Suggest an approach to web development
I am a PHP developer and my boss is driving me crazy. He calls me from time to time, asks me tasks even when the previous tasks have not been completed. Prevents me from meeting with clients and tells me an incomplete specification verbally or over the phone, and expects production applications to run from the first deployment. Could any body offer a way to curb these guys' enthusiasm?
Talk to him about communication problems. This is usually a two-way problem. If he gives you incomplete specifications, why don't you ask for more complete ones?
If you just want to stick with it, then find a better job. If you intend to make it work, then put a serious thought at the root of the problems you have and get it on board helping you solve them.
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I would suggest having some kind of to-do list somewhere so that when your boss adds something to that list, he can see what you are doing and estimate how long certain things will take.
As far as incomplete requirements go, some of them, like Agile, are fine so you can get your boss to test something regularly to make sure it's acceptable before putting something into production.
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As others have said who can gain speed faster than me, one thing you can do is try to set up a project management / bug tracking system for it. I've used FogBugz with success, which doesn't require installation and has a free plan for small teams. You can set up an email account that it can send requests to.
When offering this to your boss, do it in such a way as to show that your goal is to help keep track of your tasks and priorities. But also be prepared for additional work. If he agrees with this, he may want to see frequent status reports and where you spend all of your time.
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If you can get more complete specs, it can help drastically. This will help you understand the project better. This will help you estimate the completion time. And my favorite - it will help prevent duplicate work. There's nothing worse than getting incomplete requirements, creating something wrong, and then figuring out that you need to redo it.
If you can try to find a good way to suggest this to your boss without stepping on all your fingers. If he understands the benefits, he may be more open to the idea of being more solid with you. In fact, it will make you more efficient at your job.
Oh, and you can take a look at my answer to this question regarding time estimation: How do I know how many days something will take?
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Other suggestions for keeping emails, at least for you, are valid. However, for the type of boss you are describing that I am familiar with, it may not work.
Some bosses who just don't learn or already know what they are doing are wrong and do it anyway, because saying yes to a client and getting a subscription to a bigger contract today is more important than a programming methodology that could delay payment in 3 weeks (testing? why do we need to test? you tested it right? two weeks for feature X ?! all you have to do is add a button, right?).
For many bosses, programming is just one of the tools they need to run their business. For them, it's a business to make money, and the methodology / quality of programming is secondary.
What are you doing to keep yourself healthy and safe, if you want to stay with this boss, at least keep written records of every request and when problems arise, remind him why they happened. If possible, ask that all specifications be delivered, at least by email and not verbally.
You always have a choice elsewhere if things don't improve.
Good luck.
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I have struggled with this same problem on multiple jobs.
I noticed that there is the type of programmer who can survive in this environment: one who is just working on what the boss says is the priority of the moment, and does not worry about deadlines. Just keep putting things in the background and resume working on them the next time your boss asks you to. Brave an occasional tirade from your boss when something he asked you to start 12 months ago isn't done yet because you've been working on what he gives you.
If you don't like this kind of existence (and I wouldn't do it), then the best strategy I can suggest is to have an open conversation with your boss about it:
It's important for me to do a good job, but I feel like the work requests are faster than I can complete them. I know that priorities inevitably change, so I would like to help you understand when this happens and how to balance my time among the tasks that best suit your needs. necessary. Can we talk about how to stop synchronizing priorities?
If tasks cannot be prioritized, then I need you to understand that I cannot be productive on many tasks one day. It's just not humanly possible. Have you considered hiring additional programmers so we can balance the workload and get it all done on time?
If he tries to stall or contradict, or tells you to "work smarter, not harder," you can escalate:
Let me put it another way: if you keep giving me assignments at the rate that you were, but do not place them clearly, then you are going to hire another programmer. Whether this rental is your second programmer or my replacement is up to you.
In principle, communication is good. Start by being diplomatic and phrasing everything in terms of how you contribute to his success. But increase the degree of dullness until it subsides.
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