Hi, I am curious what is the practice in other development companies.
If you are trying to use some API service outside, custom functions, external authentication etc, do you need to get approval from the manager?
if it is not free, I think it is better to confirm with the customer.
The thing is you need to report every action you perform to your supervisor. I think it is just a cultural problem.
Thank you for any advice.
It depends on your company’s policy. If (sensitive) data would leave the company through use of an API, I would guess that management approval is mandatory. If additional cost is involved, it needs approval. I think it is handled this way almost everywhere.
Certainly when you are adding a recurring cost, you have to seek approval from the client at least. I don't see that working any other way.
In general, when adding an API or other integration: you're adding a dependency and thus a risk to the project. If you work in a team, that needs to be discussed with the team to make sure everyone is ok with that added risk. And so that it gets documented properly.
Thank you. Do you need to get approval from boss or people in management level outside your team?
if a company is ISO certified, this process is probably part of the 'ISO documentation' (in quotes because naming may be different)
On some customer-sites here, there are forms/checklists that are part of the 'ISO documentation' - maybe with a 'periodical-flg' (has to be verified every 3 months, etc)
If privacy is a factor, data sources probably need to be noted as well
Same answer: you cannot - as an outside party - make decisions that bind your client, not without their approval. Sometimes that approval is pretty much automatic but you still have to seek it.
For instance: if we do FM work for a client but it becomes clear that we need/want to spin up a microservice to handle part of a task; we will always ask the client if they have a preferred technology stack for that and if they do we'll use their choice over our choice. If they do not we will still give them a rundown of how we will do this ("it'll be a node.js web service running on an AWS t2.nano...") so that they can do their due diligence ahead of time.
Same if we think we need to start using a plugin.
in the end it really is all about risk mitigation: by involving anything outside the FM platform itself you're adding moving parts, and thus dependencies and more points of failure. Your team and your client need to be aware of these and need to have a say in it.
To some extent the same goes for coding standards within FM. There too you cannot deviate from either your team's or your client's coding standards without a good discussion (and approval of) why you want to deviate from them. The discussion is vital because hopefully the culture is such that you can have that discussion and that nothing is treated as dogmas.
Short answer yes. I’ll try to avoid repeating what others said, but this is not just about what you “have to do”. Based on this and another post of yours, it sounds like you might have some issues with your managers that are causing some stress.
At the end of the day, being a developer is more than just developing software. You’re also developing relationships with your team and your customers, and a big part of that is trust. No, your manager Doesn’t want you to ask permission about everything, but they should certainly know about when you want to introduce external dependencies or deviate from their prescribed coding standards.
Keep in mind that if you move on to greener pastures, they are the ones left maintaining the code you left. I don’t reorganize my friends’ silverware drawers when I’m visiting their homes, despite their teaspoons and tablespoons being in one separator (Animals!).
I’m not suggesting this is all on you, because if your team/management is making it difficult or painful to communicate openly then you might just need to grin and bear it until you find a better job, but you should still do right by them.
So yes, consult with them. Maybe consult too much at first as a means to determine exactly what level of control they desire and what types of issues warrant requesting permission.
At my work we are fairly autonomous but expected to follow convention, and discuss when we want to do something fancy like add dependencies.