Comment by dijit
2 days ago
> HN is filled with people who think engineering productivity is simple to measure.
I think the prevailing (correct) consensus is that developer productivity is actually very hard to measure, and every time it is attempted the measure is immediately made a target making the whole thing pointless even if it had been a solid measurement- which it wasn't.
IDK where you're getting the idea here that measuring productivity of anyone who isn't a factory worker is easy.
I do not think it is easy, like I said. I am saying other people are acting like it’s easy.
See the second comment on this article. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47976781
See @emp17344 responding to me.
That second comment isn't making that statement though.
It's saying that: cost vs revenue is something we can see.
If I buy a plow for $2,500 and it enables growth of $5000, then arguing "the plow was expensive" is a moot point.
It doesn't make any argument about measured productivity, only investment vs return.
The difficulty in measuring productivity is the attribution. How do you know the new plow enabled growth?
3 replies →
Is it easy to measure a factory worker's productivity? It would seem surprising and interesting if every job's productivity is hard to measure except for one particular kind.
Any job where there's a definable output can be measured. Factory workers are one type.
Others might be farmers; if they're able to yield x tonnes of valid crops out of y acres.