[bumby]

I can see that. The counterpoint is that it can create bureaucratic bloat.

If the proper channel means coordinating with finance to allocate money, get it assigned to labor codes, and reflected in my bi-monthly time allotment, I think I'd rather just jump the job and get it done this week than get it properly assigned two months from now. It does require a certain amount of cover and trust within an organization, though.

[Arainach]

I've never worked somewhere where the proper channels meant "coordinate with finance", but "file a bug/feature request to track this work and time time spent on it" should be standard. If it's not worth 5 minutes for the requester to do that, it's not worth however long it would take me.

This makes it easier to query and show what you've done in a time period. It makes it easier to go through the list of your assigned tasks and understand where it fits in the priority order.

[bumby]

Sure, but the HN crowd cuts much wider than just people working on mobile business apps.