{"id":2168,"date":"2025-05-23T10:50:38","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T05:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cifrum.kz\/?p=2168"},"modified":"2025-07-23T20:11:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T15:11:12","slug":"my-computer-is-buggy-again-how-directors-and-it-specialists-stress-each-other-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cifrum.kz\/en\/my-computer-is-buggy-again-how-directors-and-it-specialists-stress-each-other-out\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;My computer is buggy again!&#8221; \u2014 How directors and IT specialists stress each other out"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>All the characters and situations in the article are fictional, any coincidences are accidental. The story of how the boss&#8217;s office and the server room are at war, and how to make peace.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">imagine: Friday, the end of the working day, the office is yawning in anticipation of the weekend. Suddenly, the door to the IT department opens with a bang, and the director rushes in, puffing like a kettle on the stove. &#8220;Because of you, the sales department screwed up at the exhibition! The presentation is not ready, the computers are hanging! This is your failure!&#8221; he thunders, waving his arms like a conductor at a rock concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Programmer Serik, looking up from the screen where he is fighting with another vulnerability, adjusts his glasses and thinks: &#8220;Seriously? Are we drawing their slides? The director himself ordered the sales staff to prepare this presentation a month ago. Are we extreme now? Oscar for originality!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Did you recognize yourself? Then welcome to the corporate theater, where directors and IT specialists play &#8220;Who understands whom less&#8221; every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why are we like a cat and a dog<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The director thinks:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;These IT guys are always messing with something and asking for a budget!&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;They get paid like rock stars, but they can&#8217;t fix a computer!&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;They mumble in their techno jargon and look at everyone like they&#8217;re newbies!&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Instead of helping businesses, they&#8217;re obstructing them!&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">IT people think:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;We&#8217;re saving the company from hackers here, and he&#8217;s yelling because of the slides!&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;He wants everything at once, as if we were fairies with a magic wand!&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;The salespeople delayed the presentation for a month, but are we to blame?&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;He spares money on equipment, and then he&#8217;s surprised that everything is lagging!&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And so it is every day. The director is angry that IT is a bottomless barrel of expenses. IT specialists grit their teeth that their work is not appreciated. Is this a familiar production?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Let&#8217;s model the situation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Situation 1: &#8220;The site went down on Friday evening&#8221;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened:<\/strong><br>Friday evening. The company&#8217;s website collapsed like a house of cards. The director calls Madi&#8217;s programmer every 10 minutes: &#8220;Well, have you revived? The customers are leaving!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The director is in my head:<\/strong><br>&#8220;Is it that hard to press the &#8220;fix&#8221; button? Why is everything breaking down?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Madi in my head:<\/strong><br>&#8220;The site crashed because the boss rejected the new server a year ago. Now I&#8217;m going to pick through this stuff until morning, and he&#8217;s still pushing!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>As it should have been:<\/strong><br>The director: &#8220;Madi, I see trouble. What does it take to solve it?<br>Madi: &#8220;The server is old, we&#8217;re fixing what we can. The new one will save you from failures.&#8221;<br>And everyone drinks tea in harmony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Situation 2: &#8220;Click on the website, by Monday!&#8221;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened:<\/strong><br>The director flies in to the developers on Thursday: &#8220;Guys, we need an order button on the website. The competitors have bypassed us! Will you do it by Monday?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The director in his head:<\/strong><br>&#8220;The button is a small thing! Four days is a lot of time!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The developers in my head:<\/strong><br>&#8220;A button? It&#8217;s not like you&#8217;re screwing in a light bulb! We need to link it to the database, set up notifications, and check that nothing is broken. At least two weeks, boss!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>How it should have been:<\/strong><br>Director: &#8220;We need customers to order faster.&#8221;<br>Developers: &#8220;A button is a whole system. We&#8217;ll do the simple version in a week, and the full version in three.&#8221;<br>A compromise has been found, and everyone is happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Situation 3: &#8220;Why do we need an expensive antivirus?&#8221;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened:<\/strong><br>IT asks for money for a corporate antivirus. Director: &#8220;There&#8217;s a free one, don&#8217;t make it up!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The director in his head:<\/strong><br>&#8220;An antivirus is an antivirus. Why overpay?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>IT&#8217;s in my head:<\/strong><br>&#8220;When hackers steal the customer base, he will be the first to shout: &#8220;Where is the protection?!&#8221;&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened next:<\/strong><br>A month later, a cyberattack. The system was down for two days. Losses \u2014 millions of tenge. An antivirus would be much cheaper. Math, boss!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Dictionary for the world in the office<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From Director&#8217;s to IT department:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>&#8220;Urgent!&#8221;<\/strong> = Name the actual deadline and priority.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>&#8220;Why is it taking so long?&#8221;<\/strong> = Explain in a simple way what you are doing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>&#8220;The competitors already have it!