If there are two programmers and they both produce exactly the same output, but the differences are as follows: The first programmer has spent a lot more time

If there are two programmers and they both produce exactly the same output, but the differences are as follows: The first programmer has spent a lot more time in doing it (like 5x the second programmer) and carefully verified each line to make sure the code and algorithm are correct both conceptually and in practice, and tested that the code won't fail in any of the imaginable corner cases. The second programmer wrote it over the weekend, didn't test much else but merely cross-checked the code with a few working test cases similar to what the program will be used with for starters. He maybe followed his intuition to guide how to write or let his creative flow dictate the details of the program but he really hasn't had time to verify why. There seems to be no clear notion of which programmer was more productive. It all depends on what perspective the project is viewed. On the other hand, I believe there's always some absolute value underneath and productivity isn't entirely an subjective property. (Mandatory car analogy: If you want a Trabant and I sell you a Mercedes-Benz for the price of a Trabant and you still treat the car like a Trabant, the Mercedes is still better built regardless of how you extract value out of it.) When the project was deployed, both programs worked correctly as they are similar. The cost per line/token of the first programmer is five times the cost of the second programmer. On the other hand, had the second programmer undergone the same rigorous verification it would have taken 2x the time of the first programmer. Apparently the first programmer's code has a lot more value simply in being well-thought, and the programmer knows exactly why he has arrived in the solutions he wrote in the code. If the code broke the programmers would be on very different levels with regard to how to start debugging. On the other hand, the second programmer produced the same program in 1/5th of the time which may greatly please the management. However, the second programmer might easily become a grand failure in the next project as in this project he already reached the same solution if not by accident then at least by luck. Both programmers produced the same comments as they wrote it mainly for the future maintainers, as usual, instead of as a record of the whole mental process they experienced.