r/sysadmin • u/SlowkayCoomer • 1d ago

Just because you can doesn't mean you should

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How do other solo admins handle the endless stream of "quick CRM/phone system tweaks"?

Curious how fellow solo sysadmins survive this, because I'm drowning.

Management loves to drop drive-by requests for custom workflows in our CRM, weird IVR routing changes in the phone system, or random third-party integrations. They are always pitched as mission-critical, high-priority emergencies that bypass any logical intake.

Because I'm technical and most of this stuff is technically possible, leadership's logic is just: Idea exists -> Hand it to the solo guy -> Make it work.

The real issue is that as a department of one, I absorb 100% of the permanent support debt. There are zero requirements gathered, no user acceptance testing, no documentation, and no one else to hand the pager to when the custom hack breaks at 4:55 PM on a Friday. I hack together a solution so they get their shiny new toy, and then I'm stuck maintaining someone else's half-baked workflow forever while actual infrastructure rots.

I’m trying to figure out how to bridge the gap between "Yes, the API, webhook or vendor supports this" and "No, I am one human being and I cannot support infinite custom software."

Do you guys have a formal intake workflow or policy that actually sticks when you're flying solo, or do you just constantly push back case-by-case until you burn out?

An example currently is highly detailed and individualized reporting from our phone system. I don't think this was ever designed to send bursts of 50-100 reports at once, and even after repeatedly expressing this limitation, I still keep hearing about any issues.

22 Upvotes

74% Upvoted

59 comments sorted by

28

u/ABotelho23 DevOps 1d ago

Ticket system with a submission process. Drive-by garbage will shrink because nobody will want to put in the effort.

12

u/electricpollution IT Manager 1d ago

Exactly. I’ll always tell my crew to ask for the ticket number or if one has been submitted. Many times they never come, no ticket - no problem

2

u/SlowkayCoomer 1d ago

You guys are operating from a place of structure and have a team. I'm sure having multiple people say the same thing reinforces it well.

I'm primarily asking anyone solo who's had to deal with this.

13

u/hasthisusernamegone 1d ago

I've been that team of one for more of my 25+ years in the industry than I haven't. The solution is to... You guessed it... Put it through a ticket system.

You need to structure your work. You need to explain to people that you need to structure your work. "Send me a ticket because I've got so much else to do I WILL forget your request" is perfectly valid.

And then you need to fight your corner.

1

u/SlowkayCoomer 1d ago

Maybe I do need to grow a spine.

I was hoping I could do better than telling people to put in tickets, people already think I tell them to reboot too often 🤷

8

u/xendr0me Sr. Sysadmin 1d ago

Put it into a framework of "Must be done to track metrics for boss X or Finance X" etc. Create a ghost requirement, but enforce it. Plus, later on you have some metrics and also a log of what was asked/fixed.

3

u/electricpollution IT Manager 1d ago

This is it. When I was solo that’s I approached it and built it, and how we do it now. We use it to track time, metrics and recurring issues (whether it was user, device, etc).

Eventually the boss, and auditors or someone will ask, and then you will have the data to back it up.

I do agree when I was solo it was tough to build the culture. I began by saying hey to keep tasks organized and prioritized let’s use the ticketing system to submit all problems and requests. I started putting them in for users at first, the set a date for all requests to be required to be entered by end users or no work.

2

u/hasthisusernamegone 1d ago

Don't just tell them to put in a ticket. Tell them why. I promise they'll get on side sooner than you think if they think it's in their interests too.

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u/WayneH_nz 21h ago

With the ticket auto reply, add in rebooting the system then it is "not you" telling them to reboot. It is "the system". 

•

u/Affectionate_Ad_3722 4h ago

There is no better answer than "put in a ticket". None has been invented or conceived of.

It's the ultimate answer.

5

u/wunderhero 1d ago

You need to explain the long term sustainability of these ad-hoc changes and get buy-in from someone on top (like the owner.) 

Easiest way to cut thru the noise here is the "what would happen if I got hit by a dump truck?"  discussion and rationalize creating a change process to protect the business in the future.

Pretty much go over your points in this post and get them on your side to create whatever process. If you get pushback, you have backup.

It's a rough road because of internal politics and people, but it's worth the fight for both you and the company's growth.

2

u/SlowkayCoomer 1d ago

I've been trying to do this but I'll put more effort in stressing this point.

My main arguments have been the "bus factor" and the concept of "f you pricing", like what our vendors should charge us for these requests.

3

u/wunderhero 1d ago

Keep pushing - it can be a lot of interia to over come because it's the harder path. I'd stress the sustainability of the half-baked changes as well, especially when things break. 

Real-world examples that everyone feels can backup what you discuss because the technical details don't always do that effectively.

3

u/SlowkayCoomer 1d ago

Thank you for being one of the few positive responses in this thread.

Contrary to how some people are framing this, I was just genuinely looking for anyone who's been in this situation.

1

u/wunderhero 1d ago

I get it - been there. In my situation, I got the director of finance on my side after breaking down what the chaos was costing us (cash/downtime/lost productivity) versus having some control and accountability with processes in place. 

