Software Development
Measuring the Software Developer’s Productivity
Tips to monitor software developers productivity for the desired result
Be it a developer or any other employee, measuring productivity is a foremost responsibility of a manager. However, the manager has to go over with a fine-tooth comb and find the errors. The essential factors that are usually analyzed during the process are as follows:
•Total time spent at work
•Time spent at meetings and conferences
•Break hours
•Total productive hours
Do you know around 52 percent of respondents said that managing legacy systems and technological debt in their sector was hindering the productivity of software developers.
Now the question is,
- Can the software developer’s productivity be measured accurately?
- Will it be fair to judge them based on all the above factors?
- Will this entire measuring process affect their productivity in the future?
We have got the answers to all your questions. But before we start, let us settle on the fact that there’s a thin line between completing work and being productive.
However, based on these insights, you are free to check out these ways to measure a developer’s productivity. So that you can get the most out of the skills of software developers.
Factors to consider while measuring a Software developer’s productivity
The most significant act about measuring a developer’s productivity is motivating the developers through it and not degrading them. Make sure that none of these should affect their overall performance. In this blog, we have discussed a few such efficacious factors considering which you can measure a developer’s productivity.
1.Code reviews
Code reviews help a lot and are the most accurate metric. Code reviews tell you more about the efforts put by the developers than anything else will. Check out the reviews and analyze the changes done, and you will know.
2.Coordination among the managers and developers
The count of work done or not done; what matters is coordination and knowledge sharing about that particular work with the team/manager. Whatever the software developer does, they will report to the manager and discuss the task. You can trace back all the internal conversations to measure the developer’s productivity.
3. Basic follow-up
You can measure the productivity emanating from the conclusions of all the recent meetings. A follow up helps you determine the pace of your developer’s work. Although, make sure that you don’t overdo it or negatively impact your employee.
4. Quality over quantity
Always ensure that the spotlight is on the quality of your developer’s work and not quantity. They can complete the tasks back to back without producing a quality R&D on that, yet quality work demands quality time spent on its research and study. Remember that a quality job is what reputes an organization and not quantity.
5. Observing the Working pattern
One of the crucial stages of measuring a developer’s productivity is judging them based on their work pattern. Working on several projects together makes the managers determine the working pattern of their team members accurately. They know their developer’s habits and the pace at which they proceed with a project; therefore, it will be fair to use this metric while measuring a software developer’s productivity.
Factors to avoid while measuring a developer’s productivity
Motivating the developer is one of the most significant manager duties. However, measuring the developer’s productivity happens to be the same. Still, an employer or manager should make sure that a software developer should not feel demotivated or dull in the midst of all this. If that happens, it may have a massive impact on the overall performance of an organization.
Here, we have mentioned a few elements that a manager or a company should avoid while measuring a developer’s productivity.
1. Number of codes created
Writing more and more codes not necessarily indicates that a developer is productive. As we discussed above, one should always look for quality over quantity. A shoestring size of work can be of low quality, and it can be vice versa as well. So make sure you don’t count the line of codes to measure productivity.
2. Number of working hours
Hours and minutes are a motionless case of evidence. It’s how we understand the amount of work that gets done over what period. In other words, it measures the efficiency. If they are consistently reaching the organization’s goals, then it doesn’t matter how much time they are supplying it.
3. Number of Bugs fixed
Fixing bugs isn’t a metric you want while measuring productivity. A developer can prove himself by just developing software full of bugs and then set them often.
Funny, right? So, avoid counting the number of bugs your developers have fixed because it doesn’t make sense anyway.
4. Number of tasks completed
Before proceeding further, learn that all tasks are not the same. Some may require less time, while some necessitate a lot of time to accomplish. Based on the figures, they won’t ever determine the productivity of a developer. Instead will get them demotivated and unconcerned while executing the tasks.
We reviewed a few useful metrics that you demanded to know while measuring the software developer’s productivity. Make sure you go with the course and focus much more on quantity instead of quality. Strategize the right way to carry forward the process without questioning the skills and abilities of a developer.
