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Resistance Of Reviews
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i_am_fubar:
Most people on this forum are probably not perpetrators of this, what with you being signed up to a public forum to talk about engineering and what not. But I'm trying to work out why so many people, specifically many professional engineers, resist having their work reviewed.

I'm not talking about them not wanting to have people leaning over their shoulder and doing time and motion studies.... That would suck. But I've seen countless cases of engineers, surrounded by learned peers, that will try and force their projects through as fast as possible with as little oversight as possible, seemingly to keep others from offering any input; critical or otherwise.

I can understand an arrogance of youth causing it in some people when they begin their careers, a desire to prove that they don't need help. But when people who have worked in the industry for decades look upon the proposal of a review as a personal offence, I am left confused, baffled and angry (Angry because I'll usually end up having to fix preventable mistakes, but that's another story).

An example recently was someone putting a £1,000 assembled PCB out without any review of the schematic, board layout, BOM.... etc. When they have in the past had boards come in that needed days or re-work (missing vias) or total scrap (missing connector on layout).

I appreciate there is a scale to review from a 'here, look at this' to week long meetings where every decision has to be ratified. But I find, personally, the idea of going at is solo when there is no need to, insane, reckless and quite frankly selfish, insulting and rude.

I can't be the only one who has seen this?

Why does it happen so much?

Please, I need to know  :-//



i_am_fubar:
I should probably clarrify that I love reviews. They are a chance to get other peoples input. To learn new ideas and ways of thinking. To pick up on the all too human stupid fails that we all make.

It also means that if something slips though and a screw up is made.... It's not all on me  :-+
SiliconWizard:
As you said, some people do not like to be challenged - or would just feel like they are not trusted.

But anyway, the real problem would not lie with those people but with the company(ies) having no design review processes.
Things like this have to be enforced on a global level in a company, else it usually doesn't work - at least not for long.
i_am_fubar:
Agree 100% that the company should be driving it. But even on a personal level, I will volunteer my designs up for review. It's a critical aspect of de-risking it.

I don't grasp the desire to not be challenged. It's essential to continual improvement.
Tomorokoshi:
Corporate policies are both guidance and hindrance to procedures such as reviews. Enthusiastic young engineers tend to hit the walls of the policies. Compliant experienced engineers tend to follow the path to the letter. Cynical experienced engineers both hit the walls and follow the path, causing lots of corporate friction. Consider the typical requirements at play:

1. Get it done faster. We are behind schedule.
2. Get it done cheaper. We are over budget.
3. Get it done right. Quality is important.

The one who proclaims that requirement #1 is important is Sales. They have lots of sway and disposable budgets so they often get their way.

The one who proclaims that requirement #2 is important is Management. They have lots of authority and control budgets so they often get their way.

Who is left to proclaim that requirement #3 is important? Usually other engineers. Generally the cynical ones. They don't have much sway and don't control much of anything, so reviews, documentation, or delay for the purpose of testing are considered costs with no return and are easily skipped.

Those who actively avoid review processes are possibly trying to avoid the pain of iterative costs such as additional revisions or extension of schedules. These costs eventually need to be explained to a higher management level or require higher management approval. Either can be quite a problem depending on corporate culture.
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