4 ms·
This 10x thing is quite frankly stupid. The distribution of developer skill (if that's even something that can be plotted) is not bimodal with good developers
by skylark 9y ago
This 10x thing is quite frankly stupid.
The distribution of developer skill (if that's even something that can be plotted) is not bimodal with good developers and bad developers, it's normal. Sure someone 2 SDs above the mean might be 10x more productive than someone 2 SDs below the mean, but the same can be said for literally anything that requires skill.
While we're at it, why don't we call Gordon Ramsay a 10x chef? Or Yo-Yo Ma a 10x cellist. While this is technically true, it's not particularly insightful, and certainly not something you should use to label yourself.
To answer your question, yes someone skilled at software development will be slowed down if dealing with a legacy codebase.
- gregjor 9y agoI agree with almost everything. Talent and experience make a difference, but programmer productivity is situational. Some teams and projects bring out the best in everyone. And I've had bosses and customers and team members who make sure no one is very productive. Working with legacy code is a skill too. I don't think it's true that a skilled programmer will necessarily be slowed down with a legacy codebase. Another way to look at legacy vs. green field is that with a legacy system there's already a fairly complete spec, expressed in the code. Learning to read and understand code is a skill that programmers can learn if they care to.