Codermetrics

Timeout for an Example: An MVP Season

In sports, there is an award called Most Valuable Player (MVP). It may be awarded within a team or judged across all players in a league. The concept is simple—to award the player at the end of a season who was determined most valuable in helping their team win. When judged for a league, the award may go to the player who was considered the best overall in the league.

I have wondered whether it would be worthwhile to award an MVP on software development teams. Maybe awarded on an annual basis, it could be used as a way to highlight and reward team-oriented skills. Designating an MVP might reinforce the value of measuring coder contributions to the team, since these metrics would be emphasized in making the case for the recipient. I could imagine giving out some sort of plaque, maybe even a monetary award. But I’ve never done this. I’ve never been completely comfortable with individual “public” awards, since I worry about creating resentment or other issues that would actually be detrimental to the team. Still, team-oriented awards like MVP are worth considering.

Although I’ve never given out an MVP award, I do have a story to share about one coder who clearly would have deserved the award if it existed. In this case, it was so clear that I don’t think it would have generated any controversy or jealousy within the team, but would have been seen as a well-deserved and positive reward.

We were a one-product start-up, and we had just finished our second ...