Dispatch #15/23
The discussion about measuring Developers' productivity is peaking -again. This topic feels like an evergreen, a long dispute without a clear answer. Productivity is a complicated concept in development. Problematic because of multiple reasons:
Complex Calculation: We do not do the same repeatedly (with exceptions) in development. If we produced, for example, always the same table again and again, it would be easier to calculate. We could see how much time and material we need. If we need less time or material, that would be productivity improvement.
Misleading Incentive: By measuring and reporting productivity, developers might tread productivity for quality or scope. Depending on the incentives, some might even begin to game the system.
Mental Work vs. Physical Work: Productivity is a concept from physical work. Where to produce more is always good. That's not the case in software development. More lines of code do not mean it's better.
Now we are entering a recession phase. As a result, enterprises are asking again for cost reduction and productivity increases. So, let's see what answers are out there.
Here are some fascinating articles that we came across this week:
Article: The framework RAVE is not only bringing developer productivity to the forefront but also adding to this notion of customer delight really with focusing on resilience, adoption, velocity, and errors: Measuring Software Value and Trust: Let's RAVE - IT Revolution
Article: Software developer productivity depends on their skills, knowledge, tools, and working process. But what is about their happiness? Happiness and productivity
Article: Google research on the impact of the pandemic on developers' productivity. Interestingly, they use cross-tool logs to track and measure engineers' behavior and productivity. At the same time, they were protecting engineers' privacy: Developer Productivity for Humans, Part 2: Hybrid Productivity | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE Xplore
Now, we want to know your thoughts:
Is your company measuring developers' productivity?
What do you take into account when measuring?
Is anyone still using Functional Points or Velocity to report improvements?
We would like to hear from you; write us a comment or mail!
Regards, Florian
hoeppnerflorian@gmail.com
www.TechAccelerationAndResilience.com
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