Re: cobol code assessment


"Alistair" <alistair@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1138548428.909665.291230@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> Louis Krupp wrote:
>> HeyBub wrote:
>> [snip]
>>
>> > Be sure to include the "skill inventory" of the staff. For example:
>> >
>> > Average experience
>> > Senior programmers - 12.
>> > COBOL: 17.2 years
>>
>> Slightly OT, but is average experience necessarily a meaningful metric?
>> Are ten people who can claim a year each of COBOL experience really
>> equivalent to one person who can claim ten years, or two people who can
>> claim five each? Is ten years' experience worth twice as much as five
>> years, or is there a point of diminishing returns?
>>
>> Louis
>
> Back in Doc Dwarf's Golden Days of Yore I read an article in a
> computing journal which concluded that a trainee programmer would
> improve their productivity up to a maximum level at two years.
> Thereafter, their productivity declined somewhat but would not reach
> the two year maxima.
>
> So five people with two years experience each would definitely be
> better than one person with ten years experience. Of course, DD would
> posit that, like a good wine, he improves with age.
>
Not ALL good wines improve with age (though I have no doubt the Doc has done
so). But I wouldn't take the findings of a Computer Journal form the "Good
old daze" as Gospel, either :-). In the "Good old daze" we thought it was
OK to solve problems by making little holes in cardboard... :-)

As a manager, I'd rather have 1 person with 10 years than 5 with 2 years,
but only because it would be cheaper :-). If someone else is paying for it,
I'll take the 5 people gladly...:-)

Pete.


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