APCON reviews

There are constantly conflicting product designs from marketing and the CEO, although the CEO changes his mind every few days, so occasionally his thoughts align with the marketing designs for a brief time. On any given day, it is unclear which design is the correct design to follow -- which can be a problem, considering the "designs" mainly consist of UI and often need weeks worth of separate "plumbing" in place for each/either UI. For a while, there was an "Engineering Manager" who seemingly had no power. Engineers were told to report directly to the CEO, completely circumventing this guy's authority. It was almost as if the manager was there only to fill a box on the org chart and to schedule useless daily "yes sir" meetings. The CEO does not trust the employees. As such, the employees learn to not trust the CEO. But he takes Thursdays off, so that can be your day to either get some real, uninterrupted work done or to goof off or to schedule job interviews (all depending on your level of trust in the company.) Burnout and turnover are real problems.

It is a very oppressive atmosphere in which to work. The company culture does not value the individual. You will be in fear of losing your job on a daily basis. Management does not know how to manage projects or motivate people, nor do they care to learn. Specs are not even half-baked and change before you have had a chance to provide feedback (which is not welcomed). You will not be motivated or recognized for quality work. Weekly changes in direction and a constant short term focus on the next customer (many times to prevent losing said customer) means that getting the next release out in a panic is the only focus. Quality and consistency are sacrificed every step of the way. Very little thought is put into long-term product planning or career development. Product development is all about the top few managers calling all the shots whether the are competent or not (and they are not).