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We need to assess people's capabilities so we can try to allocate our resources as best as we can, especially when facing changing circumstances and limited bud
by Pacabel 13y ago
We need to assess people's capabilities so we can try to allocate our resources as best as we can, especially when facing changing circumstances and limited budgets.
When assigning work, I need to know if one programmer is likely better than another at a given task. If Dave tends to work more efficiently with C++ than Gupta does, I'm going to give the C++ work to Dave. If Gupta tends to work more efficiently with Visual Basic than Dave does, then I'm going to have Gupta maintain the old Visual Basic apps.
This is business. We're here to allocate our resources, be they money or people, as best as we can in order to get the greatest return. Professional programmers will set aside their emotions in order to achieve this goal, and will accept being judged as part of the resource allocation process. They realize that this isn't some fantasy where everybody is happy all of the time, and nobody's feelings get hurt.
- pekk 13y agoIt is equally an impossible idealization to think that people usually do set aside their emotions, and only make "technical" criticisms objectively. The phrase "resource allocation" should have tipped us off to how fast and hard this becomes Machiavellian. If one programmer kisses up much better, went to the right school, or is of a preferred race or political party, or successfully claims the work of the other, etc. - the boss will mysteriously find that this one is more competent. Since the rationale that we decide everything by merit is unassailable and taken for granted, we bias merit judgments to suit our goals. Any objection can be met by accusing the objector of being emotional and wanting to compromise the merit-based system. In reality merit is determined by a political process. Every single HN poster will, by amazing chance, turn out to be a shining exception to this rule, completely unbiased by personal opinion or politics.
- collyw 13y agoI could see a problem with your methodology where someone is "good with excel", gets to clean up all the shit execl problems, never gets to work on anything interesting, never gets to improve, or learn the C++, which he may be better at given 6 months of using it.
- Pacabel 13y agoThere's nothing stopping such a person from learning additional skills on their own. There's nothing stopping that person from them asking to prove that they do have these additional skills. There's nothing stopping that person from them proving that their new skills provide more value than their old skills. And if that doesn't work, and their new skills are truly valuable, then there's a very good chance that somebody else is willing to pay for those skills.