Sysadmin told to spend 20+ hours changing user names, for no reason

"20 minutes per user? Like hell. Maybe several hours for ALL users..."

Everything is easy to the person who doesn't have to do the job.

Or just outsource it to 3rd party people like us who actually know what we're doing. That way he gets to effectively scapegoat us when it isn't exactly what management wanted. That kind of thing is common in schools.

Yes, let's bend over for every vanity project. To hell with any other important tech issues that arise.

Just because someone managed to blag their way to senior management, does not mean that they are qualified for the job.

Undertaking major changes to core systems on the whim of a boss is risky and sets a dangerous precedent.

I agree that the changes are do-able but if they don't want to engage in a proper project plan then be prepared for them to throw you under the bus the first chance they get.

"Oh, and Harold's a twat:"

No, Harold knows full well that a mass renaming will be widely resented by the users and he's offering up every excuse he can to avoid it, also knowing full well that despite PHB (2IC) initiating this, IT will cop the blame and the flak.

Re: 2IC's name

The large US Corp that took over my small UK one eventually(*) imposed their standard for single sign on names which was the first 4 letters of the surname, followed by the first 2 letters of first name. (No idea what they did with all the SMITJOs.) One of our users became FELLCH because of this. Oh the fun explaining the problem with that to the US management. [Those who don't see the problem should consult the Urban Dictionary, although the entry has only one L.]

(*) After I'd worked my notice.

Re: Got it easy

we have to rename users because the department mangers seem unable to submit a nre user request and speel the name correctly.

If I see a foreign name that looks tricky I now get them to double check the spelling before beginning!

Agreed, when I was in the R Signals there was plenty we could have done that would have been worthwhile but there was never the budget to do it. So we spent the time cleaning equipment that had got dusty since the last time it was cleaned of dust.

"Most of what I did was pointless and there only to keep us busy and stop us getting bored and doing stupid things."

Sooo... They gave you stupid things to do, to stop you doing stupid things.

Re: From a user's point of view...

Strict naming conventions can be both a help an a hindrance. Automation loves it, up until it breaks.

However, these people do have an option available to them, the same one as my ex-wife took. Her employer insisted that their legal name be used on all official communications. Her given name was Christine, her grandmother's name, which she always felt was stuffy and old fashioned. Everyone called her Chrissy, but work wouldn't allow it... Until she changed her name by deed poll.

If you really hate your name, that's the best option. If you just dislike it and don't want the hassle, suck it up.

Re: From a user's point of view...

Company I work for gives new hires a form for firstname, lastname and optional nickname. It's made clear that email addresses will be first.last unless a nickname is given, in which case it will be nick.last. Works very well, William Smith can be bill.smith if he prefers, an asian employee who has adopted a western first name can be correctly Yingtong Iddleipo in HR but susan.iddleipo in email, etc.

It still throws up some issues for cultures like France, where the tradition is to put LASTNAME,Firstname on forms and some people don't read the instructions, but...

Re: From a user's point of view...

I'm one of those people that go by their middle name. I haven't had any problems getting companies I've worked for to honor my preferences until the latest company I ended up at through a corporate acquistion. It took me four months to get them to correct the problem.

Whenever I have people that are expecting a baby tell me they are going to call their children by their middle names I tell them I know from personal experience that's nothing but trouble and if they want to call their child by a specific name then make that the child's first name.

You could consider refusing

Won't work. These people tend to think they know better, as if, for instance, a degree in English Literature somehow magically also conveys the insight to have a clue about IT. I've seen it a lot.

I have my own comeback. I joined Mensa specifically to piss off such people* :)

* No, seriously. I've never really found another use for the membership. I'm not a clubby sort of person, nor do I think that being good at logic puzzles somehow elevates me above the crowd. There are people who do far more impressive things than me, and when helping them is when I really enjoy my profession.