Discussion: "The Server IS the Documentation" (OR Standard Process [Obnosis] verses Useless Arrogance [Experience/Training])

[JD Austin]

On Thu, May 16, 2013 at 9:03 PM, Lisa Kachold <lisakachold at obnosis.com>wrote:

>
> What do you think?  Is the adage "There is NO substitute for experience"
> correct or can anyone using standard process (as opposed to documented
> process)  and NIX command line skills (yet bringing no experience) get to
> the finish line at the same time?
>


I think for certain things experience is critical but aptitude is just as
important.  Only by experiencing certain kinds of failure do you get the
right mindset for a lot of things in 'IT'.  I use the phrase "Not all
things can be un-done; once you've made the cake you're never getting the
eggs back" frequently at work with people that read the sales droid
literature and think that a complex system is simple.  I believe people
with the right aptitude can take to *NIX and other IT related fields
easily; you can't teach most people attention to detail any more than you
can teach some soft skills.

I suppose for very simple servers - say a server that is JUST a samba
server - you could probably get by with copying the config files to the new
server if it's on the same version but I wouldn't want to manage an
undocumented system like that; I wouldn't want to create that bus fact for
the people using it either.
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