Conference 7.286::digital

    I never heard such bull....Do people work for you or are they just
    a "number". How impersonal can you get!
    
    The next thing you'll need is boiler plate reviews for :
    SW engineers
    HW engineers
    Etc etc
    
    get real 

    Change, Change, Change (for the better, I hope).
    
    	Why have reviews, when it has been demonstrated time and again that
    these dinosaurs (they are back, I know, hopefully only in Jurassic Park
    - The Movie) do not add any value !!!   For a more complete story on
    all the drawbacks that Reviews have on morale, teamwork, etc.; please
    read the book 'Out of the Crisis' by Dr. Deming.   He explains and
    provide excellent examples, why these dinosaurs are not applicable
    in time when we need teamwork.

	Why not just get a rubber stamp?

	If people are your most important asset, then it should be worth
your time to give them a written appraisal of their work.  

	Why not hire contract workers instead - they don't get reviews or
raises or bonuses either.

		Joe

>	Why not just get a rubber stamp?

    That's what .0 is saying - a boilerplate is a rubber stamp
    
>	If people are your most important asset, then it should be worth
>your time to give them a written appraisal of their work.  

    Many managers don't have enough info to write a review, the *ask*
    for written input from the employee!
    
>	Why not hire contract workers instead - they don't get reviews or
>raises or bonuses either.

	That's just what we're doing...	
    
    
    /Bob

    I can't believe what .0 is asking for.  Are you a manager?  Are your
    people unique?  I don't think anyone should waste their time replying
    to this base noter.

re: .4 -< so, .3 agrees with .0 >-

only in a cynical tounge in cheek way!

>    Many managers don't have enough info to write a review, the *ask*
>    for written input from the employee!
    
I've often had managers do this - I don't have a problem with it - it allows
you to 'remind' your manager of what you've done, and to tell her what you
think were important accomplishments.

This info goes into your permanenet file (sounds like high school doesn't it!);
having a chance to add input to that record is a plus in my book.

Having a boiler plate in my folder is about as useful to my career as having
a manager that thinks like the base noter.  I can only hope that his
manager takes a similar view of his work as he does of his subordinates.

	Joe

[forwards removed...]

   A Lexicon of Inconspicuously Ambiguous Recommendations
                     Robert J. Thornton

     Letters of  recommendation  are  becoming  increasingly
unreliable  as a means of evaluating candidates for academic
employment.  The chief reason is that the  contents  are  no
longer  strictly  confidential.   In  all  but the rarest of
cases a letter is apt to be favorable, even when the  writer
knows  the  candidate  is  mediocre or unqualified.  This is
because the writer fears that the candidate may later  exer-
cise  his  legal  right to read the letter, and perhaps even
sue if the contents are not to his liking.

     While abolishing the practice of requiring  letters  of
recommendation  may at first seem like a good idea, there is
really no better way to get  reliable  information  about  a
candidate's  qualifications  than to ask people who have had
close contact with him or her.  What is needed is a means by
which  the  letter writer can convey unfavorable information
in a way that the candidate cannot perceive as such.

     To this end I have developed the Lexicon of Inconspicu-
ously  Ambiguous  Recommendations,  or LIAR.  Here are a few
samples:

(1)  To describe a candidate who is woefully inept: "I  most
     enthusiastically recommend this candidate with no qual-
     ifications whatsoever."

(2)  To describe a candidate who is not particularly  indus-
     trious:  "In  my opinion you would be very fortunate to
     get this person to work for you."

(3)  To describe a candidate  with  lackluster  credentials:
     "All in all, I cannot say enough good things about this
     candidate or recommend him too highly."

(4)  To describe an ex-employee who had  difficulty  getting
     along  with  his  co-workers: "I am pleased to say that
     this candidate is a former colleague of mine."

(5)  To describe a candidate who is so unproductive that the
     job  would  be  better left unfilled: "I can assure you
     that no person would be better for the job."

     Any of the above may be used to offer a negative  opin-
ion of the personal qualities, work habits, or motivation of
the candidate while allowing the candidate to  believe  that
it  is  high  praise.  In any case the phrases are virtually
litigation-proof.

