Codermetrics

Name

Pop

Synopsis

Purpose

Establish a relative rating for the amount of complex work, innovation, and initiative.

Formula

Pop = Power + Tackles

Example

The individual coders on a software team are measured to have the following Skill Metric values for a software release:

Coder A: Power 2.5, Tackles 2

Coder B: Power 3.3, Tackles 4

Coder C: Power 2.0, Tackles 3

Coder D: Power 2.6, Tackles 3

The Pop metric for each coder can then be calculated as follows:

Pop Coder A = 2.5 + 2 = 4.5

Pop Coder B = 3.3 + 4 = 7.3

Pop Coder C = 2.0 + 3 = 5.3

Pop Coder D = 2.6 + 3 = 5.6

Notes

This metric is designed to help you identify the “big hitters” on the team, if there are any. I use the term “Pop” because it captures how much “burst” or “propulsion” a coder adds over time, like the “pop” of the ball off of a baseball hitter’s bat when he hits a home run. Coders with a high value for Pop will have handled a significantly higher number of complex tasks or have provided more innovation and initiative—or both.

You may not have coders like this on the team. If complex work is shared equally and the amount of innovation is equally divided among coders, then many or most coders on a team will fall into a similar range. As with other Rating Metrics, coders with a Pop within ten or fifteen percent of each other are probably delivering similar value in this regard.

Having a high Pop rating is not necessarily “good” or “better” than the alternative. Coders who handle more complex tasks may just be meeting expectations, and coders ...