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posted by janrinok on Monday October 10 2016, @04:37PM   Printer-friendly
from the if-only... dept.

There is an interview with Joel Spolsky on GeekWire which reports that companies should Just shut up and let your devs concentrate:

If you want to attract and keep developers, don't emphasize ping-pong tables, lounges, fire pits and chocolate fountains. Give them private offices or let them work from home, because uninterrupted time to concentrate is the most important and scarcest commodity.

That's the view of Joel Spolsky, CEO of Stack Overflow, a popular Q&A site for programmers, who spoke this morning at the GeekWire Summit in Seattle.

"Facebook's campus in Silicon Valley is an 8-acre open room, and Facebook was very pleased with itself for building what it thought was this amazing place for developers," Spolsky said in an interview with GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. "But developers don't want to overhear conversations. That's ideal for a trading floor, but developers need to concentrate, to go to a chatroom and ask questions and get the answers later. Facebook is paying 40-50 percent more than other places, which is usually a sign developers don't want to work there."

[Continues...]

Spolsky, who in 2011 created project-management software Trello, said the "Joel Test" that he created 16 years ago is still a valid way for developers to evaluate prospective employers. It's a list of 12 yes-no questions, with one point given for every "yes" answer:

  1. Do you use source control?
  2. Can you make a build in one step?
  3. Do you make daily builds?
  4. Do you have a bug database?
  5. Do you fix bugs before writing new code?
  6. Do you have an up-to-date schedule?
  7. Do you have a spec?
  8. Do programmers have quiet working conditions?
  9. Do you use the best tools money can buy?
  10. Do you have testers?
  11. Do new candidates write code during their interview?
  12. Do you do hallway usability testing?

"The truth is that most software organizations are running with a score of 2 or 3, and they need serious help, because companies like Microsoft run at 12 full-time," Spolsky said when he created the test. He said that remains true today.

How well does your organization support its developers? If new or better equipment would improve your productivity, is it made available to you? How is your work environment? How well does your organization score on the 12-point "Joel Test"? What is the biggest thing blocking your company from improving?


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  • (Score: 2, Disagree) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday October 10 2016, @10:24PM

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday October 10 2016, @10:24PM (#412676) Homepage Journal

    Oh please. Nobody who truly wants a job stays unemployed. If you've been out of work for more than a couple months, you either don't want a job or you are a whiny, picky, entitled little bastard that nobody in their right mind would want to hire anyway.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 10 2016, @10:55PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 10 2016, @10:55PM (#412691)

    And what is every whiny, picky, entitled little bastard who truly wants a job supposed to do? Oh right. Die in the gutter.

    Fuck you, asshole.

    • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday October 11 2016, @01:21AM

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday October 11 2016, @01:21AM (#412739) Homepage Journal

      Get hungry enough that they get less whiny, picky, and entitled and start acting like responsible human beings.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 11 2016, @04:14AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 11 2016, @04:14AM (#412805)

        I recall a comment where you referred to shitstain employees. You sir are an asshole, and everything and everyone you touch will become shitstained. So many people are struggling, with a recent story about precisely that thing, and here you have the bootstrapping gall to insult hard working g good people.

        Good job, maybe its time to leave this site or at least stop reading the comments and just enjoy the nerdy news filtering by the submitter. Seeing the inner thoughts of what probably represents a good portion of humanity just gets me depressed, and the not-so-funny part of that is people like you probably would say "good go kill yourself then sniveling rat." Sadly that mentality of treading over others seems to be all the rage, and unless something changes it will lead humanity into the next horrific chapter instead of the prosperous reality that is currently possible.

        • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday October 11 2016, @10:08AM

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday October 11 2016, @10:08AM (#412871) Homepage Journal

          You sir are an asshole

          You, sir, are correct. But that's not what pisses you off. What pisses you off is I believe in personal responsibility and accountability and those scare the hell out of you. Tough titties, sweet cheeks. This is what we call being an adult.

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 11 2016, @12:03PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 11 2016, @12:03PM (#412907)

            No, what pisses people off is that you're an asshole about it.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 11 2016, @04:28AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 11 2016, @04:28AM (#412811)

        Responsible human beings? How does that enter into unemployment? Oh right, only people with successful careers are decent human beings. Pay no mind to reality, or to the fact that accepting a job below your skill level greatly hurts future prospects. They're all lazy good for nothings because you have been successfully brainwashed by the greatest pyramid scheme yet devised.

        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday October 11 2016, @10:06AM

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday October 11 2016, @10:06AM (#412870) Homepage Journal

          Responsible human beings? How does that enter into unemployment?

          A responsible human being does not allow themselves to remain unemployed if they have responsibilities to meet like feeding themselves and their family.

          the fact that accepting a job below your skill level greatly hurts future prospects.

          You say fact, I say bullshit.

          They're all lazy good for nothings because you have been successfully brainwashed by the greatest pyramid scheme yet devised.

          Thanks for the salt, my eggs were kind of bland this morning. So you're calling doing what it takes to meet your responsibilities a pyramid scheme now? What an entitled prick you are. DIAF.

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
  • (Score: 4, Informative) by TheGratefulNet on Tuesday October 11 2016, @01:36AM

    by TheGratefulNet (659) on Tuesday October 11 2016, @01:36AM (#412743)

    fuck you.

    I was out of work for more than half a year and I was willing to do MOST things that ego-based coders would not.

    the lack of jobs is real and the hiring process is against you if you are not currently employed.

    again, go fuck yourself. the fact that you have had an easy time getting jobs does not mean that I didn't want one or wasn't willing to do nearly anything to get one!

    asshole. yes, these are fighting words and while I'm not a fighter, I'd sock you in the face for saying what you said, if you said it to me.

    many of us want jobs and the job market is against us. its a FACT.

    I actually hope you lose your job and are out for a year. it would serve you right, mate.

    --
    "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    • (Score: 1, Offtopic) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday October 11 2016, @01:46AM

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday October 11 2016, @01:46AM (#412747) Homepage Journal

      Who said it was easy for me? I fully expect to have to take a job that's beneath me when I get tired of burning through my savings and go back to work. You certainly won't hear me whining about it though.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 11 2016, @03:07AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 11 2016, @03:07AM (#412779)

      If you voted for Johnson then the invisible hand would grab you by the pussy and put you to work on the best jobs. The best.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 11 2016, @09:03AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 11 2016, @09:03AM (#412855)

    Oh sure, if you truly want a job, McD is always hiring.

    But the discussion was about tech jobs jobs.

    Claiming that there are no tech jobs in a discussion about tech jobs does not make one a whiny, picky, entitle little bastard. One can even take the job at McD and still say there is no tech jobs.

    • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday October 11 2016, @09:51AM

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday October 11 2016, @09:51AM (#412865) Homepage Journal

      WTF are you even talking about? Get a tech job that you're overqualified and underpaid for. It's what the rest of the world outside tech has been having to do for a long time rather than be unemployed.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.