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It's very hard to align an explicit incentive scheme with the outcome that you actually want. In this case, you'll get your features, but they very likely won'
by jbay808 5y ago
It's very hard to align an explicit incentive scheme with the outcome that you actually want.
In this case, you'll get your features, but they very likely won't be bug-free. They'll probably be quite slow and fragile. They might not scale. They might not be well thought-out. They might break backwards compatibility, or break other features that your customers are already using.
In other words, why wouldn't a developer borrow limitless technical debt in order to claim the bounty as fast as possible and move on to their next bounty?
- marcinzm 5y agoEspecially since the developer will likely be at a new company or team in 1-2 years.
- astrobe_ 5y agoBecause I am talking about programmers, not about mercenary-developers.
- bluefirebrand 5y agoOf course. No true programmer would be motivated by reward to produce shoddy work.
- jbay808 5y agoThen what change in behaviour were you expecting your incentive scheme to result in?
- astrobe_ 5y agoThe "scheme" a) draws from gamification b) prevents the sometimes hostile reception of the use of metrics c) reinforces the feedback loop. Positive perception leads to positive behavior.