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Work time tracking tools to control developers. Companies would love to stop paying devs for scrolling social media, but so far no tool has gained anything clos
by admissionsguy 3y ago
Work time tracking tools to control developers. Companies would love to stop paying devs for scrolling social media, but so far no tool has gained anything close to widespread adoption. Developers tend to be able to argue themselves out of using them based on privacy concerns and sheer negotiating power.
Now that the market is more employer-friendly, could be a good time to introduce a killer surveillance app. Perhaps go around the privacy concerns by sending mouse movement patterns or anonymized keyboard use patterns instead of screenshots and use ML to detect working time?
- ivanjermakov 3y agoAs a hardcode vim/vimium/wm user, my mouse usage is near zero.
- eszed 3y agoYeah, "hard-core vim [etc]" positively correlates with high-salary, and opinions of your own. Firing you is the point!
- admissionsguy 3y agoThat is good, too much mouse movement typically indicates that the developer is not typing.
- saasjosh 3y agoIt's interesting how in 2024, managers still believe that building software is simply the act of pushing random buttons on a keyboard while moving a mouse. If the developer stops typing for a minute, or a few hours in order to use his brain to think about a hard problem, then the developer doesn't deserve to get paid because he's not actively using his computer? If you really want to track developer hours accurately, you need to invent a microchip that will be implanted in the developer's brain. This chip will track all electrical activity related to building your software, so that you get the best bang for the hourly rate you're paying the developer.
- fragmede 3y agoSo I can get paid for all the time I spend thinking about the problem while I'm sleeping and in the shower? Sign me up!
- saasjosh 3y agoWhy not? If a solution suddenly pops up while you're walking in the woods, you don't want to get paid for it? Is the developer getting paid for the software he's building, or for the number of key-presses recorded on his keyboard? That's why paying developers an hourly rate doesn't make sense. If you like hourly rates so much, then become a manager at a factory, and leave the tech industry to people who are aware of knowledge work.
- potta_coffee 3y agoAlmost all of my best work is done while I'm out taking a walk. I leave my desk and the problem solves itself.
- saasjosh 3y agoSame. It's been proven time and time again that hard problems can be solved by simply walking away while the brain keeps working on it in the background.
- eszed 3y agoThat it's useless - or actively destructive! - does not mean it can't be sold. I hope OP was being satirical, but I fear he wasn't.
- admissionsguy 3y ago> or actively destructive! Business considerations aside, monetary penalty attached to procrastination/doomscrolling might do wonders for the developers' mental wellbeing. For the penalty, I would suggest an extension of the model my recent client had me implemented for his blue collar workers: every missed hour (rounding up) is deducted from the pay.
- eszed 3y ago> monetary penalty attached to procrastination/doomscrolling might do wonders for the developers' mental wellbeing. Heh. Does HN count? This is pretty much the last "social" site I allow myself. > every missed hour (rounding up) is deducted from the pay. Wow! Where's that legal? It wouldn't be in my jurisdiction.
- potta_coffee 3y agoGood luck finding skilled developers to work under these conditions. Workers will go to the companies that respect them and offer the most freedom. Example, I've been working remote for years now and will never go back into the office.