    	If the base noter is really in fact an individual contributor, then
    I think he's in worse shape than if he were a manager. He has no
    goals of his own??? (I didn't "jump to conclusions", I merely used good
    judgment in guessing he *was* a manager for I never heard of anyone NOT
    having their own goals)
    
    	If the base noter is in fact a "manager", I have a few select
    "boiler-plate goals" for that type....
    
    o   Must be capable of kneeling for extended periods of time
    o   Must learn how to say yessir, yessir without giving it a 2nd
        thought
    o   and I'm sure I can think of a bunch more; but I'd rather not put
        them in writing here.....
    

    re .2
    
    If you REALLY want someone to be successful, tell your employee, in as
    explicit language as possible, just exactly WHAT you want done, WHEN
    you want it done  and HOW you will measure that performance.  If you
    give broad statement goals (like, JUST DO THE RIGHT THING), be prepared
    to use broad standards for measurement (it may not be YOUR idea of
    the RIGHT THING).
    
    If readers find the above to be a dinosaur, please do not ask to be on
    my team. 
    
    Dave

I have always found those yearly "goals" to be too complex and removed from what
I do in my job.  The more specific, even if seemingly not lofty, goals are the
ones most likely to be achieved.

Yes, I know, I was always equally responsible with my manager for writing the
goals, but I have never had faith that anyone would ever look at them again. 
Perhaps this was foolish of me as I am almost "out the door".

The thought of these goals coming from a boilerplate or template is to make a
farce of the entire system.

Paul

    	Well, now that tha author of .0 has been thoroughly insulted, we
    	will probably never find out the reason for the question in the
    	basenote.  Would *YOU* come back here to answer some of the
    	subsequent questions asked of him?
    
    	There are no stupid questions.
    
    	Only stupid answers.
    
    	I can see reasons for the questions he asked -- both from the
    	perspective of the manager and the employee.

    I got the impression the originator was asking for a template of a
    review 'form' that might help him get started.  I have many times used
    goals stated by others to help me find the right grammar and say what I
    wanted to say in the most clear and efficient manner.  Some of us
    aren't as eloquent with the written word as others and we can use the
    words of others to inspire us to say what 'we' are trying to say.
    
    I sure am glad I haven't recieved the bombardment this guy got in some
    of my innocent requests in conferences.......sheesh!
    
    Steve

	My apologies for not responding earlier.  The usual excuse: I got
	dragged off on some work.

	Re 0:  I suspect your interpretation of my note is diametrically
	opposite its intent.  If you have the time, read it again, between
	the lines.  To answer: People do not work for me.  They are just a
	"number".

	Re .1:  Thanks for citing Dr. Deming's book.  I haven't read it...
	too busy reading Motif docs.  A few years ago, when I was twirling 
	the microfilm magazine catalog at Nashua's public library, I 
	unthinkingly let it stop on "Performance".  There is actually a 
	whole academic study of peoples' performance appraisals at work, and 
	there is a growing disdain for the "review process".  I wonder why.  

	Re .3: "Why not just get a rubber stamp?"
	That's what I'd like.  ... save me a whole bunch of time. ... get to
	read more Motif docs!  I think you also missed the gist, or thrust,
	of the base note.

	Re .4: " Many managers ... the *ask* for written input from the 
	employee!"  In one of the mediocre places I worked before here, we 
	reviewed ourselves, and each other.  Most peoples' reaction: "Puhleeeze!"  
	It was kind of fun.  The best comment was "Her desk is not tidy."  The 
	"untidy desk" formula became endemic.

	Re .5: "Are you a manager?"   Nope.
	       "Are your people unique?"  Nope. Well, since I'm not a manager, 
	there aren't any "my" people.  But my coworkers are pretty much typical 
	intelligent, honest, hardworking engineers.  They write software.

	Re 5:  "I don't think anyone should waste their time replying to this
	        base noter."
	But if no one wastes their time replying, how will I gather a collection
	of nifty goals, suitable for publication?