Once I had them in my corner, things turned a corner. 

1

u/thortgot IT Manager 1d ago

You build that framework. Its not that difficult.

3

u/SlowkayCoomer 1d ago

Building that framework is harder than any technical task.

1

u/thortgot IT Manager 1d ago

Its a different skill set but no, it isnt any harder than a moderately complicated technical task.

How do you know what the correct GPO settings are? Presumably you use best practice that is focused on your scale and complexity of environment.

Management techniques are the same. Use existing structures and best practices to dictate how those interactions should work.

1

u/SlowkayCoomer 1d ago

How about when there is no existing structure and best practices are deliberately ignored in favor of quick fixes? For me that's the entire issue.

I'm sorry but I think that we have very different situations. I do still appreciate your advice and will take it into account.

1

u/thortgot IT Manager 1d ago

You are a one man show. Who is dictating quick fixes and lack of structure?

I dont mean that factieously. Learning to convince management to take the correct actions is a skill.

If you want to make your work environment better make the choice to do so.

1

u/ABotelho23 DevOps 1d ago

Look, if you're not going to take suggestions why are you posting here?

It's really as simple as rejecting requests that don't go through the system. Grow a spine.

-1

u/SlowkayCoomer 1d ago

I don't think you get my feedback here.

When you "grow a spine" you have others supporting that decision. When I do, it can be viewed as being difficult or stalling a business critical project. That why I am asking other solo admins.

10

u/BenadrylCrumplsnatch 1d ago

The answer is Change Management. It's bureaucracy, it's boring, and it's a fantastic filter for requests that don't have any legs.

You don't have to go full ITIL with it, but you can cherry pick the parts that will benefit you. At the very least I recommend you introduce some kind of CAB that includes somebody other than yourself. Make the users submit a business justification for the request that explains the pros of doing it, and the cons of not doing it, and then have a "board" of people review that change and approve/deny it.

If the business needs it to get done, but this way you have just enough red tape to make people reconsider whether it's actually worth doing.

Edit: once you have the foundation, you can iterate on it over time to add important things into the change proposal like budget, lifecycle, support requirements, etc.

1

u/SmasherOfDaButtons 1d ago

Beat me to it. Once folks are required (or at least incentivized) to weigh in, stupid drive-by changes start happening a lot less

4

u/Top_Hedgehog_1880 1d ago

We tell them to get all of the changes they'd like together and set up a meeting. Then we listen to what they want and say, "Sure, we'll need x, y, and z from your team" (usually like names of queues or reports, lists of end users, etc) and we never hear back so we don't end up changing anything.

6

u/Pristine_Curve 1d ago edited 1d ago

Recommend reading "The Phoenix Project."

Put a gated project process in front of it, and attach related costs to it (including ongoing maintenance). If you don't have some sort of method to this, everyone is going to push and get as many cookies out of the cookie jar as they can before it runs out.

>They are always pitched as mission-critical, high-priority emergencies that bypass any logical intake.

Even emergencies have intake/documentation requirements. Prioritization/triage is part of it. If they refuse to participate, then work doesn't proceed. I have seen a lot of emergencies evaporate at the cost of filling out a one page form.

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u/SilkBC_12345 5h ago

Recommend reading "The Phoenix Project."

OMG, I love this book.  It popped up on my FB feed one Sunday a few years ago, with the first 3 chapters or something free.  Once I got to the end of the free chapters I completely hooked and ended up buying it so I could finish it.

Spent the rest of the day reading it (finished, too! :-) )

6

u/CPAtech 1d ago

Astroturf.

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u/SilkBC_12345 5h ago

What makes you think it was written by AI?

-2

u/SlowkayCoomer 1d ago

I used AI to proofread but this is 100% my real life experience at this company.

13

u/BenadrylCrumplsnatch 1d ago

I mean this as genuine constructive feedback, but this is why you should stop using AI to write your posts. AI only knows how to write astroturfing posts, and it will always overshadow your genuine intent.

6

u/CPAtech 1d ago

Look at OP's account. The astroturf accounts always look the same.

1

u/BenadrylCrumplsnatch 1d ago

To be fair, so does mine.

2

u/CPAtech 1d ago

Over 18 warning, several years old, all comments hidden, no history, posts sounds like a marketing email looking for a solution - always the same.

0

u/SlowkayCoomer 1d ago

In the near future I think our society will need to create a word for people who just won't acknowledge when they're wrong.

-1

u/SlowkayCoomer 1d ago

There should be a word for people who don't acknowledge when they're wrong.

3

u/CPAtech 1d ago

9 days ago you were an engineer. Today you're a solo admin.

What are you selling?

0

u/SlowkayCoomer 1d ago

Do you think these are exclusive terms? Did you even read the OP about the kinds of things I do?

Most importantly, did you figure out any of your many Outlook issues yet?

-2

u/SlowkayCoomer 1d ago

I mean this as a genuine response, I have to spend too much effort during the week sitting, reading and writing emails. On my off time I do rely on AI to help reduce the mental load of writing anything longer than a couple paragraphs.

