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[TRENCHES] Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - Bureaucromancy

GethGeth LegionPerseus VeilRegistered User, Moderator, Penny Arcade Staff, Vanilla Staff vanilla
edited April 2013 in The Penny Arcade Hub
Bureaucromancy


Bureaucromancy
http://trenchescomic.com/comic/post/bureaucromancy

Please help us test! Don’t report bugs!

Anonymous

I worked for a large company as a lead in customer service. As a major project launch date approached, management realized more skilled testers would be needed and moved staff familiar with the product from other teams temporarily to testing. I was interested and actually excited to do this, because I had never tested before. I was under the impression that my involvement would help my CS team out in the long run, and the product would be better for it. Make sense?

I tested full-time for four weeks. I was given a huge list of testing scripts to work through but it was all mundane happy-path stuff. I thought I’d do better with some guerilla testing, and since I wasn’t officially a tester I didn’t have a supervisor to argue with me, I just ran around trying to break things. As it turned out, I broke just about everything.

I submitted an obscene amount of bugs every day because I wasn’t burdened by what were obviously poorly-conceived test scripts.

Somehow—perhaps because I was a team lead—I ended up in a final meeting of producers and testers where we went around the room and all the test leads unbelievably stated that their area was good to go. I assumed it had to be pressure from management, but I hadn’t felt any of this pressure and wasn’t going to lie, so I was the only one in the room that said the game should be a no-go.

I stated from my perspective that the title was probably a year out from being consumer-acceptable. The testers all stared at their hands. The managing producer nodded thoughtfully and said “Okay, we’re launching on schedule.”

The game launched two weeks later and was a buggy disaster. My team, the poor CS guys, were overwhelmed by rightfully pissed-off customers for months.

Two years later the company found themselves in the same position and again reassigned internal staff to testing. The only lesson they apparently learned? They didn’t invite me to test again.


Geth on

Posts

  • RMS OceanicRMS Oceanic Registered User regular
    I find myself smiling at "all-dayer".

  • wn.mikewn.mike archi PTRegistered User regular
    Awwwww damn
    I can't express how happy I am with how this story is developing, well done guys.
    "All-Dayer". Awesome.

  • Dark Raven XDark Raven X Laugh hard, run fast, be kindRegistered User regular
    Really like Cora's pose in the last panel

    Oh brilliant
  • kingworkskingworks Registered User regular
    I can't not hear Q's voice as done by H. Jon Benjamin.

    springlingswipe.com
    kingworkscreative.com
    kingworkscreative.blogspot.com
  • Dark Raven XDark Raven X Laugh hard, run fast, be kindRegistered User regular
    kingworks wrote: »
    I can't not hear Q's voice as done by H. Jon Benjamin.

    And now this is pretty much gonna be permanent, so thanks for that.

    Oh brilliant
  • Suburban_ArcanaSuburban_Arcana Registered User regular
    kingworks wrote: »
    I can't not hear Q's voice as done by H. Jon Benjamin.

    I've always heard him as Brian Posehn

  • marsiliesmarsilies Registered User regular
    Today's tale:
    An Alternate View
    04/30/2013 - Anonymous

    I’ve read all of the stories that have been posted here and I wanted to offer a contrasting perspective. I’ve had all sorts of jobs. In one, I sold homemade sodas at Renn Faires. I built stages for major concerts. I aided Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Finally, I was in civil service for several years. Just as I thought I’d finally found my niche, dull as it was, I got laid off in the state budget crisis. I was out of work for a year before a friend helped me get on at a testing center.

    That was two years ago. I’m still here. During my first year, I completely fell in love with the industry. My love for games grew instead of being diminished. One of the games I tested won a 2011 VGA.

    I go to work with a smile on my face and leave with one, too.

    It’s not all grinding employee abuse, guys. Sometimes, testing is a fun, rewarding, satisfying job.

    So another "not all bad" tale:
    http://trenchescomic.com/tales/post/not-all-bad
    http://trenchescomic.com/tales/post/is-it-worth-it

  • 3lwap03lwap0 Registered User regular
    Solid trenches tale - sometimes you find your job, and sometimes your job finds you.

    I'd be curious to know what working conditions are like though. Rewarding work, with solid pay bands, and keeping your dignity can go a long way towards a happy work place.

  • Warlock82Warlock82 Never pet a burning dog Registered User regular
    I don't know why but this comic is fantastic :D

    Switch: 2143-7130-1359 | 3DS: 4983-4927-6699 | Steam: warlock82 | PSN: Warlock2282
  • HenroidHenroid Mexican kicked from Immigration Thread Centrism is Racism :3Registered User regular
    Oh yay, a happy story for once.