	Re .7: A Lexicon of Inconspicuously Ambiguous Recommendations
	Neat!  Thanks, Lou!  Robert Lucky would like these!

	Re .8 "I believe the base noter is an individual contributor,..."
	What do you mean "believe"?  Do you imply a remnant doubt?  Tsk.

	Re .8:  do 
		    {
	    	    etc.
	    	    } ( until nauseated );
		
	... a short lived loop, presumably...

	Re .8: " Boilerplate for the whole thing is fine with me."
	Thanks for the inspiration.  Presumably you'll be among the first
	to pay money for a Goals Bible, right?  What would it be worth?

	Re .9 "He has no goals of his own???"
	Well, I guess so.  Sure!  I do have goals.  No one understands them.

	Re .9: "o   Must be capable of kneeling for extended periods of time
		o   Must learn how to say yessir, yessir ..."

	Are these "goals?"  They look like widely recognized job qualifications.
	Unless you mean the goal would be to _improve_ the capabilities.

	Re .10:  Well stated, though aren't you being unfair to dinosaurs?
	Thanks.  (I've sometimes asked "_Whose_ 'right thing'?"  No one
	understood what I meant.)

	Re .11: "I have always found those yearly "goals" to be too complex 
		and removed from what I do in my job."
	Thank you for the insight.  Maybe you know what I'm asking for...

	Re .12: "He had no visible lobotomy scars,..."
	Yeah.  (Are you emphasizing "visible"?)

	Re .13: " Would *YOU* come back here to answer some of the
	    	subsequent questions asked of him?"
	Well, _I_ would!  Beats writing C code.

	Re .14: "originator was asking for a template of a review 'form'
	        that might help him get started."
	Exactly.  Why should engineers struggle protactedly in isolation to 
	invent and articulate personal goals that jibe with the furtherance of
	their fellow employees' and stockholders' welfare?
	
	Anyhow, no one has answered my question.  I guess no one has ever
	collected useful goals together in one place.

	Regards, Robert.

    	Well, Robert, goals are different from job to job.  I suspect you
    	will not find such a template.  You might  want to consider getting 
    	ahold of the goals section of your colleagues and use them.
    
    	Some suggested goals that might be applicable for an engineer?
    
    	*	Attend training course(s) XYZ 
    
    	*	Implement the knowledge learned in the above course(s).
    
    	*	Write x-many technical articles.
    
    	*	Close x-many SPRs.
    
    	*	Write and implement (or update) a CMS/DTM testing procedure 
    		for portion-x of your code.
    
    	*	Become up-to-date with the contents of x-topic technical
    		notesfile and thereby become a team resource for the
    		contents of that notesfile.
    
    	*	Learn x-technical-area that you do not currently know.
    
    ---------------------------------
    
    	I once tried putting in a review that I had no goals for the next
    	year other than solidify the technical expertise I had already
    	developed to date -- to become more comfortable with, and thereby 
    	more proficient in the niche I currently occupied.
    
    	My manager said I couldn't say that.  He said that upper management
    	would not accept it.  I had to show growth.
    
    	I rewrote it using alot of DEC-jargon words like "process", "ownership" 
    	and "full plate", but otherwise saying the same thing.  (They like the
    	phrase "team resource".)  It passed through the second time around.  
    	I wish I had saved it.  It was a masterpiece.

    	Yeh, I over-reacted, probably due to having had to lay off a
    friend. Perhaps I read a bit much into your question. Sorry I jumped
    all over you.....Now for a bit more positive answer....
    
    	Goals should be grouped into Short-term and long-term goals. As the
    previous reply mentioned, these goals differ widely from job-job, ie.
    the goals of a HW engineer vs the goals of a SW engineer may be quite
    different. 
    
