>>Part of the problem there is the lack of a way to even measure coding ability. "We are infants in figuring out how to measure our ability to produce software", he said. What are our metrics? Lines of code—what does that measure? Story points? "What even is a story point?", he wondered.
Indeed, what is programming talent? What is a 'good' programmer? What is a 10x rock star? These notions are similarly ill defined. I can think of at least 3 formulations of 'talent':
1. A developer who can craft an exquisite solution to a problem using the patterns of the domain and/or the idioms of the language.
2. A developer who puts in Heroic efforts to produce a lot of code in a short amount of timing, to meet business objectives.
3. A developer who is 'smart and gets things done'.
One can poke holes into any of these formulations; is the exquisite solution delivered in a reasonable amount of time? Is the quickly delivered code maintainable and extensible or a maintenance nightmare? Does the smart and get things done guy leave a spaghetti trail in his wake?
In the end, I think we've all noticed that some people tend to simply accomplish more, with less issues and drama than others. Is this real? Or simply navel gazing? I tend to think it's real.
Edit: spelling
Indeed, what is programming talent? What is a 'good' programmer? What is a 10x rock star? These notions are similarly ill defined. I can think of at least 3 formulations of 'talent':
1. A developer who can craft an exquisite solution to a problem using the patterns of the domain and/or the idioms of the language.
2. A developer who puts in Heroic efforts to produce a lot of code in a short amount of timing, to meet business objectives.
3. A developer who is 'smart and gets things done'.
One can poke holes into any of these formulations; is the exquisite solution delivered in a reasonable amount of time? Is the quickly delivered code maintainable and extensible or a maintenance nightmare? Does the smart and get things done guy leave a spaghetti trail in his wake?
In the end, I think we've all noticed that some people tend to simply accomplish more, with less issues and drama than others. Is this real? Or simply navel gazing? I tend to think it's real.
Edit: spelling