Re: my supervisor won't let me make my website in .net
- From: "Cor Ligthert [MVP]" <notmyfirstname@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 09:36:53 +0100
Nick,
As mostly we don't disagree, however.
There is in my opinion a difference between a webdesigner and a
webdeveloper.
I am by instance not such a well webdesigner. I try it however I am seldom
satisfied, I know to few of using the right colours, fonts etc in the right
way.
Therefore as stubbie says he is a designer, he can be a lousy webdeveloper.
Than it is better to use a real designer tool as Macro Media have or even
better work together with a webdeveloper.
If he has the opinion that he is a webdeveloper, however. Than nobody can in
my opinion state anything against him to use Net than personal preference.
This is of course an indirect answer to Stubbie, however adding it to yours
made it me easier to explain what I mean, because the rest is written by
you.
Just my thought,
Cor
"Nick Malik [Microsoft]" <nickmalik@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> schreef in bericht
news:cKKdna-rDcMQUYrZnZ2dnUVZ_tWdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hello 'stubbsie'
"stubbsie" <stubbsie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:B5DF3BA3-8A67-419E-85F9-171EC62095D9@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi,
I have redesigned our official public government website in .net and it
has
taken me a few months to redo. I have been the sole designer of the
website
from its humble beginnning a few years ago when no one wanted to even
mess
with it. Since then I have been steadily maintaining it and improving it.
I
am about halfway done, and all of a sudden my supervisor won't let me
make
the website in .net. Our programmers use .net to make web applications,
and
there are no policies or limitations in what language we choose. All our
servers are microsoft, and our corporate network is all with microsoft
windows users. I have newly redesigned website already working as a test
site
on our public web server. My supervisor states that since I am just a web
designer that I cannot include .net programming to make the website. I
have
taken 3 official microsoft asp.net and vb.net programming classes, of
which I
learned to make my site dynamic with some asp.net technology. The classes
are
freely provided with a work contract, to improve our work skills and
productivity. I use visual studio.net and dreamweaver mostly with
designing
the site, and I have incorporated a bit of ajax in it for a couple of
pages.
What main points can I provide in my defense? I have a meeting tomorrow
with
the CEO, and need to provide information.
My redesigned site is very nice, and I am working on making the pages as
accessible as possible, to try to conform to WAI guidelines, which is of
my
choosing, since I believe the website needs to be. It is a local
government
website.
I am deeply hurt that I have been told I cannot use .net. I feel it is a
personal assault against me. Is there any defense? Like discrimination or
something? Like I stated before, there was no indication, nor any policy
against, how I am to design the website.
After doing this kind of stuff (coding, that is) for over 25 years, I've
noticed that more bad decisions are made because of personality conflicts
or politics than any other single source. That may be your supervisor's
decision to stop you from deploying in a technology he doesn't like, or
your decision to use .Net without first clearing it with your supervisor.
It is hard for me to tell who is playing the "right" game and who is
playing the "wrong" one.
I disagree, respectfully, with Clinton's advice. Do not go in simply
explaining how you took training and no one told you that it was wrong to
write code in .Net. That will ignore the elephant in the room... that
your supervisor has the right to tell you what to do. For some reason, he
(or she?) believes that he has a good reason for telling you to stop. You
(and everyone above you) has to recognize that your supervisor may have a
good point.
You will get nowhere until you recognize the obstacles in your path and
overcome them. Perhaps your supervisor has an honest reason for believing
that the introduction of .Net technology in your application would be
wrong. Address it. Is he afraid that, were you to leave, that he would
have to pay for a highly paid "Senior Web Developer" to fix it, whereas
you have a lesser (cheaper) title? It's a valid concern. If that is the
case, what is your recourse?
Well, you can point out that the web app that you have written makes only
elementary use of .Net capabilities, such that an expensive programmer
would not be needed to maintain it. You can point out that Microsoft has
been working for years to make it easy for non-geeks to write small
amounts of useful code, and that maintaining the app would not require
geeks, but rather normal people. You can point out that, in fact, only a
web designer would be qualified to modify your site because of the keen
and well-placed graphical (macromedia) and usability elements you've
inserted. You can point out that the training that the local government
has invested in you is not wildly expensive, and that, therefore, the cost
of replacing you is no more than the cost that the local government would
ordinarily spend on building and maintaining the skills of any web
developer.
In other words, do NOT show off how you've written code. Show off how
you've designed a web site that happens to use code in small and necessary
ways to do useful things. You are, after all, a web designer. The site
you created is no more and no less than the excellence that YOUR
SUPERVISOR has instilled in you and the rest of his team. (Always flatter
the person you are trying to prove wrong).
Tell your supervisor's boss what a great job he has done in providing you
with the educational support that is needed for the position. Point out
that any web designer would need these skills and that many web designers
have them. Point out that your supervisor has simply brought out the
behavior that your local government requires to get their job done.
Point out that deploying the site with .Net will not increase the costs to
the organization, and is the best way to meet the needs because it is so
easy to find web designers, both internally and externally, that are
familiar with the Microsoft .Net platform (as opposed to doing things in
popular languages that may require skills not typically found in your
organization, like Perl, TCL, or Java).
Then ask for the support of your CEO. Say, literally, "I am seeking your
support to continue to perform my duties in the excellent manner that my
supervisor has enabled and empowered me."
The end of every sales pitch is to ask for the sale. Don't forget to ask.
"I seek your support" is sufficient. Do not ask for a technical decision.
Do not ask for retribution against anyone, especially your supervisor.
Remember, if he loses face in front of your CEO, you will lose eventually,
even if you win tomorrow.
--
--- Nick Malik [Microsoft]
MCSD, CFPS, Certified Scrummaster
http://blogs.msdn.com/nickmalik
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this forum are my own, and not
representative of my employer.
I do not answer questions on behalf of my employer. I'm just a
programmer helping programmers.
--
.
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