    	In past reviews I've written, short-term goals were considered as
    goals over the next 1-2 years whereas long-term goals were considered
    between 5 and 5+ years. This is done to outline to the employee and
    provide direction for his/hers career growth. Some ideas (you should
    also use details contained in the previous reply):
    
    	Short-term:
    
    	o    Projects that he should continue to work on and complete
    	o    The next project he will be assigned so he can plan ahead
    	o    Course(s) to take to ensure the short-term goals are reached
    
        Long-term:
    
    	o    Develop skills to become........
    	o    Attend the following courses over the several years 
    
    A.P.S. group review format has recently changed and in place of the
    goals section, there is now an "objectives and responsibilities for the
    next review period". The word objective perhaps better defines what
    consideration(s) are needed..
    
    Can I take my foot out now?
    
    cheers
    

           I agree with .2, our review process (preformance & salary) is
           way out of date.  Dr. Deming has made it know in his 14 Points
           for Management that annual performance reviews "build fear,
           and leave people bitter, despondent, and beaten." Especially
           in this time, where a "rating" of average could cost your job.
           And, salary performance is WAY out of sync with performance...
           RIDICULOUS!!!
           
           Steve
           

re .0, perhaps this will help a bit.

to make it easier to read, use runoff.

---------------------------- cut here ---------------------------------------
.ps58,65
.require "decmemohead"
.lm38 .ts38
.s2.i-38;To: group
	Date: 9 September 1986
.br;From: Chuck Bradley
.br;Dept: changed
.br;Ext:###DTN changed
.br;Loc/Mail Stop: changed
.br;File: lasgoals.rno
.lm0.s3;Subject: Sample Goals for Performance Reviews
.title Sample Goals for Performance Reviews
.p
Some of you have asked about goals for a performance review.
This memo is a slight modification to one I did for the Tools group.
I went thru some old reviews and picked out some goals, then added others
that might be suitable for some projects or some phases of projects.
Most but not all of the items I disguised lightly, to make them easier
to relate to other projects.  Where it was hard to disguise, or where
the disguise would be easy to break I left the item unchanged.
.p
The following list is the result of that exercise.
Some of them might be appropriate for you.
Others might help you think of better goals.
People do a better job of reaching goals when the goals are their goals.
I encourage all of you to take the lead in establishing your goals.
No one that I know of has ever had a list of goals that was anywhere near
this long.

.hl1 PLANNED FUTURE COMMITMENTS
.p
The following are the planned commitments for the next review period.
This list is based on current plans.
As circumstances change, the goals might change also.

.list
.le
Receive fewer than .3 SPRs reporting unique software defects per site
per month for DEC/Foobar.
Do the same for the documentation.
Receive a score of at least 4.01 (of 5) on the bug level question if a customer
survey is performed.
.p
It is too late to affect the outcome of this goal which measures the
success of the previous project.

.le
Achieve an overall software quality rating and overall product rating on user
surveys of at least 4.05 for Foobar.
It is too late for xxx to affect this goal.  This goal measures the success
of work previously done.

.le
Have fewer than 0.1 SPRs per license per month during field test.

.le
Meet the corporate guidelines for SPR responses.

.le
Provide a high level of support to users during field test. Achieve
a rating of at least 4.1 on the support questions of the quality survey.

.le
Pass a phase 1 review before date.
.le
Produce usable baselevels with all planned features working, on schedule:
.lit
	number	date	content
	3	May 85	feature 1, faster 2, feature 3 except abc
	4	June 85	feature 6
	5	Aug 85	feature 8, faster 1, rest of 3
.end lit

.le
Conduct a successful quality review.  Successful means no change in plans
and no more than two labor weeks of additional tasks.

.le
Build a diagnostic tool that can be used for the TEST MANAGER
data base with the CMS data base in mind so that they can also use it.

.le
Complete the project as planned, on or ahead of schedule.

.le
Deallocate the dependency graph.

.le
Use callable CMS in MMS.

.le
Volunteer to be an Inspection Moderator. 
Complete the training by date.
Be available for at least 3 inspections of dept projects and 3 inspections
of other dept projects.
Encourage the use of inspections on various projects.

.le
Use formal inspection techniques on which documents.
Report on the results.

.le
Be an effective QA Buddy for DEC/something.
Be a quality advocate.  
Insure that the project
has appropriate quality goals and those goals are met.

