There once was a PhD . . .
There once was a PhD . . .
(OP)
No, not "from Nantucket".
New job - The guy I replaced was a Phd; really, really good at mathematics of control theory. His software algorithm covered every parameter of the motor and system, from details of the Lq & Ld inductances to the mechanical damping of the load on the shaft. Sharp guy. However, the circuit he designed does not work; it smokes. His old notes show a lack of basic understanding of power converters, everything from Miller effect, core loss calculations, managing of ground planes, reset of current sense transformers...you name it. Power converter design is much more involved than just the control loop.
So here's my problem: I'm presenting a plan to redesign this circuit. The new boss knows nothing about power converters and the attitude is, "We don't want you redesigning boards. New boards don't work. Our proof is that a PhD couldn't even do it". The arrogance and anger of this boss was upsetting. Now, I'm not a PhD in control theory but, I have designed many power converters and laid out many boards. My circuits work. He rejected my plan before he even saw it. The fact still remains that you can't make this circuit work by changing the software.
I'm assuming you, the reader, has had to manage hard-to-get-along-with managers like the rest of us. I bet you've been in a similar situation. How did you handle it?
New job - The guy I replaced was a Phd; really, really good at mathematics of control theory. His software algorithm covered every parameter of the motor and system, from details of the Lq & Ld inductances to the mechanical damping of the load on the shaft. Sharp guy. However, the circuit he designed does not work; it smokes. His old notes show a lack of basic understanding of power converters, everything from Miller effect, core loss calculations, managing of ground planes, reset of current sense transformers...you name it. Power converter design is much more involved than just the control loop.
So here's my problem: I'm presenting a plan to redesign this circuit. The new boss knows nothing about power converters and the attitude is, "We don't want you redesigning boards. New boards don't work. Our proof is that a PhD couldn't even do it". The arrogance and anger of this boss was upsetting. Now, I'm not a PhD in control theory but, I have designed many power converters and laid out many boards. My circuits work. He rejected my plan before he even saw it. The fact still remains that you can't make this circuit work by changing the software.
I'm assuming you, the reader, has had to manage hard-to-get-along-with managers like the rest of us. I bet you've been in a similar situation. How did you handle it?





RE: There once was a PhD . . .
Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
http://mmcengineering.tripod.com
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
Worst case, he won't take the bet (highly unlikely with that type of personality - but you might have to do a little background work to figure out where his passion lies and what will entice him to make a bet, any bet. Maybe it's a round of golf, or tickets to a game, whatever). But if he won't play, you then have a choice - slowly win him around with designs of other circuits until you have a chance to prove it ala the above. Or go somewhere where you will be appreciated.
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
If it's a problem it will eventually show up as a warranty cost - assuming that this is a for sale product.
At any rate, it has been made clear that its not your problem to solve now, so don't solve it.
Good power electronics guys seem a relative rarity (bad ones are a dime a dozen), so I'd freshen my resume if I were you.
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
Best to you,
Goober Dave
Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
I stay stick to your guns. You know something works, keep pushing. I like the approach of betting him as a way of getting your point accross and keeping it light but stick with it and be emphatic.
Of course, if your approach really doesn't work any better, well then there isn't a spoon big enough for all the crow you will have to eat!
PE, SE
Eastern United States
"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"
~Code of Hammurabi
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
BadConcept was unworkable, and would have caused me much misery. I had an alternative BetterConcept, but had to figure out a way to influence his decision without sticking a pin in his fragile ego. Instead of making a counter proposal or calling his baby ugly, I made a "Project Update" document and asked for his review. I performed many hours of analysis and documentation to guide anyone who would read it to the same conclusion, without really drawing a conclusion.
He resisted at first, but once he realized I wasn't pointing fingers at him, he bought in. The extensive analysis gave him the ammunition to go back to the management, re-propose the solution as his own better idea, and save face.
BetterConcept was a success and I lived through it. But to this day I always scratch my head and wonder why it has to be this way. As the saying goes, "amazing success can be had if one doesn't care who gets the credit."
TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering
www.bluetechnik.com
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
If they had, they would get it.
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
"I always scratch my head and wonder why it has to be this way". yes tygerdawg, how true. Good managers should have these people skills but, sadly the burden is on us engineers to have such skills instead.
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
- not placing blame or crticizing
- highlighting the benefits of change
- sticking to facts
- patience
- repetition
I learned many years ago it takes most people 33 times to learn a new habit. I immediately translated that concept to many other aspects of life. I quickly applied it to IQ.Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
That is why you have a technique for dealing with managers called " Broken Record".
B.E.
The good engineer does not need to memorize every formula; he just needs to know where he can find them when he needs them. Old professor
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts. (Sherlock Holmes - A Scandal in Bohemia.)
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
Then enjoy your weekends, sleep well and let him stress out about it. Maybe you can answer his questions on Eng-tips.
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
Some personalities will take this sort of thing badly though, so use some judgement! After one covert trial reached a successful conclusion, one individual was monumentally pissed off at me because he'd stood in front of the brass and said that my solution could never work and they would have to implement a different one costing two orders of magnitude more. The brass remembered that mistake for a long time.
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
So, by your arithmetic, after six engineers individually told our Project Management Team that their schedule was stupid and unworkable, all we need now is another 27 engineers on the project in order to get them to change it?
Great...
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
I know we have - for example - a line item in the man-hour estimate for "Miscellaneous" and another for "Contingency", and now we have a bunch of Primavera Monkeys insisting that they can drop such things into a Project Schedule and logic link them together with predecessors, successors, and determine if they fall on the critical path.
They are either way dumber or way smarter than me, since I have never tried what they are trying.
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
Snorgy, we must be the dumb ones!
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: There once was a PhD . . .
At it's core, it's really an ego management issue. I've only seen this with "managers" who had ginormous egos that were correspondingly fragile. With the founder of one company I have worked for, I handled that type situation by doing it his way, which I knew wasn't going to work, but also doing it a way that would work, as a backup, if at all possible. So, in the case of the bad board design, I would design and build a properly working prototype board anyway, but keep it low key and off the radar, until you have it totally working and done. Then, you just need to leave it out on your desk, for your ego-maniac boss to find, and then he can make it his own.
Note, this only works if you are willing to check your ego at the door, and have enough "FU" money that you can afford to be unemployed for a bit if it backfires. <wink>
-Tony Staples
www.tscombustion.com