[Revolting cat!]

I spent a decade administering a version control database depot for an IT dept of a billion $ software company. Despite numerous efforts by lower level staffers including myself, no code reuse project ever got off the ground. Redundant code is being written to this day, while the company upper management whines about the costs of the IT department, forces layoffs and exports jobs to Bangalore. Why?

Rush, artificial deadlines that are never met anyway, emphasis on projects that benefit directly and immediately customers outside of IT, the yes-man corporate culture. For the same reasons the code is written undocumented using unstandardized variable names. I tried to promote code reviews? Are you kidding?

At the same time, believe it or not, the engineering department which produces the company’s products adheres to strict standards of coding, code reviewing, release management. Go figure.

[RogerFGay]

At the same time, believe it or not, the engineering department which produces the company’s products adheres to strict standards of coding, code reviewing, release management. Go figure.

This is just a thought, not a proven theory or anything - but it's seemed to me that managers more easily accept best practices in stable profit-making activities. Cost recovery is a big part of bottom-line accounting. It has to be stable though - i.e. longer term so that they have time to accept. And there has to be a required spread-sheet showing better results over time.

Otherwise, they'll just complain about the costs and blame the engineers - even though they're ordering them to misbehave and drive costs up.