I need some advice about fixing an old software
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Hello. I was hired recently to fix some problems in some old software done using . NET 2. the old version was poorly done by every means no documentation no real naming system, nothing. I scheduled a REDO for the whole thing but the original software which is running now need some major fixes quickly, the whole system crushed many times, some part are like if they done by a child, they can't wait for long enough for me to complete my work. what do you think I should do?
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Hello. I was hired recently to fix some problems in some old software done using . NET 2. the old version was poorly done by every means no documentation no real naming system, nothing. I scheduled a REDO for the whole thing but the original software which is running now need some major fixes quickly, the whole system crushed many times, some part are like if they done by a child, they can't wait for long enough for me to complete my work. what do you think I should do?
Resign?
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me
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Resign?
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me
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Hello. I was hired recently to fix some problems in some old software done using . NET 2. the old version was poorly done by every means no documentation no real naming system, nothing. I scheduled a REDO for the whole thing but the original software which is running now need some major fixes quickly, the whole system crushed many times, some part are like if they done by a child, they can't wait for long enough for me to complete my work. what do you think I should do?
You haven't been hired to do a redesign/reimplementation. You have been hired to plug the leaks, so to speak. Short term, you do the fixes. The best way to get to the rewrite is to prove that it's more economical to rewrite than it is to patch - and that type of argument takes time to win. Good luck.
*pre-emptive celebratory nipple tassle jiggle* - Sean Ewington
"Mind bleach! Send me mind bleach!" - Nagy Vilmos
CodeStash - Online Snippet Management | My blog | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier
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Hello. I was hired recently to fix some problems in some old software done using . NET 2. the old version was poorly done by every means no documentation no real naming system, nothing. I scheduled a REDO for the whole thing but the original software which is running now need some major fixes quickly, the whole system crushed many times, some part are like if they done by a child, they can't wait for long enough for me to complete my work. what do you think I should do?
I'm with Mark, quit and get another job, it seems like really bad management to me. If that is not an option then you HAVE to do the work, you also must make management aware you are doing it under protest and part of the solution is to rebuild the app. Then try and break it into smaller parts that can be rebuilt and integrated piecemeal.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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I'm with Mark, quit and get another job, it seems like really bad management to me. If that is not an option then you HAVE to do the work, you also must make management aware you are doing it under protest and part of the solution is to rebuild the app. Then try and break it into smaller parts that can be rebuilt and integrated piecemeal.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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You haven't been hired to do a redesign/reimplementation. You have been hired to plug the leaks, so to speak. Short term, you do the fixes. The best way to get to the rewrite is to prove that it's more economical to rewrite than it is to patch - and that type of argument takes time to win. Good luck.
*pre-emptive celebratory nipple tassle jiggle* - Sean Ewington
"Mind bleach! Send me mind bleach!" - Nagy Vilmos
CodeStash - Online Snippet Management | My blog | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier
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I was joking. Don't resign - decide what the best way for you is to tackle the job and go for it. No good asking other people who haven't the slightest notion of the ins and outs of the issue: only you know what's best for you.
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me
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I was joking. Don't resign - decide what the best way for you is to tackle the job and go for it. No good asking other people who haven't the slightest notion of the ins and outs of the issue: only you know what's best for you.
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me
to be honest I don't need an advice as much as I need to someone to listen (I know you were joking :laugh: ) the deal is I'm working alone and no one ever give me any help so at times like this I start doubting my decisions and think it's better to see what others think. and actually that proved to be useless (no offense) as you said "other people who don't have the slightest notion of the ins and outs of the issue". sometimes someone answers the answer I want to hear and that's good :thumbsup: other times no one understand what I'm talking about X| anyway thank you all.
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Hello. I was hired recently to fix some problems in some old software done using . NET 2. the old version was poorly done by every means no documentation no real naming system, nothing. I scheduled a REDO for the whole thing but the original software which is running now need some major fixes quickly, the whole system crushed many times, some part are like if they done by a child, they can't wait for long enough for me to complete my work. what do you think I should do?
Sounds like you inherited my old job. For a while it may even be fun to keep the old program running with one hand and writing the new one with the other. The problem is, that they will not stop when they see that you perform those two little miracles. You will discover that they have a whole collection of bad applications and even higher expectations waiting for you and it will seem like fighting against windmills.
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to be honest I don't need an advice as much as I need to someone to listen (I know you were joking :laugh: ) the deal is I'm working alone and no one ever give me any help so at times like this I start doubting my decisions and think it's better to see what others think. and actually that proved to be useless (no offense) as you said "other people who don't have the slightest notion of the ins and outs of the issue". sometimes someone answers the answer I want to hear and that's good :thumbsup: other times no one understand what I'm talking about X| anyway thank you all.
