Perhaps it is a sign I have too much time on my hands, or I should really get a good hobby: but : I spent some time going through my mailbox with all my mails from one of my last projects and came up with the following theory: The carbon copy (cc) function in mail is only used to send people a copy of the mail if:
a) the sender is not sure about the content, and hopes a cc-er will check it;
b) the sender is not authorized about a certain aspect and uses the cc to cover his butt.
With increasing pressure on a project team, you will find more cc-recipients in the mails. People don’t have the time to check the content or get all the agreements needed, so they resolve to cc.
With increasing pressure, people have less time to read their mail, so they will skip all the mails that they received by carbon copy as it is not primary addressed to them.
See the paradox?
Well, it is just a theory.
Bas De Baar works as a Project Manager within the publishing industry. Since 2001, he has been the editor of SoftwareProjects.org.
