This came at an significant time for me, because I too have been working on a project that is quite painful for me. It’s painful, because I saw the disaster coming, because I warned about it, because I was ignored, and because now I need to be reminded (despite the innuendo of the manager on the project) that it isn’t my fault, because indeed it isn’t my fault. As a fellow developer reminded me, at every point, I was reasonable, responsible, and professional.

If I were to do anything differently, knowing what I know now, I would probably bring the crisis to a head sooner, rather than reluctantly going along with: “what you need will be ready in plenty of time” (because it wasn’t), and “just ask for what you need, and we’ll get it for you” (because they didn’t, because they were too busy with their own stuff), and “you shouldn’t let that hold you up” (because I should have, because it was a big red flag). I would have brought the crisis to a head sooner, because that would have given the team as a whole a better chance of ultimate success.

My problem is that I allowed myself to become emotionally invested in the project. (Gasp!) And while that did not compromise my professionalism–that is, I still only committed to those things I actually thought I could deliver, given the assurances I had been given–it did cause my judgement to falter–that is, I should have questioned the assurances I had been given, suspected them, pored over them, verified them.