  • GnizmoGnizmo Registered User regular
    Is there a way to contact the people who write these stories anonymously? I have lived in New Orleans all my life, and love everyone who came to help. Just hoping I can send my best wishes, though I think it is extremely unlikely.

  • MuddBuddMuddBudd Registered User regular
    edited April 2013
    Henroid wrote: »
    Oh yay, a happy story for once.

    bwahahahahahahahahaha

    It's not a happy story, it's just not DONE yet.

    MuddBudd on
    There's no plan, there's no race to be run
    The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
  • TheCanManTheCanMan GT: Gasman122009 JerseyRegistered User regular
    "We're pulling an all-dayer" is a fantastic line. :^:

  • Gamer8585Gamer8585 Registered User regular
    I understand why specific information in the "Tales" has to be scrubbed out, however I do wish we could find out what companies and games are being referenced. Not only to shame and punish the bad studios, but to elevate the better ones as well.

    I imagine the author got hooked up with Valve or Blizzard (both of which I hear are very good to their employees and contractors), but for all we know it could have been a kinder part of EA or Ubisoft.

    Of course maybe his employment was no different from some of the more horrible Tales, but the work just clicked with him more and the negatives didn't phase him as much.

  • HevachHevach Registered User regular
    Problem with identifying companies is that sufficiently specific situations could then be traced back to those involved. And when you've already got a shitty job, you don't want your boss giving you more shit for making internal matters public.

  • wormspeakerwormspeaker Objectively Terrible Registered User regular
    MuddBudd wrote: »
    Henroid wrote: »
    Oh yay, a happy story for once.

    bwahahahahahahahahaha

    It's not a happy story, it's just not DONE yet.

    Once Liam Neeson rescues this poor tester's family, we'll get the real story.

  • ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    Gnizmo wrote: »
    Is there a way to contact the people who write these stories anonymously? I have lived in New Orleans all my life, and love everyone who came to help. Just hoping I can send my best wishes, though I think it is extremely unlikely.

    Yea, I think this would be too easily exploited.

    Boss: Can I have the storyteller's contact info? I want to thank him...
    Boss: ...Thank him for giving me someone to fire! Moo hoo ha ha!

  • MuddBuddMuddBudd Registered User regular
    wormspeaker wrote: »
    MuddBudd wrote: »
    Henroid wrote: »
    Oh yay, a happy story for once.

    bwahahahahahahahahaha

    It's not a happy story, it's just not DONE yet.

    Once Liam Neeson rescues this poor tester's family, we'll get the real story.

    Nah, it'll just be a shittier manager comes along, fucks everything up, then fires everyone to save money.

    There's no plan, there's no race to be run
    The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
  • ninja.icebergninja.iceberg Software Tester Registered User regular
    marsilies wrote: »
    Today's tale:
    An Alternate View
    04/30/2013 - Anonymous

    I’ve read all of the stories that have been posted here and I wanted to offer a contrasting perspective. I’ve had all sorts of jobs. In one, I sold homemade sodas at Renn Faires. I built stages for major concerts. I aided Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Finally, I was in civil service for several years. Just as I thought I’d finally found my niche, dull as it was, I got laid off in the state budget crisis. I was out of work for a year before a friend helped me get on at a testing center.

    That was two years ago. I’m still here. During my first year, I completely fell in love with the industry. My love for games grew instead of being diminished. One of the games I tested won a 2011 VGA.

    I go to work with a smile on my face and leave with one, too.

    It’s not all grinding employee abuse, guys. Sometimes, testing is a fun, rewarding, satisfying job.

    So another "not all bad" tale:
    http://trenchescomic.com/tales/post/not-all-bad
    http://trenchescomic.com/tales/post/is-it-worth-it

    Baton Rouge?

  • jothkijothki Registered User regular
    I think the takeaway from this is that it's really not that hard for a company to not have their employees' jobs suck. It's just that a lot of them don't care.

  • Waxwing42Waxwing42 Registered User regular
    Did anyone notice the "Latest Comics" preview today? It's a comic in itself.callme.jpg

    Tycho mentioned the Preview Game a while ago, and I think today, they totally won.
    I mean, aside from the visual coincidences of the shared bubble, and part of Gabe's hair crossing over (actually the tail of Cora's speech bubble), I just have to wonder what exactly it was that they just experienced, leaving Cora speechless. And Gabe...I mean, "call me?" Priceless.

    I really wish there were a page dedicated to the Preview Game. Gems like this, while completely coincidental, ought to be shared.

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