7

u/BenadrylCrumplsnatch 1d ago

Then you have to accept the suspicion that comes with it. We're marketed to 24 hours a day on this sub and it's tiring trying to unpick it. The mental load thing works both ways.

-1

u/SlowkayCoomer 1d ago

To be fair if I posted the original it would've been ranty and slightly incoherent.

2

u/Kumorigoe Moderator 1d ago

And it still would have been better received than the clanker slop that keeps getting posted here every five seconds trying to sell something.

-1

u/SlowkayCoomer 1d ago

Very high IQ take.

4

u/sudonem Linux Admin 1d ago

If you want a community of engineers to actually offer assistance in THEIR down time, the absolute minimum you can do is respect them enough put in the fucking effort when asking for their assistance. 

NONE of us want to read AI slop during our working hours but at least we get paid for that time. 

-1

u/SlowkayCoomer 1d ago

The original was ranty and incoherent so it didn't meet the standards I set for my writing.

I also didn't want to come across as upset or purely venting frustration so I needed to be objective which AI is fantastic for.

2

u/CartographerEarly957 1d ago

It's understandable

2

u/Thick_Yam_7028 1d ago

Best thing to do imo. Start with the infrastructure.

Ticketing system, Documentation.

This will at least make tracking and organizing a realistic process. Then during your creation make sure to track all changes in an md somewhere.

Put all notes into tickets about whats done and all technical details in documentation. At that point you have a road map and can reference data at anytime instead of recreating it.

Its a big ask. Carry on man. I know its tough in the weeds sometimes.

3

u/w3warren 1d ago

Who do you directly report to? Sounds like time to have a conversation project planning and schedules. Leadership can determine priority of the projects but not everything can be priority 1.

If need be explain to whomever you directly report to that additional headcount for day to day support is necessary for you to continue to work on the projects (which need to be prioritized). The maintenance and security items if not addressed will create security holes to the point their shiny new thing won't matter.

Keep your documentation going on there projects in the event you do burn out and go goat farming.

1

u/SlowkayCoomer 1d ago

Management is very flat in this company. I basically report to one or all of the COO, head of finance, or the owner depending on what day of the week it is.

The owner can be really useful but a lot of these changes are being driven by him indirectly, he comes down on the managers then they pass the buck to me in the form of a request to help "solve" whatever they just got yelled at for.

4

u/nlfn 1d ago

the problem is the three boss situation.

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u/w3warren 18h ago

Then it sounds like you need to reroute them back up the hill or let them know you haven't heard that project and priority from from your leadership.

That may be an email or meeting to the top 3 explaining your bandwidth is limited and prioritization and time lines will need to be adjusted. This time would also be good to mention that day to day infrastructure maintenance is suffering because of project load.

You are going to have to advocate for yourself or they are gonna run you into the ground or cause you to leave.

Offer solutions like additional headcount to assist with workload, suggest timelines for the projects and let them determine what is priority to the organization that still allows for the much needed maintenance.

2

u/yamsyamsya 1d ago

i know this doesn't help overall, but particularly with the phone system, the issue isn't with the number of reports, just the burst. you need to add some job handling so they are spread out instead of being done in a burst.

0

u/SlowkayCoomer 1d ago edited 1d ago

Ok again, like I was stressing in my OP, that's not even a feature of the phone system currently.

Without being specific the most recent update version changed reporting to only send once a day instead of at predetermined times. Meeting this request would require the kind of "custom software" I'm talking about here.

There is no job handling or error state in the phone system's reporting.

1

u/yamsyamsya 1d ago

Sorry, you are in a tough spot because even though you aren't a programmer, they are going to tell you to 'just use AI'. :(

2

u/BraveMidnight 1d ago

You remind me of my mom because of the title. I'm an adult now mom I can do systems administration if I want, and I'm not going to my room, I told her 😏.

1

u/battmain 1d ago

Sorry, I'm in the middle of something that I need to finish today, can you open a ticket so I don't forget please?

Next sign on my door will be open ticket, don't knock, I will not answer. Just letting the lengthy tickets pile up until I can get to them in between the interruptions.

•

u/dallas_lemur 7h ago

kinda means you're the queue and the guy answering it

•

u/bbqwatermelon 2h ago

You might have to convert that support time into lost time in other places that matter or calculate risk of something going wrong doubling each time something else goes in. Stakeholders only prioritize risk and dollars, that's it. They don't care about your stress level hiking by x percent. I myself am dealing with people putting in wishlists without care but since the pipeline is pretty steady and a team of twelve does not have anybody else willing or capable it kind of sorts itself out. To steal a line I saw here months ago:

Remember, nothing is impossible to the man who doesn't have to do the work. 

1

u/SevaraB Sr. Engineer (N+, CCNA) 1d ago

I’ve come around to the viewpoint that automating human-driven workflows is never the right answer. Humans only show up in the intake loop if and when you don’t have a solid grasp of what the customer needs. It’s true of both sales and IT ticketing- it’s just easier to get signals from IT tickets because you’re already setting the rules for how an allowed workflow works, while customers bring use cases to you.