The Reality Gap (5) - Conclusion

Time to wrap things up (if you'll excuse the festive pun). Not because there aren't numerous other examples of the gap between accepted wisdom and reality that I could laugh or sigh at, but because I want to revisit some old topics in the next week or so and then take a break for a while.

When I delivered the presentation at the Scottish OUG Conference, I concluded with a section explaining why I think The Reality Gap causes genuine problems and isn't just another case of me ranting away to myself. So here are a few negative consequences ...

1) It affects people's perception of themselves and their work-place. For example, going back to part 1, how many Oracle DBAs are living in a perpetual state of self-criticism because they don't apply quarterly patch updates consistently? Perhaps if everyone realised we're facing the same problems and that the vast majority *aren't* applying the patches (at least not consistently), we might be able to assess our work more realistically? Or how about the DBAs who bemoan their lot because they still have to support some (shock! horror!) Oracle 8.1.7 databases when everyone knows that 10g has been around for years and we should all be using that?

2) It stops problems being addressed. I've witnessed this phenomenon at a couple of troubled customer sites I've worked at in the past. Everyone is frightened of telling the truth because they’re worried that if the truth comes out there’ll be trouble. But I’ve always found that exposing the truth tends to lead to a result that really shouldn’t be surprising. Once the true nature of your problems has been exposed, maybe something can be *done* about them? Oh, and this point leads into the more specific point 3 ...

3) It breeds risk. The ostrich-like behaviour of thinking that RAC or SRDF are complete disaster recovery solutions because words like 'Unbreakable' are bandied around or simply because you paid extra money to have them isn't just a bit silly and deluded, it means that when someone *does* drop a table one day, you won't have protected the business against that risk. All the fine words in the world won't help you then.

4) (Fill in your own here ....)

If you want to close the gap, there's no better tool than telling the truth. Although life can never be about unfettered honesty (maybe you *should* just say you like that new jumper your Auntie bought you for Christmas), I've always believed that truth is one of the most powerful weapons you can wield in the IT Systems arena.