As an analogy, is there an objective measure for code quality? Is it sloc?
(Hint: NO). It is just as difficult to come up with an objective measure of
quality for those who produce the code. Add to that the fact that half of
other team members produce quality code. SN objective measure is very
difficult.
you should essentially have a retrospective with each team member. All of
on their personal journey.
Post by Ron Jeffries ***@acm.org [SCRUMDEVELOPMENT]Mike,
Let me begin with a story. I was visiting a client in the far west. The
teamâs manager told me that Dave was the team hero. He held everything
together. Without Dave, the manager told me, nothing would get done.
Later, I met with members of the actual team. Dave was not present. They
told me in no uncertain terms that Dave was not the hero, Bill was. âDaveâs
code never works,â they said. âDave never gets things really done,â they
told me. âDave is a bullshit artist,â they advised.
âBill quietly finishes Daveâs work, and fixes Daveâs many bugs. Bill is
the hero around here."
There's a few reasons. For example, some people like to have an objective
measure of how they're performin g. As a manager, I'd like to be able to
*objectively* understand how everyone is performing. Again, this isn't
about incentives or punishment, just understanding. How far up the pay
scale (for example) can someone move, when do they get promoted? To what?
Why should they? What kind of opportunities are there for them that fill
their best skills? What happens if they want to become Head of XYZ - how do
I (and they) know they have the right skillset and experience and, if not,
how to get it?
What follows is my opinion, based on years of developing, managing,
coaching, and teaching software. It is a strong opinion, a well-informed
one, and the best advice I can offer you.
I believe quite strongly that the phrase âobjective measure of how people
are performingâ is literally a meaningless noise.
Peopleâs contributions are multi-dimensional. The desires of individuals
on the team, in immediate management, in remote management, in peopleâs
families and communities, are all multi-dimensional and often in conflict.
There is no discernible possibility of mapping a personâs capabilities and
our desires about them onto some way to â*objectively* understandâ how
theyâre doing.
Working with our people, all the time, to see how we are meeting each
othersâ needs, is a great thing to do. Imagining, for even a moment, that
doing that translates into an objective measure, is simply mistaken.
The Japanese have a saying âGo to the gembaâ. Be present in the workplace,
with the people, watching what happens, talking with them, listening to
them, helping them. Thatâs what works.
Regards,
Ron Jeffries
ronjeffries.com
Sometimes you just have to stop holding on with both hands, both feet, and
your tail, to get someplace better.
Of course you might plummet to the earth and die, but probably not: you were made for this.