Group Efforts 21

Group Efforts
The Diary of a Workgroup Manager

Episode 13 (1995)

Our hero backs out, George goes over the top and Amrat saves the day.

Wednesday 4th
I experience severe second thoughts about being a Windows 95 beta user, and decide to tell Amrat it's off. Surprisingly he doesn't seem upset, and under questioning reveals that George Barker, of all people, is keen to take it instead. The Luddite of Purchasing himself confirms this, saying that everyone's got to move with the times and it sounds like an interesting product. According to Andy Miller however, George's real motive is revenge on King Llewellyn, whom he's never forgiven for the Software Audit. He reckons a beta test ballsup will finish Llewellyn off, and intends to make sure one happens. I consider warning Amrat, but recall his comments about my work being sufficiently unimportant to run on beta code, and become engrossed in some Carshalton costing revisions instead.

Monday 16th
I.T. announces its first positive action in two months, an all-servers upgrade to NetWare 4.0. Cathy confirms that it'll make no noticeable difference to our workstations, so I've no complaints. No mention is made of NT Advanced Server, and I've no complaints about that either. Also absent, I later realise, is any mention of peer-to-peer networking, including a replacement for our formerly peer-shared LaserJet 4. Feeling slightly neglected, I email Llewellyn to enquire whether the project is still officially alive, and get a surprisingly friendly response saying that indeed it is but that 'what with everything' he hasn't be able to give it focus recently. Assured that he will be giving it focus soon, I return to the coalface. There, to my great joy, I discover Danny illicitly playing a copy of the new Cinemania '95, which I remove from the scene for further examination.

Tuesday 17th
The Hot Topic at the Management Meeting is Windows 95. George has submitted 14 bug reports so far, and Llewellyn has rejected 13 of them for reasons ranging from 'failure to understand the documentation' to 'sheer bloody-mindedness'. Costello seems distinctly unimpressed, though with whom it's not clear. His comment that 'this had better not turn into another fiasco, gentlemen' causes a shudder all round the table. Back at the ranch Danny's cheap SoundBlaster-compatible card gives up on me just as I'm five minutes into Cinemania 95, reducing the new movie clips to pre-talkie status. Danny is unsympathetic and suggests I buy my own next time. I consider Gross Abuse of Executive Power (forcibly removing his card) but don't quite feel up to it.

Wednesday 25th
It's NetWare 4.0 day, so we all log off for a dose of old-fashioned paperwork. The installers are Bill and Bob, now trading as B2 Systems, on a breakout contract from the Solvents Stores Feasibility Study. Amrat appears and expresses the view that he could have done the job perfectly well himself. Bob replies that 'this is men's work, son', and Amrat disappears again. At lunch time I.T. ring to ask Bill to move his Mercedes as it's blocking Llewellyn's Mondeo, but he seems to have disappeared too. Over a post-installation pint Bob says the word is that Costello is wise to George's Windows 95 plot, and intends to come down on him like the proverbial Ton Of if he doesn't stop playing about. I file a priority one urgent task reminder to warn George first thing next morning.

Friday 27th
I'm suddenly unable to log on to the Management Reporting System. This isn't necessarily a cause for concern, but the inability of Rose, June and Sheila to log on for document email is. I tell Sheila to get B2 Systems over, but she says they're working for another client today. I ring Llewellyn, but he's away on a systems integration seminar. I'm about to ring Costello when Amrat rings me and says he'll have it fixed in an hour, which he does. It turns out that the situation was, briefly, quite serious, with virtually all the inter-departmental services out of action. What's more the problem, a corrupted directory, occurred on the Purchasing server, a fact which Costello is viewing with deep suspicion given George Barker's recent activities. George, Llewellyn and the B2 team have all been invited to an explain-yourselves post mortem in Costello's office at 8.30 on Monday morning. Thankful, as ever, for blessed obscurity, I switch off for the weekend.