Codermetrics

Chapter 4. Skill Metrics

A lot of times, a player has a lot of versatility. That’s really what their strength is and what their role is.

—Bill Belichick, NFL Coach, 5-time Super Bowl winner, 3-time Coach of the Year

This chapter introduces a set of metrics on coder skills that I’ve found interesting and useful. When you look at these metrics for a set of coders taken over periods of time, you begin to see patterns about the individuals and the team makeup. Identifying those patterns can help you understand how the team is functioning, where the team is strong, and where it might be weak. Comparing one team to another, and in context with other metrics introduced in the following chapters, you can learn even more.

It’s a good idea to encourage the coders, not just team leaders and managers, to look at metrics, and to measure areas that might actually change their behavior as well as reveal it. My choice of metrics, therefore, is deliberate in trying to highlight those skills that I think are worthwhile to have coders think about and focus on. People pay more attention to things that are measured. If you tell a team that you’re going to keep track of how many times they assist others, for example, they will probably pay more attention to when they are helping others, and take more notice when they don’t. It can spur discussion around the measured area, and increase thinking about how to improve.