"Born to Fail" projects at work

[lowimpedance]

I think the management know full well its a stinking mass of brown stuff, and you have been chosen as the scape goat when this rancid pile is flushed down.
 Get out as soon as possible.

[zapta]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus

Of course it is, by continuity.  I doubt that I contain most of the molecules I born with but it's still me. ;-)

As for the issue at hand, OP, the company is paying you to do some task. Your best bet is thinking positively and creatively how it can be done within the constraints.  CYA, keeping records, and a negative attitude will result in self fulfilling failure, your goal is to deliver, not to be right.  My advice is to start with low hanging fruits, show some success, get their confidence, and then they will be more open for your time estimations for the more complex stuff.

My-way-or-the-highway approach does not work well with employers and it's you that will be on the highway. Be positive, show enthusiasm and find ways to delivers.

[SL4P]

Assuming you want to stay, and are being well paid...
Ask as many questions about the expected (original) functionality in writing as possible.  Look for conflicts with the new requirements.
If they can't answer, then it's impossible for you to complete the task

[Icarus]

They don't pay me that well.
I hope that they won't fire me. Just wishfull thinking I guesss

[Hypernova]

They don't pay me that well.
I hope that they won't fire me. Just wishfull thinking I guesss

If it makes you feel better: When the job is so bad that you want to quit, yet the worst they can do is fire you, you're invincible.

[Rigby]

If it makes you feel better: When the job is so bad that you want to quit, yet the worst they can do is fire you, you're invincible.

Few things are as potent as a regular guy with nothing to lose.  When you realize you have nothing to lose, you stop worrying about how things will be accepted, or even whether or not they'll be accepted.  you just do them.

No matter what kind of place it is, unless there is someone actively trying to get rid of you, results will always sway management more than proposal.  giving them results will make them care a whole lot less about how you actually got it done, because the problem of getting it done has now passed; they don't have to worry about "how" anymore, and it becomes another problem that is solved.

I would ask them why there are all these restrictions on the new implementation.  It would not surprise me if these things are all based on a lack of understanding of how the code currently works, or gross misunderstanding of how code works at all.  Often you can find a way to reach them and get the restrictions loosened if you can find the crack in their logic.

[Neilm]

Yeah They don't even have the old hardware schematics or PCB or the hardware itself.
They want me to figure out every thing without even testing and integrate complety arbitary new hardware.

If they like throwing money - you could always try asking for hardware emulators. That way if they say no you complain that you weren't given sufficient resources, if they say yes someone has to get the information.

[Kryoclasm]

hmmm retain old codes, and yet add new features .... doesnt that warrant you to do anything you need to do to the old codes? after which ... it wont be pretty much just old codes anymore isnt it? ... i feel like the criteria of the project is like asking you to walk forwards and backwards at the same time ... 

feels abit like this video doesnt it? *sigh*


now lets add a kitten to that code shall we? hahahaha

Amen to that.
God forbid you are marked the expert! Your life just got a lot more insane.

[icon]

The only viable approach to situations like this is the "Grandfathers Axe" approach, also known as the "Ship of Theseus Paradox".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus

Ah, you mean "Trigger's broom". I see.

John

[Icarus]

now lets add a kitten to that code shall we? hahahaha

After I've spend a week in compiler errors. Today I realized the famous "old" code does NOT work at all...
Now they want repairs first....

[Jarrod Roberson]

After I've spend a week in compiler errors. Today I realized the famous "old" code does NOT work at all...
Now they want repairs first....

Sucks to be you! This unfortunately is a common "no win scenario" in the software industry.

[daveshah]

Just curious, what language is it written in?

[Icarus]

Its written in C. The problem is that it's very flexable language. Insanity may easily reshape everything.
Such as "The International Obfuscated C Code Contest"

[Bored@Work]

After I've spend a week in compiler errors. Today I realized the famous "old" code does NOT work at all...
Now they want repairs first....

That's good. That gives you time to study the code while replacing parts.

Its written in C.

That's good. There are boatloads of analysis and debugging tools out there for C code. Get every tool you can get your hands on, doing static analysis, dynamic analysis, abstract interpretation, whatever you can get your hands on. The more nit-picking the tools, the better. Because then you can show impressive statistics to your boss:

"See that tool report? We have a gazillion unresolved issues in the code. I'll get right on it. But you see, a gazillion issues, it'll take some time. Sorry.".

[tszaboo]

There is two ways to handle when the manager puts you on the "legacy" system:
1.) When the word "legacy" is being said, you immediately respond with "I quit". Timing is the essence. You have to be prepared for that, always.
2.) You turn Eastern-European. There was a time, everyone had a job, they could not fire you, even if they fired you, some other company had to give you a job. Breathe in the feeling. Nothing matters. Then come to forums like this, spend your day reading newspaper or books, learn about electronics. It works for millions of people.