Can programmer productivity be effectively measured? Blogger Jim Bird joins the chorus claiming that it can't – at least not using traditional methods alone:
There is no clear cut way to measure which programmers are doing a better or faster job, or to compare productivity across teams. We “know” who the stars on a team are, who we can depend on to deliver, and who is struggling. And we know if a team is kicking ass – or dragging their asses. But how do we prove it? How can we quantify it?
Bird quickly debunks lines of code as a measure of productivity, noting that the best programmers take the time and forethought to do more with less code. Likewise, many executives would measure productivity by the value of the end product; does it make or save the company money? This measure doesn't account for the myriad business factors that can help determine whether a product or service succeeds, however, regardless of the quality of input from the development team.
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