Ask HN: Disability and Inconsistent Throughput Accommodations?
I'm on a team supporting multiple data-centric web apps. Requirements are not well documented and our test suite is basically to try creating the component and pass the test if it's truthy. This leads to a lot of ambiguity and encountering secondary existing issued when trying to fix the identified bug or implementing a new feature. Our dev/test environments also have many stability issues. Often I have multiple stories open in different code bases because I'm waiting on other teams to fix an issue with their API, or for the PO to provide clarity on a requirement like which data point we should be using. So there are tons of context switching and impediments. This affects others on the team too, but it seems to affect me more due to my disability.
I've been told that I'm on a trajectory for a negative rating and probably a PIP. Their main complaint is that my throughput is inconsistent - some sprints my stories might carry over due to facing multiple issues, but in others I can close 12-18 points of work when only minimally impeded. My average output for the year is equal to or greater than the other person on my team at the same level (and they said they're on track for a good rating). I'm also involved in more voluntary work than they are. Their secondary complaint is that I have "an inability to independently problem solve". There are larger issues that I need help with solving, especially when there is no documentation on that part of the system. But overall, I solve many more problems on my own that I need help with. It's just that there are a huge volume of problems and it seems the ones that slow down my work are the only ones they are counting. I'm only a midlevel dev, so I feel like the amount of help I require is reasonable for my level and disability and the structural/environmental issues on this team.
I've already requested accommodations like increased coaching and reduced context switching when possible or additional help dealing with the environmental issues when it's not. I'm not receiving either. They haven't denied them, but they haven't formally accepted them either. I'm keeping notes on all the feedback I'm getting, the stories I'm completing, what level of help I'm getting for each one, the issues I'm facing and overcoming, etc.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? Have you been able to request accommodations to help with complaints of inconsistent throughput? I'm not sure what to request because to me, if my average output for the year is average or higher, then I don't see how individual sprint performance should be grounds for firing, especially if I'm not getting the accommodations for my disability.