I find it quite useful to go speak to someone not in IT. I just talk at them and, very often, without them saying a word, I have the answer. I use them , in other words, as a cardboard programmer.
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me
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Sounds like you inherited my old job. For a while it may even be fun to keep the old program running with one hand and writing the new one with the other. The problem is, that they will not stop when they see that you perform those two little miracles. You will discover that they have a whole collection of bad applications and even higher expectations waiting for you and it will seem like fighting against windmills.
CDP1802 wrote:
Sounds like you inherited my old job.
So! You write unstructured, undocumented, standards-free code? Thanks for warning us ;)
MVVM# - See how I did MVVM my way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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Sounds like you inherited my old job. For a while it may even be fun to keep the old program running with one hand and writing the new one with the other. The problem is, that they will not stop when they see that you perform those two little miracles. You will discover that they have a whole collection of bad applications and even higher expectations waiting for you and it will seem like fighting against windmills.
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Hello. I was hired recently to fix some problems in some old software done using . NET 2. the old version was poorly done by every means no documentation no real naming system, nothing. I scheduled a REDO for the whole thing but the original software which is running now need some major fixes quickly, the whole system crushed many times, some part are like if they done by a child, they can't wait for long enough for me to complete my work. what do you think I should do?
Get a new job! ;P
Why can't I be applicable like John? - Me, April 2011
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Beidh ceol, caint agus craic againn - Seán Bán Breathnach
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Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo!
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Just because a thing is new don’t mean that it’s better - Will Rogers, September 4, 1932 -
Hello. I was hired recently to fix some problems in some old software done using . NET 2. the old version was poorly done by every means no documentation no real naming system, nothing. I scheduled a REDO for the whole thing but the original software which is running now need some major fixes quickly, the whole system crushed many times, some part are like if they done by a child, they can't wait for long enough for me to complete my work. what do you think I should do?
If you're being hired to patch up the old version, then do that. Much as it's lovely to rewrite something from a blank slate, it is always longer and often significantly so, and that decision is one that has to be made by people with an eye on the budget as well as the technical cleanness. You can do significant refactoring on the parts that you have to touch anyway, though, under the umbrella of 'fixing'.
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CDP1802 wrote:
Sounds like you inherited my old job.
So! You write unstructured, undocumented, standards-free code? Thanks for warning us ;)
MVVM# - See how I did MVVM my way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
Absolutely, especially when I'm experimenting with something. It's hard to follow standards where there are none. And it's the nature of experiments that unexpected things happen, so the design will suffer after enough tweaking. After all, you probably also don't obey the traffic rules when you want to drive offroad. And you don't have to, since traffic cops usually don't lurk in the middle of nowhere. :)
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Absolutely, especially when I'm experimenting with something. It's hard to follow standards where there are none. And it's the nature of experiments that unexpected things happen, so the design will suffer after enough tweaking. After all, you probably also don't obey the traffic rules when you want to drive offroad. And you don't have to, since traffic cops usually don't lurk in the middle of nowhere. :)
Australian traffic cops do lurk in the middle of nowhere! Personall, if there aren't standards, I implement them myself, and reengineering is the solution to the suffering through tweaking dilemma. Still, I'm perfect, so I guess I can't expect everyone to live up to my lofty level ;)
MVVM# - See how I did MVVM my way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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Hello. I was hired recently to fix some problems in some old software done using . NET 2. the old version was poorly done by every means no documentation no real naming system, nothing. I scheduled a REDO for the whole thing but the original software which is running now need some major fixes quickly, the whole system crushed many times, some part are like if they done by a child, they can't wait for long enough for me to complete my work. what do you think I should do?
Been there, done that. I survived 6 months, and then I gave up. This is all bad management, and there is nothing you can do to change it.
~RaGE();
I think words like 'destiny' are a way of trying to find order where none exists. - Christian Graus Do not feed the troll ! - Common proverb
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Australian traffic cops do lurk in the middle of nowhere! Personall, if there aren't standards, I implement them myself, and reengineering is the solution to the suffering through tweaking dilemma. Still, I'm perfect, so I guess I can't expect everyone to live up to my lofty level ;)
MVVM# - See how I did MVVM my way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
_Maxxx_ wrote:
Australian traffic cops do lurk in the middle of nowhere!
That's because there is so much nowhere you can be in the middle of in Australia.
_Maxxx_ wrote:
Personall, if there aren't standards, I implement them myself, and reengineering is the solution to the suffering through tweaking dilemma.
Still, I'm perfect, so I guess I can't expect everyone to live up to my lofty level ;)You must be my long lost twin brother.
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Get a new job! ;P
Why can't I be applicable like John? - Me, April 2011
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Beidh ceol, caint agus craic againn - Seán Bán Breathnach
-----
Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo!
-----
Just because a thing is new don’t mean that it’s better - Will Rogers, September 4, 1932