.le
Insure that the Foobar product is clean and is ready for
shipment in what-month.  Fix bugs as needed and work with customers,
internal and external, to insure this product is accepted.

.le
Consult with so-and-so on his such-and-such work as needed.

.le
Review Foobar documentation as needed before release.

.le
Influence the requirements for V9 of DEC/Foobar.

.le
Test our tools products on the uVAX as is possible.  Influence
directions we should go to make our tools support individuals on uVAXes.

.le
Increase the test coverage of Foobar to 95_% of routines and 98_% of code.

.le
Increase the test library of Barfoo so 78_% of all errors reported by SPR,
QAR, or other means, by external customers, are already known
and corrected in a development version.

.le
Increase the test library of Barfoo so 50_% of all errors reported by SPR,
QAR, or other means, by everyone outside DSS Engineering, are already known
and corrected in a development version.

.le
Demonstrate compatibility with whatever by however by when.

.le
Survey internal users of Foobar by when.
Insure there are at least so many users with howmuch experience by then.

.le
Prepare for and deliver 3 effective presentations at DECUS.

.le
Have Time Server capabilities included in VMS V5.8.

.le
Demonstrate product at what trade show and dates with all features that have 
been implemented working flawlessly. Have no failures of the product
even with malicious users.

.le
Hold early and frequent demonstrations of xxxx prototypes.
.le
Hold early and frequent demonstrations of many versions of what.
Insure that the project is understood.  Avoid overselling.
.le
Provide excellent support to early users.  Insure their success.
Discourage use that will not succeed or will drain project resources without
greater advantages.
Be sure your management knows about such unprofitable sites.

.le
Hold a phase 0 review for xxx as early as practical in Q1 FY86.

.le
Foster an effective close working relationships with the Bla-bla,
bla-bla, bla-bla and other projects that have shared technical concerns.

.le
Foster an effective close working relationships with the VMS group, SQM, 
SDC, FTA, and any other support groups with respect to the xxx project.

.le
Help insure a successful Spring DECUS by contributing to the whatever sessions
and reviewing related material.

.le
Train who to maintain what so less than x_% of your time is needed to
support what in the timeperiod.  Insure that who feels capable of
handling what without your assistance or with no more than x questions
per year.

.le
Identify a replacement project leader candidate from the project team
by date. Provide a training plan for him by date.
Implement the approved plan, and successfully complete the transfer of
responsibility.

.le
Propose and supply ideas for new projects addressing the major needs of
the software development community in a distributed environment.

.le
Take overt and visible steps to promote awareness of Distributed System
Services' products within Digital.

.le
Write, and get published in a refereed journal, a paper about xxx.

.le
Be an effective system manager for KNOWED and arrange a smooth transition
to a new manager.

.le
"Participate in the planning for future releases of xxx.  Identify at least 
one technical area to become the local expert in and to demonstrate 
design and coding skills."

.le
"Learn how to use DEC/Shell and be prepared to support Foobar users who also
use the Shell."

.le
"Complete the planned courses to learn VMS system management and be prepared 
to be a VMS system manager."

.le
Have Foobar run at least as fast as previous versions for the entire test suite,
and for at least 80_% of typical commands.  This is after allowing for 
the difference in speeds of the underlying system.

.le;Begin looking at requirements for a Design Tool.  
.ls'o'
.le;Recognize
the limits of the DEC environment with respect to software design
experience.
.le;Interview experienced developers from non-DEC environments to 
determine customer use of a design document and potential use of 
such a tool.  
.le;Work with product management to keep the assigned project 
manager up to speed on this investigation.
.els
Work with experts in human factors to produce an easy to learn and use
product.  Act promptly to improve the product based on the results of testing.
.le
Improve an area of special expertise.
.le
Develop a new area of competence.
.end list

    A simple goal I usually use is advancement to the next ``title'', ie.
    my ``Software Engineer I'' goal was to become an SE-II, SE-II to
    Senior, Senior to Princepal, ... and then I can probably ride the goal
    of Princepal to ``Consulting'' for a while :-)
    

Re: .20

The ride ends at Principal.

			Steve