Re: RE: RE: programmer productivity.

["Mike Naughton" <mnaughton@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com writes:
>No measure is perfect, so I'd probably look for two or three measures I
>can 
>provide every month that would provide an indicator of performance along
>a 
>couple of lines of reference.
>
>I realise this is a technical list (that's why I subscribe) but I think
>us 
>technical types have to learn to tango with the management boys and that 
>means speaking in the terms they understand and delivering on the kinds
>of 
>things business expect to see when they have dollars invested. Maybe
>that's 
>why we see so many NT  boxes getting wheeled in around the traps.....

Well said -- I agree. OTOH, while I think some sort of measurement process
is important, I think that too much reliance on measurables can be a bad
idea. In my experience, the most successful companies have been run by
people who were able to make decisions based partly on "objective" factors
and partly on gut feelings. One of the worst was run by people who set up
decision matrices for everything and never did anything unless they could
justify it with a five-page memo. They ended up wasting huge amounts of
time and money on committees and consultants, and it was a very
frustrating place to work.

The trick (as usual) is to find the right balance. . . .

Mike Naughton
Senior Programmer/Analyst
Judd Wire, Inc.
124 Turnpike Road
Turners Falls, MA  01376
413-863-4357 x444
mnaughton@juddwire.com
+---
| This is the Midrange System Mailing List!
| To submit a new message, send your mail to MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com.
| To subscribe to this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-SUB@midrange.com.
| To unsubscribe from this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-UNSUB@midrange.com.
| Questions should be directed to the list owner/operator: david@midrange.com
+---