BAE Systems & MRA4
Join Date: Sep 2006
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Don't forget double full-stops. An IPT "Management Board" (17 staff, only 2 of them my senior and most non-technical) delayed approval for a high priority job for AFG for 6 weeks because I'd put a double full-stop at the end of a sentence in my technical spec. 
That's 17 staff, out of a 39-strong IPT, MoD could do without.
That's 17 staff, out of a 39-strong IPT, MoD could do without.(Must check this before I send it tho')!
Join Date: Dec 2000
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I'd go a bit deeper than that, Wensleydale...
How about too many people talking a good job, and not enough people getting things done?
After my little incident, I became a desk jonny. I was resonably well motivated & competent, but the work was piling on to me, they were whipping the willing horse.
Simple prioritisation degenerated into a system of work avoidance. What could I do to postpone one job so that I could concentrate on a more important one. Bung an e mail back asking for more info? Job done.
The IPT, almost without fail, issued STI's, RTI's & UTI's on a Friday. I suspect that the reason for this was that they spent all week having meetings, and had to make it someone else's problem by the weekend. .
How about too many people talking a good job, and not enough people getting things done?
After my little incident, I became a desk jonny. I was resonably well motivated & competent, but the work was piling on to me, they were whipping the willing horse.
Simple prioritisation degenerated into a system of work avoidance. What could I do to postpone one job so that I could concentrate on a more important one. Bung an e mail back asking for more info? Job done.
The IPT, almost without fail, issued STI's, RTI's & UTI's on a Friday. I suspect that the reason for this was that they spent all week having meetings, and had to make it someone else's problem by the weekend. .
Thanks for that Wensleydale. I do hope your tongue was firmly in cheek.
The real moral of the story is MoD is chock full of over-promoted plonkers who have nothing better to do than fart about looking for such major howlers. The guy who spotted it prefaced his comments with "As I don't understand the technical spec...I suppose I better comment on something". In which case, why is he employed to scrutinise a technical spec? And why did I need to write a spec in the first place? Because the system doesn't allow DEC to specify a requirement; URDs are so woolly that, if contracted, the deliverable could meet the endorsed requirement but be incapable of being put to its intended use.
In the example I quoted, the main issue was military personnel were dying due to lack of a solution. It is simply not acceptable for MoD to employ anyone, at any grade, who adopts the stance taken. Something I hope everyone here would agree with.
The real moral of the story is MoD is chock full of over-promoted plonkers who have nothing better to do than fart about looking for such major howlers. The guy who spotted it prefaced his comments with "As I don't understand the technical spec...I suppose I better comment on something". In which case, why is he employed to scrutinise a technical spec? And why did I need to write a spec in the first place? Because the system doesn't allow DEC to specify a requirement; URDs are so woolly that, if contracted, the deliverable could meet the endorsed requirement but be incapable of being put to its intended use.
In the example I quoted, the main issue was military personnel were dying due to lack of a solution. It is simply not acceptable for MoD to employ anyone, at any grade, who adopts the stance taken. Something I hope everyone here would agree with.
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Great Event!
Congratulations to the organisers and participants at the Dinner last night. Excellent speeches and a wide spread of guests (including crewmen and engineers!) made it a truly memorable event.
Chinook rules OK.
Chinook rules OK.
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I do like a bit of irony
Moral of the story - have your work proof read by some-one else before you send it - that extra couple of hours can save you weeks. (The double full stop should have been picked up by a green wavy line in word. If not using word, then it is good practice to write in word first then cut and paste into other formats).
(Must check this before I send it tho')!
(Must check this before I send it tho')!