&#8221;<\/strong> = Show me how it works for them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>&#8220;Users are complaining!&#8221;<\/strong> = Give me the numbers: how many, where, what&#8217;s broken.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From IT department&#8217;s to Director :<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>&#8220;Technical debt&#8221;<\/strong> = Old defects that slow down the work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>&#8220;Refactoring is needed&#8221;<\/strong> = It is necessary to rewrite the code so as not to suffer further.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>&#8220;Load testing&#8221;<\/strong> = We check whether the site can withstand the crowd of customers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>&#8220;It&#8217;s technically impossible&#8221; <\/strong>= It won&#8217;t work that way, but here are three other ways.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to stop putting each other under stress<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">To the Directors:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Plan ahead.<\/strong> Do you want a feature for the New Year? Say September, not December 29th.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ask the right questions. <\/strong>Not &#8220;make a button&#8221;, but &#8220;how to simplify orders for customers?&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Don&#8217;t skimp on the essentials.<\/strong> It&#8217;s better to invest a million in a server than to lose ten due to a failure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Understand the basics.<\/strong> You don&#8217;t have to walk, but it&#8217;s useful to know how a website differs from an app.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">For IT specialists:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Speak the language of business.<\/strong> Not &#8220;let&#8217;s update the framework&#8221;, but &#8220;the old code slows down by 30%&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Suggest solutions. <\/strong>Instead of &#8220;impossible&#8221; \u2014 &#8220;option A in three days, option B in a month, but better.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Brag about the results. <\/strong>Show: &#8220;We fixed 50 bugs, the site loads 2 times faster.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Think about business.<\/strong> Your code is not a masterpiece in the gallery, it should make money.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Simple rules of survival<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A common language.<\/strong> The director teaches what a &#8220;backend&#8221; is, and IT specialists teach what a &#8220;ROI&#8221; is.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Regular contact.<\/strong> 30 minutes a week in sync \u2014 and quarrels are less than half.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Common goals. <\/strong>IT knows the company&#8217;s plans, and the director understands why the new server is needed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Respect.<\/strong> The director doesn&#8217;t yell &#8220;urgent&#8221; for no reason, IT people don&#8217;t roll their eyes at &#8220;stupid&#8221; questions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What to do right now<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>If you are the director:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to the IT people (with coffee, not shouting).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ask: &#8220;What prevents you from working?&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Give them a budget for their ideas (at least partially).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Set up a weekly meeting.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>If you are an IT specialist:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Make a presentation: &#8220;How we help businesses.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Convert technical problems into money: &#8220;Slow website = minus millions per year.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Offer the boss one simple solution to his main IT pain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stop grumbling at &#8220;incomprehensible&#8221; users.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Let&#8217;s model the situation: How can things be better<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Company:<\/strong> A small online store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Problem:<\/strong> The site is slowing down like an old bike. The director demanded to &#8220;just speed up&#8221;, the IT people asked for a new server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What have you done:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>IT showed that a slow website scares off a third of customers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We calculated: losses in millions of tenge per month, the server is cheaper.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The director allocated a budget.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>IT overclocked the site 3 times.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Result:<\/strong><br>Sales increased by 40%, the server paid off in a month. Now the director himself runs to IT specialists with ideas: &#8220;Let&#8217;s mess up the chatbot?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bottom line: peace is possible!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The war between directors and IT specialists is not fate, but misunderstanding. When you start speaking the same language, IT goes from &#8220;those who spend money&#8221; to &#8220;those who earn it.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Take the first step. Go to the server room (or the boss&#8217;s office) and ask, &#8220;How can we work better together?&#8221; The result will surprise you. And if it doesn&#8217;t work, you can always blame the old technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Disclaimer:<\/strong> The author is not responsible for the consequences of applying the advice from this article. The material is informational and humorous in nature and is provided &#8220;as is&#8221;, without guarantees. All characters and situations are fictional, any coincidences are random. Make decisions at your own risk. Consult with experts before implementing your ideas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>All the characters and situations in the article are fictional, any coincidences are accidental. The story of how the boss&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_focus_keyword":"171 computer buggy","rank_math_title":"&#171;My computer is buggy again!&#187; \u2014 How d\u2026 | Cifrum.kz","rank_math_description":"All the characters and situations in the article are fictional, any coincidences are accidental. 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