For the past few years I’ve worked for company that supply, set up and train users on software. The software it’s self connects to hardware components over various communication methods, the main one being TCP/IP. Obviously during this time I’ve dealt with quite a few different IT departments and I’ve noticed various stereotypes, each IT admin can be usually be classified as one of these stereotypes or some times a combination of a few
Vista - Possibly the most annoying of all admins to deal with as an outside software provider. This admin will want to know everything about what you are doing, right down to why you are running an installer in a particular way. He will stand over your shoulder the whole time you are configuring the software just to make sure you don’t look or touch anything. Every thing will have to be done according to a set procedure other wise there will be hell to pay. Just like Vista, he’s hard to deal with until UAC is turned off.
Tell tale signs you have a Vista admin. User accounts and completely locked, they cant make a file anywhere on their pc other than my docs. If he is the only IT guy he will be the only one who knows the admin passwords.
XP - Nowhere near as bad as the Vista admin, the XP admin dreams of having the power of a Vista. This admin will want instructions on how to do anything, but wont actually follow them. Instead he will do it how he thinks it should be done! Some times this can be worse than a Vista who just wont do anything. If something in the software isn’t working right, he will be able to tell you something isn’t right but wont know any specific details. When the software crashes he will one to tell the whole world about it though even if it was his fault.
Tell tale sign you have an XP admin. All pc’s have Norton anti-virus on them, but chances are the license has expired!
Chameleon - Depending on the situation this kind of admin can be your bet friend or your worst nightmare. When you first meet the Chameleon admin you probably wont know he is the IT guy. The Chameleon is an employee from another area pushed into being the IT guy because he knows a little bit about computers (he has one at home after all!) The advantage of this kind of admin is that he knows he is out of his depth and as such will bow to what he sees as your greater knowledge. He will listen to advice you give him and he will gladly give you the admin password for his network. On the down side though, don’t give him your contact details because once he thinks you like him he will be constantly emailing you for advice on each and every problem he encounters (and it might not always beIT problems). Also, don’t leave this guy to do anything other than the simplest as he will in all probability get it wrong
Tell tale sign you have a Chameleon, the corporate anti-virus in use is AVG Free Edition and the main network hub is a 5 port netgear home router.
Seagull - This guy is kind of like the Chameleon only he doesn’t know he is out of his depth. Usually this kind of admin is a senior management type from another area (i.e. Finance) given responsibility for IT as well. Will probably have other IT admins under him. This kind of admin will never even consider the possibility that you might know more about your software than him. He doesn’t really get involved in any IT projects until right at the end, and even then all he does is arrive on the scene, decide it will all be done differently to how you and his IT have planned it, make it clear it must be done his way and then he will disappear once more. In other words, like a seagull he flys over, shits on you and then leaves.
Tell tale signs you have a Seagull, if microsoft make a software that does it he wont consider using any other solution. One word, gadgets and lots of them! Will be obsessed with buzz words (must be Web 2.0, sql and the like) usually disliked by other staff.
Utility - The Utility admin is a user with a technical background but not originally from IT (an engineer or something similar. He will have a broad skimming of knowledge knowing about some areas that most IT admins will never have even heard of but he usually doesn’t have any in depth knowledge, just knowing enough to get by. He learns fast though, you telling him about something to day and tomorrow he will be able to hold a good conversation on it. His thirst for knowledge is matched only by his ability to fiddle with your software and find the bugs that no other user can (he’s made by Carlsberg), and usually he finds the bugs that are extremely hard to fix.
Tell tales sign you have a Utility admin, he will advocate the use of open source software solutions where ever possible.
Uber - This admin is the ultimate geek. Looks like the long haired member of the Lone Gunmen (see X-Files). He will believe himself to be the fountain of al knowledge. In specific areas he will have the ability to put most peoples skills to shame, he will know the power of a DOS prompt and he wont be afraid to use it, infact he will probably prefer it to Windows. Kind of like the Vista admin, he will want to know everything about what you are doing, but he will want to know the how as well as the why. The problem with this admin is he has spent that much time using software he knows that there are always bugs, so he will look for evidence of bugs that he thinks are there even if it can be proved they are not. If the software doesn’t work how he thinks it should that will be a bug too.
Tell tales signs you have an Uber admin, he still plays Dungeons & Dragons, all 25 servers are named after Lord of The Rings characters (mostly obscure ones), and he probaby has Lord of The Rings figures on his desk.
