Trying to Learn Something

I was suppossed to be in a training class this week. At least that's what I thought for the last 3 months. When I started my new job several months ago I needed to learn the Microsoft .NET programming Framework. Fortunately for me the training center at work simultaneously announced a class in C++ .NET that was going to be taught this week. I signed up immediately. Since the Training Center offers very few technical training classes they fill up fast. When I completely my online registration the system told me that there were 12 seats in the class and there were still 7 available. So I didn't worry about it. I was in.

This morning I show up for class and find out that I am not on the roster for class. I'm also not on the list of 14 standbys who are hoping that one of the 12 registrants don't show up. So I stopped by the office at the training center to find out why I'm not on the roster. It seems that I used the wrong double secret hidden process while registering. I had stuck my right finger in my nose, my left finger in my ear, crossed my eyes, and jumped up and down while pushing the Enter key with the second toe of my left foot.

Today I found out that this process has been changed. Now you are supposed to do all your registration online. The process has 21 steps. Unfortunately the online software only walks you through the first 20 steps. Steps 1 though 20 are covered in the online regustration process. However it makes no mention of the most important last step:

21. Inform the supervisor that there is a workflow item in their business workplace.

This is where the entire process breaks down. I assumed that since the system asked for for my supervisor information so it could get his approval. That they system would contact or notify the supervisor that an approval was needed. So when system didn't prompt me for any more information I assumed I was registered and quit.

The nice lady at the training center did tell me that she was very frustrated with the registration system that we were stuck using. My case is apparently not an exception. It seems that class registrations not getting processed properly is more the rule than the exception. She was so disillusioned that she claimed she would rather do away with the whole system and have people just call her to register. That way they would at least get signed up.

I will probably do that next time. But I don't expect that system to last. The moment our management finds out that she is circumventing the system in order to help her coworkers they will make her stop. After all, our new management phliosophy is "The process is more important than the results."

I would like to think that this is a Navy plot to keep registration for classes low so they have data to support not offering many technical classes. But I am a firm believer the the axiom: "Never attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetance."