seconds, or give you advice, no problems. If my hands need to touch a keyboard, log a ticket'.

Seemed to strike a balance quite well.

[TurricanII]

Z064life said:

Hi

Two scenarios at work. 1) I see very often. 2) a one off. I'd like to manage both correctly, being assertive and standing my ground (i.e. with 1). Any suggestions?


1) Constant interruptions at my desk to do a "small" task i..e give permissions to an IT system or a license to an application, which should follow procedures and to ensure no adverse effects.


2) Project Managers procuring professional services time from an IT Vendor for an implementaton of a product without consulting internal technical expertise. The booked time is then grossly underestimated. I am generally very reliable and good at managing expectations, in this scenario i've highlighted this risk a week before the arrangement and during the arrangement too, but I'd rather not get embroiled in an unorganised mess.


Thanks!

1.

What are you doing when you are being interrupted? What is your job spec? IT support is a service and the end users are the clients generally. The right thing to do might be to be interrupted and help the user ASAP.

Maybe say "I'm really sorry. It would only take me a minute to do that but I have been told by management that I must use the change control process to ensure no adverse effects and give traceability. Please do log a ticket and the first available person can get onto that for you."

Ask your boss/the person who set the process. Tell them you have identified a risk that procedures might be ignored if end users directly ask you. Ask the boss what to do.

2.

The PM is responsible for planning and effecting the project, not you. Otherwise you'd be in on it. No doubt you have your own workload. Give what advice and support you can to the project managers by email. Nice, traceable, reliable email!! If they don't heed it then nowt you can do. Eventually a good PM may see you as a valuable asset to help things run more smoothly, so they'll start using to to help make them look good.

Establish good relationships with everyone you can, particularly the decision makers. Always act in the best interests of the company and decision makers might catch on and tell PM's to speak to you.

Soon enough you'll end up handling crap you don't want to deal with. Errr, wonderful!

[Disastrous]

IT just love logging tickets, don’t they?

I’m not in IT but I am hugely impatient and can’t be fked following procedures just to get something that should have been set up right in the first place fixed, weeks later!

I always just pop through to IT and hassle them until someone fixes it there and then just to get me to fk off.

Wearing headphones just means I’ll tap you on the shoulder and IT people seem to hate contact so not sure that’s a good idea!

[GrumpyTwig]

Disastrous said:

IT just love logging tickets, don’t they?

I’m not in IT but I am hugely impatient and can’t be fked following procedures just to get something that should have been set up right in the first place fixed, weeks later!

I always just pop through to IT and hassle them until someone fixes it there and then just to get me to fk off.

Wearing headphones just means I’ll tap you on the shoulder and IT people seem to hate contact so not sure that’s a good idea!

I'd tell you to f off and still not do what you want but I presume you're not being serious.

[Disastrous]

GrumpyTwig said:

Disastrous said:

IT just love logging tickets, don’t they?

I’m not in IT but I am hugely impatient and can’t be fked following procedures just to get something that should have been set up right in the first place fixed, weeks later!

I always just pop through to IT and hassle them until someone fixes it there and then just to get me to fk off.

Wearing headphones just means I’ll tap you on the shoulder and IT people seem to hate contact so not sure that’s a good idea!

I'd tell you to f off and still not do what you want but I presume you're not being serious.

Semi-joking. I’d never log a ticket as nothing ever happens!

You can almost always talk someone into it.

I suppose my more serious point is that you can’t really control what other people do and if your role is such that people come at you left, right and centre (mine is, for example) then you probably need to accept it and figure out a way to deal with it as quickly as possible and move on.

[edc]

The other thing to consider is what is it exactly are you trying to achieve? Adherence to a process? Recognition of you and your team capability? Use some basic root cause analysis / continuous improvement tools as a start point. Essentially, why are people behaving this way? There is no point having a brilliantly documented process if nobody knows about it, nor uses it, nor thinks it is any good or efficient.