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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: 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.

    --
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  • (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.