[WikiEN-l] Process is evil

[Ray Saintonge]

David Gerard wrote:

>On 19/08/06, David Gerard <dgerard at gmail.com> wrote:
>  
>
>>I do so wish people would stop trying to legislate cluefulness. Read
>>[[m:Instruction creep]] until you understand why.
>>    
>>
>And I see someone has added a beautiful and oh so apposite quote to
>[[m:instruction creep]]:
>
>    Process is an embedded reaction to prior stupidity. When I was CTO
>of a web design firm, I noticed in staff meetings that we only ever
>talked about process when we were avoiding talking about people. "We
>need a process to ensure that the client does not get half-finished
>design sketches" is code for "Greg fucked up." The problem, of course,
>is that much of this process nevertheless gets put in place, meaning
>that an organization slowly forms around avoiding the dumbest
>behaviors of its mediocre employees, resulting in layers of gunk that
>keep its best employees from doing interesting work, because they too
>have to sign The Form Designed to Keep You From Doing The Stupid Thing
>That One Guy Did Three Years Ago.
>
>    - Wikis, Grafitti, and Process, Clay Shirky, 2003-08-01
>
I like it!  However, talking about people brings its own problems.  If 
admin Joe is particularly sensitive about his efforts, and is full of 
self-righteous determination we avoid saying "Joe fucked up." because 
Joe is likely to whine and complain so much about about personal attacks 
that you would think that he's running Encyclopedia Britannica.

Ec