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Measuring performance of programmers (or knowledge workers in general) is an unsolved problem.
by ntoshev 18y ago
Measuring performance of programmers (or knowledge workers in general) is an unsolved problem.
- johnrob 18y agoNot when you are deciding whether or not someone should be let go. Every employer should know whether a developer is doing an acceptable job.
- mightybyte 18y agoObjective, concrete, quantifiable metrics are the unsolved problem. Every one that I've ever heard of can be gamed by the developer. The only exception to this that I can think of is the metric of product success in the market. But it's too large-scale to be useful in measuring individual employees. Subjective metrics are quite common and effective. That's how good programmers such as <insert favorite hacker hero here> are regarded as good.
- ntoshev 18y agoSubjective metrics include observation over a long period of time. It may be months before you are sure someone good is underperforming.