The Software Manager's Operations Review had taken the whole of Wednesday morning the last few weeks but this one should be different. Fred Hart was almost looking forward to it today.
It shouldn't take ten minutes to check off last week's action items, because he had resolved every one. That was a rare situation: some of the tasks that the Systems Programming group undertook would run for four or five months. The apparent empty slate was dangerous, in fact. Software Manager Ken Murray would surely dream up a large number of "fixes" for that situation, left alone.
Murray hadn't been in the position three months yet. His predecessor came from the ranks, an excellent database administrator, and the activities of the four specialist groups quite buried him. Sadly he’d resigned in despair after six months, and his Deputy Chief GM breathed a hearty sigh of relief. He would have been too senior to dismiss. Murray, fresh from a massive international project, was an entirely different bunch of resources. He forgot nothing.
If he missed anything, it certainly hadn't been in Fred's group. He'd built a network of alternative sources of information within days of taking up the job. He ran a weekly reporting regime that defied all Fred's avoidance techniques. He was unsnowable.
The meeting began at nine on the dot.
"All your formal reports are in hand, gentlemen - they are now," Murray began. "Pete, don't hold my reports late to include a last minute development. I'll have it the way it goes to press and you can amplify it here."
Lacey, from the Network group had the first grilling.
"As you can see Ken, we're up to our ears with complaints over those regional data links. We called the supplier's people in yesterday, but I don't think they're taking the line breaks seriously. I'd like you to sign the letter I put on your desk last night. Might get us a bit more attention."
"It's back on your desk signed. Give my Secretary a copy when it goes out, will you? By the way, what's changed? You've got a couple of dozen links out there that are performing." Murray had done his homework again.
"They're all 8 and 16 channel units. We had to go to a new model for the regional links, and they’re not behaving the same way."
"Why doesn't the downtime show on your report," Murray probed.
"We're covering it with maintenance spares of the older type, but that's only good for the very short term."
"Now, what about that high-speed line to Perth?" Murray raced on.
"It's a documentation problem we've got," Lacy responded. "The Manuals are written for hardware people, and we keep screwing up on things like Modem time-outs."
"Do you think I ought to recall that girl on leave? Seems like you've got a few difficult ones to cope with."
Heads raised around the table. Was the new Perth line all that important?
"It doesn't seem like a big risk yet, Ken," Lacey started carefully. "We're still ahead of the schedule. I don't think I understand. Do you see a problem that I don't?"
"Well, the risk I see is you're using up all the spare time on that schedule you've got on your wall. You're getting close to causing Operations a problem and it seems like they won't get any warning. We wouldn't want that, would we?"
It just wasn't their day. Alex was going to have to put a bit more time in on his homework. Lucky the Systems side is on top, Fred gloated to himself.
"Looks like your people are ready to take the rest of the month off, Fred." Murray was on to the next report, and it was Systems Programming. "They got any overdue leave down there?"
"Yes, Ken, some," Fred half-lied. He hadn't thought of that. “There's a lot more work than shows on the Project List, too. We had to get that down, even though the Problem Desk has a big load of end-user stuff. Our people will be called on next week with the new Database package install, and the new men are off on training courses the next two weeks. We've got a lot...."
"Why do your people need Fred's staff, Jack?" Murray interrupted with a query for Arnold of the Database group.
"Don't know, Ken. My people wouldn't usually deal with the Security system, so I suppose that's the reason."
"You need to know those things; otherwise your people will take over from you. Anything else, Fred?"
"Corporate Planning are about to hit us with a rush evaluation of a new Financial Modeling package that they want up and running for January the first." Fred concluded. "That's going to cost us a whole man-month next month." That finished his contribution. Pretty smooth.
Murray wrote himself a brief note. "What about that problem that turned up in the monthly Receivables run?" How the hell did he find out about that, Fred wondered?
"It was resolved the same day, I think."
"Maybe not quite,” Murray went on. "The Audit people found about it, didn't they? What do you know about the wash-up?"
"Far as I know, one of the new men, Chu, left a part-finished piece of code in the wrong place when he went off sick. Bailey cleaned it up in five minutes. Chu hasn't come back yet, but he'll get a rocket as soon as he does. I don't think the Audit people found it, they just happened to be on the spot."
Murray wasn't finished yet. "The Audit Manager thinks it shows the signs of a fraud attempt. You might bear that in mind when you talk to your man. Chu, did you say?" Hart nodded. "I know we don't have a lot of protection against Systems people, so we have to be careful. We'd have to dismiss him on a decent suspicion, and we'd have to terminate you if he pulled it off. This kind of thing needs a lot of discretion, gentlemen." Murray caught everybody's eye in turn as he gave the point time to sink in.
God, I hope he comes back to work tomorrow, Fred prayed. Maybe I should try ringing him at home. Yes, I'll do that straight after lunch. A bilious attack shouldn't last this long. How on earth could you really monitor those people's activities?
But Murray still had something left up his sleeve.
"With this quiet period here, you might try getting some order in that work area, too, Fred. There are enough manuals and listings lying around to make a fire hazard."
"Those guys have to work with a library on call, Ken."
"Get a couple of bookcases. And a bigger rubbish bin. The place doesn't need to look like a brothel in peak hour. You can do that much this week, I'm sure."
Well it's not too bad if that's all he's got to complain about. Hart surreptitiously wrote himself a note about a cleanup campaign as Murray had his parting shot.
"Have a look at that overdue leave, too. It might be worse than you think."
Jack Arnold had an even worse time of it in the Database group. Poor fellow, he still wasn’t on top of those people. Jobs he's reported as finished weren't, or so Murray claimed. Schedules were slipping and a salary upgrade he'd recommended was deferred for more justification. On and on the flagellation went.
Fred didn't even listen to the Capacity Manager's drubbing. He got the overall impression that there were some pretty serious risks emerging in the planning process as he concentrated on his own list. That was how he missed the call for liaison staff to help with a procedure review over Christmas. He tried to look intelligent, and nodded as the spotlight came around to him again. No matter, he'd get a second chance to pick up the details in a few minutes.
Murray carefully listed the action items he's noted for each of his group managers, getting each man's agreement, and the morning meeting was over at last.
So was the morning, again.
Nasty, that suspicion of dishonesty in the Systems group, Hart thought as he headed back to his office. Dangerous, too, when it might cost him his job.