| Your expectations are neither unreasonable, nor reasonable, without the context and environment of the business and market it operates in. For some products, companies and their markets, the expectation from the users/customers could be so low that the mere existence of the product can be quite disruptive. In fact, (most) startups exist to pursue an idea of disruption. As the product, company, market and customers evolve, the expectations begin shifting. This leads to an inevitable choice across a spectrum from leaving things as they are to rewriting entire stacks. If the leadership can do a good job hiring the right people to both navigate the chaos and know how to get to a better place, things would then evolve, in whatever pace that can be allowed by the business, given calculated risks on engineering practices or lack thereof. The key here is the "right people", rather than just "more people". Based on the information shared, you sound like you are the right person to lead an engineering quality and reliability initiative. Although, I do assume that you may not be the right person because you are failing to cope with the current chaos. That being said, the mere fact that you're seeking counsel here tells me you are willing to manage this. I think that's a great start. At this point, I belive there are two (and possibly more) things you can do: - Talk to the key people in leadership to understand how they perceive the current situation and whether they are willing, if not even intent on, improving the status quo. - Ask yourself for how long more you can navigate the chaos and whether that takes away from your mental and even physical well being. Perhaps shifting your perspective and being intentional about it can help. This could even be the best thing that happened to you. Fast forward a few years, you'll perhaps have become an engineering leader who has had the opportunity to have experienced a huge paradigm shift and worked on solving its challenges. |