Designers study incredibly hard to memorize the rules of their
craft. Architects and codes, plumbers
and the Uniform Plumbing Code, electricians and the NEC, IT professionals and current
best practices, and my personal favorite – engineers and the laws of physics.
But, aside from the laws of physics (theoretical physicists
notwithstanding), the rules of any craft are just rules. Professional organizations work diligently to
keep those codes/standards up to date, but this means those same organizations
are constantly rewriting those same codes/standards. If organizations constantly rewrite the rules,
how can they expect anyone to respect them?
Codes have the power of law behind them and any contractor can explain
why it’s important to respect those codes, and the inspector enforcing
them. But, telecommunications standards
and IT current best practices have no such champions or strength. They only have their own practitioners to
stand as their standard bearers (pun intended).
Practitioners have a vested interest in following standards. Contractors can tout “standards compliance”
as a market differentiator. Standards
for one trade often mark the handoff to another trade so if work isn’t
standards compliant, the next trade can’t do their work. And, standards allow tradesmen to work
together peacefully instead of rewriting technical manuals each time a new
professional is hired.
But, practitioners of any trade rarely control the purse strings
for any project or organization. In all
but the smallest organizations, dedicated management professionals exist whose
primary responsibilities are safeguarding the budget and timeline of the
project/organization. Standards often
threaten both budget and timeline, for good reasons, but threaten nonetheless.
· Install one cabling drop in each room
instead of two. (budget/timeline savings)
· Install Category 5e cabling instead of
Category 6 (budget savings)
· Defer maintenance on server hardware
(budget savings)
· Design a building without adequate Telco
Room coverage because connectivity is not needed on day one. (serious budget
savings)
To address this, designers must recognize that they have a vested
interest in being able to explain the reasoning behind their standards. Unfortunately, far too many tradespeople do
not understand the reasoning behind the standards of their fields. Inspectors will learn the rules and then
point to the rulebook if challenged. This
strategy can work well for a code enforcement official but will eventually fail
for all other trades. Adherence to any
non-mandated rule set will eventually fall to the pressures of budget and/or
time.
But, understanding the “why” behind a standard can do more than
fend off an over-eager manager, it can bring non-tradespeople into the fold. When a tradesperson approaches a management
question as an opportunity to educate, they generate a dialogue. Those questions lead to more and the
tradesperson becomes a part of the design/management team. A tradesperson that is a management resource
will be sought out. A tradesperson that
is an obstructionist is to be avoided.
In designing a library storage facility, a project manager
questioned the Wi-Fi design that required numerous access points in an area
where hardly anyone would be working.
Multiple e-mails and meetings had taken place with the network design
team becoming personally offended that their design was being questioned. The project manager and networking design
team seemed to be at an impasse. But, with
the building owner present, a quick discussion concerning future RFID systems
for book tracking and the need for Wi-Fi settled the issue. In fact, the Wi-Fi design became more robust
with the full support of the project manager.
Instead of relying on the standard to enforce the design, we explained
the design and in the end, strengthened the standard.
And finally, management deserves the right to ask questions and
confront longstanding practices. After all, that is their job. Along with a fair amount of bumbling, they will often question longstanding practices that might benefit
from being reconsidered. And, if a tradesperson cannot defend that practice with
a response more nuanced than “it’s the standard”, maybe that practice deserves
to be abandoned.
Without knowing, the UF police department has contributed to my own work at UF by questioning some of the
basic premises of Ethernet design. I’ve
been able to deploy Wi-Fi in some locations I considered impossible because I didn’t
step outside my own understanding of the rules. Stephen Shapiro said, “Expertise is the
enemy of innovation.” Learn to listen to
people outside of your trade. A
different perspective can be invaluable.
But, all of this requires that we, as professionals, understand
why we do what we do. It is not enough,
to memorize the rulebook. We need to be
ready to explain every standard and the ramifications of their
abandonment. We need to know why we
should stand our ground, and when.
Only then, can we understand what we have to gain by breaking the rules.
