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The 10x developer is not a myth (2013)

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Re: The 10x developer is not a myth (2013)

#241

Post by Nomentatus »

jdlshore wrote: post #228
Nomentatus wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Controlled experiments are in order. The article cites "Curtis 1981, Mills 1983, DeMarco and Lister 1985, Curtis et al. 1986, Card 1987, Boehm and Papaccio 1988, Valett and McGarry 1989, Boehm et al 2000" I'm sorry the links don't work, but that still sounds like a traceable bibliography to me. I just tested Google on one study, and found it (paywalled I assume) - "A summary of software measurement experiences in the…

Lauren Bossavit has taken the trouble to trace those citations. His book about his search for the truth behind those claims (and several other common software engineering beliefs) is well worth reading: https://leanpub.com/leprechauns

This is a general point, probably should be directed to the article itself, not a discussion on whether the bibliography given there exists or can be found; your URL risks being overlooked at this depth on a different point. Thanks for it, though.

Re: The 10x developer is not a myth (2013)

#242

Post by Nomentatus »

marcosdumay wrote: post #226
Nomentatus wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See other replies vs measurement - and remember all the large software projects that never get deployed, becoming outright failures. Can you really conclude that they were problems nobody on earth could have solved?

I don't disagree you will see orders of magnitude differences between people by some measurement. The problem is that nobody defending it is specifying what measurement will yeld those orders of magnitude difference, and what is its relevance. Claiming a difference without telling in what dimension is an empty claim, and that is exactly the problem with the 10x developer idea. (By the way, yes, there are plenty of pr…

There isn't merely one vector in which superior programmers are superior, there are many; see the Feynman example. Your search for simplicity is misplaced, I believe.

Nobody's said there aren't unsolvable problems, the question was whether nearly every massive failed software project (and they're common) represented such a thing - obviously no.

Re: The 10x developer is not a myth (2013)

#243

Post by mcv »

pmoriarty wrote: post #117
clavalle wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can say the same of artists...there is certainly a huge difference between the best and the worst. That's taking to broad of a view IMHO. You aren't, generally, going to hire a Picasso. Picasso will be off being Picasso. You also aren't going to hire Greg, the guy who took one art class in middle school who just decided last month that he's going to be a artist. What we are really talking about is the 'artist of…

Google did hire Peter Norvig, if I'm not mistaken. I very much doubt his job is to write programs for them, though.

Chances are his job is to make those right "10x" decisions for teams of average programmers who do the actual work, to ensure that those average programmers are writing the right code.

Re: The 10x developer is not a myth (2013)

#244

Post by sleepychu »

kharak wrote: post #231
TimJYoung wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you like software development, in general ? In other words, is there something that you've worked on in the past that you were passionate about, and found yourself thinking about, even when not "working" ? If the answer to any of the above is "yes", then you may just need to find another job that better suits your interests and needs in terms of career progression. Software development jobs can vary greatly in ter…

Your first sentence is exactly what I've asked myself recently. What do I think about once I'm no longer sitting at my desk? What kind of problems does my brain try to solve? Incongruously, I think mostly about non coding related problems. Still, if I understand the code base and its frameworks, the degree of coding related thinking increases substantially. But normally, I automatically think more about "How to impro…

> I automatically think more about "How to improve the reviewing process? How to improve onboarding? How to calculate costs? How to organize / improve our customer support?" and similiar problems.

FWIW, those interests really should make you a good choice for moving into a less technical role. I don't know if there are career paths that don't start with being someone technical but that's something I would persue, if I were you.

Re: The 10x developer is not a myth (2013)

#245

Post by redblacktree »

psyc wrote: post #224
redblacktree wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comment would be a lot more useful if you elucidated how you believe the parent poster committed this fallacy.

The comment that I did make is pretty useful. Why can't you be satisfied with it?

It wasn't at all clear to me how the poster has committed this fallacy. For me, your comment was next-to-useless.

Re: The 10x developer is not a myth (2013)

#246

Post by psyc »

redblacktree wrote: post #245
psyc wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The comment that I did make is pretty useful. Why can't you be satisfied with it?

It wasn't at all clear to me how the poster has committed this fallacy. For me, your comment was next-to-useless.

Poster didn't commit it. They talked about it. Not my job to spell everything out for everyone and serve it on a platter, garnished to your liking.
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