Xref: utzoo comp.software-eng:2447 comp.misc:7421 Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!sun-barr!newstop!sun!regenmeister!chrisp From: chrisp@regenmeister.uucp (Chris Prael) Newsgroups: comp.software-eng,comp.misc Subject: Re: Programmer productivity Message-ID: <34796@regenmeister.uucp> Date: 20 Nov 89 19:23:47 GMT References: Sender: chrisp@regenmeister (Chris Prael) Distribution: na Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc. - Mtn View, CA Lines: 23 From article , by emuleomo@paul.rutgers.edu (Emuleomo): > I heard that the average programmer produces 3-4 lines of *finished* > code a day! > This sounds ridiculously low. Does anybody out there know what the real > figure is? Or is it misleading to try and gauge productivity this way? > If it is, what are the recommended ways to measure programmer productivity > using some sort of metrics! Are there metrics to measure the productivity of electronic engineers? No? Then how about measuring the productivity of mechanical engineers? Another blank? Perhaps they measure the productivity of civil engineers some way? No again? Perhaps a pattern can be seen here. The real question here is: can you find a functional definition of programmer productivity? I submit that you cannot. Certainly, lines of finished code fails the test of being meaningful quite thoroughly! What is the point of trying to equate a programmer with a manufacturing robot? > ** The ONLY thing we learn from history is that we don't learn from history! Speak for your self! Chris Prael