Re: Auditing Programmers

Booth,

In a message dated 12/7/99 9:03:09 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
boothm@earth.goddard.edu writes:

> There is nothing wrong with being held accountable for our work, so long 
>  as it is done honestly and the measures are appropriate to the goals. 

I would _LOVE_ to know how you would make this assessment based on available 
information from an AS/400.  Time logged on?  They could log on and do 
nothing all day.  CPU utilization?  A savvy developer could run a string of 
SQL statements all day and still do nothing.  Lines of code changed?  
Multiple "do nothing" alternatives there.  Programs compiled?  Same.

The only way to accurately measure productivity is to have a few things:

1.  A manager who can't be snowed, knows a little bit about what various 
tasks require, and sets the schedule accordingly.
2.  A time reporting system that is complete, accurate, and can accurately 
accommodate unscheduled tasks.
3.  Honest employees and consultants.
4.  A _REASONABLE_ schedule.
5.  An _ACHIEVABLE_ goal.
6.  Accountability of the developers.
7.  Accountability of the users.
8.  Accountability of management.
9.  Financial resources exclusively allocated to the project.
10.  Stable and competent upper management.
11.  Clearly defined project goals that match clearly defined corporate goals.
12.  A measure of trust.

If you've got someone that's causing a problem, then you need to measure them 
by whatever is causing the perceived problem -- not some arbitrary machine 
measurement that can later be defeated in court.  "Problem" employees need to 
be communicated with frequently and in depth, not just "gotten rid of" at the 
first opportunity.  Personal problems or a perceived "disconnect" with 
management can cause an otherwise good person to fail in their performance of 
duty -- these can also cause a _GOOD_ employee to leave before you are aware 
of a problem.  Everyone should be held accountable, but _FAR_ too many people 
leave (either voluntarily or not) because management didn't care until the 
bottom line was impacted by the situation.  More often than not, an 
employee's failure started with a failure in management...

JMHO,

Dean Asmussen
Enterprise Systems Consulting, Inc.
Fuquay-Varina, NC  USA
E-mail:  DAsmussen@aol.com

"The greatest joy in life is doing what others say you cannot do." -- Walter 
Bagehot
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