Making... copies...

A few strips of the popular Dilbert Comic illustrate a situation I went through at work today... without mentioning any names, or really even casting any blame, I want to share.

Here's the situation, and some background. I work as a Tech Writer at a large pharmaceutical company... My "job" is to help create and maintain the stack of paperwork that has to be created for IT projects.

So, there's this thing called an IVI - Installation Verification Instruction. Basically, someone has to have a copy in order to do the installation and test it. Before that happens, someone has to sign off on it.

Before all that happens, a Test Plan has to be created and signed. So, since, like every project, this project I'm working on has a due date that isn't far enough out. I'm running around trying to get people to sign this Test Plan (because that's what Tech Writers actually do here, walk around and harass people until they sign documents). And it gets done... and this IVI... gets done.

So, now that the Test Plan is signed, the IVI can be executed. Except, the IVI needs to either:

- be in the electronic repository so that the person executing can just pull it from there and go
- have a few copies made of the signed document, so the person executing can use them to execute against

So, yesterday... I get these documents done under immense pressure from multiple individuals, and then start working on other stuff. Then the guy who needed to execute the IVI comes by and asks me to...

make copies or get the document into the electronic repository.

I elected to make copies... It was actually less work then putting the document into the repository, for reasons that will remain undisclosed for now. However, it doesn't mean that I feel "good" about being asked to make copies. I'm in a job that will never, ever be a springboard for anything other than continuing to do this job, but there will always be this job to do. Ultimate job security, but completely unrewarding work.

Thus, I read through my subscribed feed to the Dilbert comic, and come across these images:







Perfect, just perfect. I'm at the bottom, and I have nobody left to complain to but the Internet, using my blog. Nice. My feelings are nicely captured by a comic that captures everyone's feelings of helplessness -- in a humorous way that might actually make me feel better about it -- if I didn't still have to go back to this same job... ugh... time for a new one.