Sorry to say this, but I think that the 'just ten minutes' task is a symptom of a much deeper corporate problem.
For example, consider the boss in this story. Why does he/she think a task like this will only take 10 minutes? Is he a developer? Does he keep track of what is going on in other departments? Does he understand how a (seemingly simple) bug like this fits in the context of the whole project?
Or, here's another question. Why is a developer sitting on that particular conference call? Doesn't the company have a QA department, or an internal support department that documents the issue and provides steps to replicate?
Forgive me if I come across as being somewhat dismissive, but when I hear stories like this, I see signs of a very sick company that needs life support.
You might be shocked to hear this but the vast majority of businesses in the real world have such huge process issues that you'd diagnose most of the economy as full of "very sick companies that need life support".
There is definitely a corporate problem (or many) here. At least the manager deciding that "this needs to be looked into right now" above edw's opinion, and the idea that the whole conf call + webconf dance was a better move than filing a ticket.
> Why is a developer sitting on that particular conference call? Doesn't the company have a QA department, or an internal support department that documents the issue and provides steps to replicate?
Exactly. How should one fight that these steps be taken, when your manager is trying to skip them? The thought process that I expect led to this situation were similar to "I could file a ticket, which will take me 5 minutes, or if I just show it to someone, it'll only take me 3 [not voiced: if nothing goes wrong.] That's working smarter!" Similarily, how do you convey to people the true cost of asking for something like this, instead of them treating everybody else's time and effort as externalities.
Yes, there are signs of a sick culture. Culture is fluid though, so how does one push it back towards health? Preferrably without getting classed as difficult/rude/not-a-team-player and then having any argument you bring ignored.
For example, consider the boss in this story. Why does he/she think a task like this will only take 10 minutes? Is he a developer? Does he keep track of what is going on in other departments? Does he understand how a (seemingly simple) bug like this fits in the context of the whole project?
Or, here's another question. Why is a developer sitting on that particular conference call? Doesn't the company have a QA department, or an internal support department that documents the issue and provides steps to replicate?
Forgive me if I come across as being somewhat dismissive, but when I hear stories like this, I see signs of a very sick company that needs life support.