I'm doing an analysis of one of my previous projects. This one is really painful. I've worked in a software house. During my stay, we were ranked #1 out of 5-7 competitors. Although it may sound good at first, a meeting with the client shows that we are not up to their "standards" and want to raise the bar even higher (yes, and we were #1 and the best vendor at that time).
Of the seven developers in the team, 3 have left the company. If you read Peopleware, just one person (more than 10% turnover) left means a lot about how the company cares its employees. One junior programmer no showed after months of work and then one day, he showed up and pack his things and he is no longer with the company. Another senior programmer left because he could not find the fulfillment of his livelihood. The ones left there is cursing (figuratively and literally) because of this project. One always confides me how he is being mistreated by our lead.
It turns out that our clients are blaming our onsite support and in turn blaming us about our work. I myself, being and honest person, accept if it is my mistake but stands by my word if there are instances that they blame me for things that I haven't done. It the time of the global crisis in which every little mistake or misunderstanding that we were blamed. The manager of the client did not tolerate the actions of her subordinates and just simply said that it is the global crisis, people were losing their jobs so that is their valid reason that they are blaming us. For me that was the most stupid thing I've ever heard.
We were forced to work in ways that we go home in odd hours (mostly at midnight and in the early morning). Tasks have been dumped in such a way that there is maximum tasks with minimum time to do them. I sometimes told them that that is not possible. The only reason that is given to me by the lead that its in the clients history that they have their timelines and that we have to comply. Eventhough I submitted the deliverables to the best of my ability, the lead always blame me for every mistake I made, eventhough it is minor. I said that there is not enough time. She did not listen to me and is stubbornly insistent of the clients "timelines." She makes me do tasks in which I have no skill and expect to get within the day, and does not care if I've slept or not.
In the end my health deteriorated, I resigned and left. I've recovered and currently doing consulting and is still in the software development industry. Looking back, in your opinion, is there something that I could have done better or I shouldn't take that project personally and move on with my career?