Ok, so I’ve got this new job figured out. You know how you flail about in the first few weeks of a job before you really catch on to what you’re supposed to be doing? Well, that stage is ending for me.

I work for Company X (“X”). Company X uses Vendor Y (“Y”) for A Very Important Program (“The Program”).

The problem is this: Y produces The Program… but The Program has a lot of bugs. Add to that the fact that the maturity level of The Program is not very high. If the sendmail program is a 10 (very old, quite mature) then The Program is about a 0.5, maybe a 1.0.

So, The Program is not only used by X, but it also used by a lot of the customers of X – it has been provided by X to their customers.

My job? I’m supposed to keep up with the patches for The Program by Y and keep the customers happy by providing those patches to them. I also get to report any problems to Y and wait for their patches.

You see the problem here? I have all of the responsibility, but I’m actually dependant upon Y to provide a solution to any problems… all while I’ve got X (and X’s customers) asking me when the problem will be fixed. And I’m not too confident in Y’s solutions or ability to solve problems.

It’s quite a pickle of a problem for me and I’ve got to figure out what I’m going to do. It’s not like anyone lied to me or anything, but I don’t think this part of the job was made quite clear.

Update

No, I don’t think anybody lied to me; perhaps I just didn’t know what questions to ask. This isn’t a matter of someone “doing something” or lying to me; it’s probably a matter of the proper question not being asked and the proper information not being offered. Acrimony will not solve this issue. Besides, I very much like and respect the people I’m working with.