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Okay, I'm interning at a government institution & boy let me just tell you... mmmh... A FUCKING MESS!

So I'm tasked with developing a HR system that the whole company should eventually use. I tell them I'm not familiar with the open source technologies they'd like me to use, they tell me no worries, you can develop a prototype with a tech stack that you're familiar with. Also, they tell me that they don't quite have the requirements from HR so what I can do for my prototype is just develop something "general" that works according to their "idea".

Being the good intern I am, I develop quite a good functioning prototype & present it to the team who then present it to the managers.

Finally we're all called in for a final meeting with the managers & HR, and guess what? The requirements for the system are different. Almost 90% of the features we built into the prototype need to change. Also, the system must use open source technologies. The managers promise to send a detailed requirements specification document, with sample data. I think this is a great idea as there's still a lot I don't understand. I expected this to happen, so I soon start to redesign afresh, this time trying as hard as possible to consider open source technologies within my plans.

But noooo... My team wants me to "finish" the system!

"Finish" what system, I ask? That was a prototype!

"Just tweak the functionality you built to meet the new requirements".

WTF!

We don't even have the actual requirements specification document, so I'll still be coding blindly. Also, the whole system needs to be re-built using open source technology!

Instead of pushing me to develop a system blindly, with no requirements, how about you push HR to tell you exactly what they need and how it should work first!?

I'm honestly exhausted with the false sense of urgency from my team!!

Comments
  • 4
    Any time someone mentions requirements, just ask "What requirements?" until HR actually sends them over.
  • 0
    My condolences 😢
  • 0
    @EmberQuill just got a text telling me the system "is urgently required". Remember that what I have is a prototype, that doesn't meet any of the actual requirements & still needs to be re-developed using open source technologies.
  • 1
  • 4
    Sounds like my current employer, except the applications are already live and the requirements keep growing because the business had no idea what they wanted until it got deployed to live users and they realised everything they wanted was not what they wanted but they still keep suggesting new requirements anyways because they think it's what they want instead of asking their users what they need and we have to fix every bug that's actually a feature and urghrghegbihwbfhimwjnfjiwinvjfkbnjkbmklfnb
  • 1
    The whole thing is and was always intended to be vaporware and the top brass are just skimming money off the top.

    I have PERSONALLY written over a million dollars worth of government vaporware.

    Not to mention all the various 508 compliance and HIPA compliance you're going to have to integrate into whatever crazy fucking tech stack they'll come up with.

    Then they'll wait a solid 6 months to finally appropriate the money to pay you.

    Then you'll wait for the next fiscal year for your check.

    So yeah, I don't do contracts for the government anymore.
  • 1
    Gouvernement shit ... I work there to and nobody know what i do in this house of shit
  • 2
    I’m glad to hear government organizations are a mess everywhere.
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