Programmer Competency Matrix
I just found this handy little matrix to asses skill levels in different areas of software development. Some people can look good on paper, but it's often not until you dig deeper that you find the diamonds. It's also nice to see areas that I need to improve on.
Excell version
http://www.nodewave.com/cms/content/view/programmer-competency-matrix--self-evaluation-excel-sheet/free-documents/
Original
http://www.indiangeek.net/programmer-competency-matrix/
Comments
Nice information. Thank you for sharing. Now we can find even more reasons to pay developers even less. And as a free bonus this matrix will allow us always look smarter then the candidate during the interview.
I find it amusing
I find it amusing how management types seem to think they can achieve anything by walking on the people under them. You'd end up looking stupid anyway if you started asking questions about things you don't understand.
Don't read everything you believe
I like this matrix - I really do. I agree with most of it. There are significant things missing, like skilled project management, not just "communication", and the ability to solve complex problems rather than having a complex toolkit. Having the toolkit does not grant the wisdom of solving the problems you need the tools for in the first place.
And, I agree with the above sentiments: some interviewER is going to beat some interviewEE over the head with these bullet items and the interviewER is going to reject a good candidate. The log(n) candidates are rare, and could still not be able to function in an organization. Someone could be log(n) and still be a sequestered mushroom.
I'll hire someone with solid n^1.5 skills if they can also work in a group and solve the problems at hand rather than spouting they know Erlang.
Hi OP, I hear ya ... There is
Hi OP,
I hear ya ... There is a science to software engineering as well as an art. It's the art and the human factor that takes experience and wisdom. Something I'm still learning every day. :) I guess for me the matrix is a conversation starter to understand a candidates quantifiable knowledge. Then comes the interesting part .. trying to figure out if they can put their knowledge into practical application. Sometimes people look great on paper, but yeah .. given a large problem set, can they put all the pieces together?
I'm reading a good book around this topic at the moment . I highly recommend checking it out for a laugh and a some good insights.
Being Geek: The Software Developer's Career Handbook
http://vimeo.com/15113923