Put up on 24th May 2022
The Art of being Sacked - Department of Human Services (DHS, now Services Australia)
This was a contract role I had in 2019, to do a TRIM upgrade (from HP Records Manager 8.1 to HPE Content Manager 9.21,
still called "HPE", even though it was owned by Micro Focus by then), MS SQL Server (the database) was upgraded from 2012 to 2016,
and MS Windows Server (the Operating System) was also upgraded from 2012 to 2016. I was paid $108 an hour, and "worked" a 40 hour week.
This job was a perfect example of how everyone is getting conned and screwed with the technology, and the continuous cycle of change,
so things simply can't get bedded down properly. On and on it goes. Then it becomes all about the technology, what you're supposed to
be doing gets lost.
I was employed for 9 months. The actual upgrade took about 3 hours. Windows Server and SQL Server are all virtual machines, and
simply cloned as required. The upgraded TRIM Client, which goes on all the P.C.'s, is created once then installed automatically when
you next log on. All I had to do was upgrade the TRIM Software on the Servers and the TRIM Database, which is done with the Right-Click
of the mouse "Upgrade Database Schema" to do the automated process.
What was painful, and indicitive of how it has become, was managing all of the permissions for various groups that exist in an object
centric network (the world of Microsoft). Things would stop working, a permission has "expired" on something that does something.
I was constantly battling the control freaks and the paranoid delusional (network nazi's) just so as things would continue to work.
It shouldn't be hard, they make it hard. I also had to learn how to write "computer speak" to install the TRIM Software. What used
to be really easy when TRIM was owned by TOWER Software was the installations and upgrades using Microsoft Installer (MSI) packages.
It was a nice, intuitive graphical user interface. HP and Microsoft changed it to make it so that you had to type in computer
commands into a black screen to do exactly the same thing. Making it hard for the sake of it, making it more and more "techo", going
backwards, not forwards.
So what benefit did DHS get from the upgrade? None, they just had to re-learn everything, as the integrations with MS Office had
changed, and TRIM went from standard menus and toolbars to a ribbon toolbar - which has limited customisation. On and on it goes,
get less (features were removed from TRIM, such as Web Content Management (further violating the prospects of a Source Authority)),
pay more, and focus on this years "new way" (just do as your told).
While I was there, I did establish a TRIM WebDrawer Server for them, this was to help maintain a Source Authority by being able to
put links into SharePoint and Websites, that then access information in TRIM, rather than putting it (the object) in SharePoint or
the Website. I did explore SharePoint Integration with TRIM, as DHS had both, but their SharePoint was chaos (as they all become),
and the more I read, the less sense it made to do it. Crikey's, just use TRIM. Meta-Data centric, beautiful. Navigate around as
you choose (the meta-data), and delve where required (the object).
I was also employed to do 3rd level support for TRIM, the stuff that's too hard for the helpdesk. I worked with one other person,
who was a fulltime employee, Ian Windolf, who was the continuity of corporate knowledge for the department. Ian, like most TRIM
Administrators, knew his stuff, real well, and also did 3rd level support. We worked within Production Support for DHS, there were
teams and teams of Indians all over the place. English was not the first language for any of them. I couldn't understand them, I
didn't know what they were saying, I had to concentrate so hard, get them to repeat, repeat back to them, constantly, with everything.
They could all understand each other, the only person I could talk normally with was Ian. I believe it may have been the teams of
Indians that were responsible for the "Robo-Debt" from Centrelink.
I had my contract extended until June 2020, but in Novemebr 2019, they called me in and gave me three weeks notice and terminated my
contract, citing a lack of work for me to do. We didn't get many 3rd level TRIM requests, as the help desk was pretty good, and not
much goes wrong with it in the first place. I was fairly bored stupid, did try to get some things moving, but Ian could certainly
handle the workload. I was disappointed they hadn't discussed this prior with me, as I saw plenty of things
that could be done, given how they had "stuff" all over the place. I could see where some Marketing, Education and Training would
work a treat for DHS to be more functional and organised. However, was not to be, there was no discussion to enter in to.
The DHS TRIM experts hired me, the Indians sacked me, they didn't even know what TRIM was. Ian knew nothing about me going either.
What's not realised though, is there is one person looking after all of DHS with TRIM in Production Support, with teams of Indians
looking after one system. But no one sees that and realises it for what it is (i.e., TRIM is actually good and works, needs no
or little support). Instead it becomes more and more about the technology, immersing yourself into it further and further, with
the only constant being change - how does that make sense?
The Art of being Sacked - Queanbeyan City Council.
The Art of being Sacked - Department of Human Services (DHS, now Services Australia).
The Art of being Sacked - Australian Sports and Anti Doping Authority (ASADA - now "Sport Integrity Australia").
The Art of being Sacked - Department of Social Services (DSS).
The Art of being Sacked - Central Queensland University (CQU).
The Art of being Sacked - HP.
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