13 ms·

I've noticed a common theme across several such posts/comments - our definitions of a "good" company can widely differ. I, for one, find it's important that the

I've noticed a common theme across several such posts/comments - our definitions of a "good" company can widely differ. I, for one, find it's important that the team can always quantify how every feature adds value to customers. Others are happy just focusing on highly-technical, challenging work. We're already starting to see examples of these differences in the thread started by @JonChesterfield; I'm sure others will pop up. The only conclusion I can draw so far is that interviewing the employer remains as important as ever. Don't just write off a company because of what you see online, just have a 30 minute chat.

wpietri 4y ago
Could you say more about quantifying value? I'm a big fan of both aiming to deliver value (by having a value hypothesis for each new thing) and making sure we're delivering value. But actually quantifying it can be tricky. Do you mainly use value proxies here? E.g., X people are using the feature Y times per week?
- mrkurt 4y ago
  I read "quantify" a little ambiguously, possibly because I'm projecting. For me, it's enough to be able to explain the potential customer value. And this often happens after the fact. We actually try to get people here to listen to their gut and do small versions of work, _then_ tell the story of why it might matter.
- meowtastic 4y ago
  I'd say it depends on how much effort it'll take to deliver the work. Want to spend a day clearing up a piece of technical debt? Guesstimate how much faster you'll end up adding new features after resolving it. But the bigger the piece of work the more effort you should put in quantifying it.
  - wpietri 4y ago
    Ah, got it. I think I mostly avoid the problem by looking for small ways to test the value hypothesis.
mrkurt 4y ago
> I, for one, find it's important that the team can always quantify how every feature adds value to customers. Are you me?
- meowtastic 4y ago
  Ha, I wish!

wpietri 4y ago

Could you say more about quantifying value? I'm a big fan of both aiming to deliver value (by having a value hypothesis for each new thing) and making sure we're delivering value. But actually quantifying it can be tricky. Do you mainly use value proxies here? E.g., X people are using the feature Y times per week?

mrkurt 4y ago
I read "quantify" a little ambiguously, possibly because I'm projecting. For me, it's enough to be able to explain the potential customer value. And this often happens after the fact. We actually try to get people here to listen to their gut and do small versions of work, _then_ tell the story of why it might matter.
meowtastic 4y ago
I'd say it depends on how much effort it'll take to deliver the work. Want to spend a day clearing up a piece of technical debt? Guesstimate how much faster you'll end up adding new features after resolving it. But the bigger the piece of work the more effort you should put in quantifying it.
- wpietri 4y ago
  Ah, got it. I think I mostly avoid the problem by looking for small ways to test the value hypothesis.

mrkurt 4y ago

> I, for one, find it's important that the team can always quantify how every feature adds value to customers. Are you me?

meowtastic 4y ago
Ha, I wish!