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Ron Jeffries
Apr 3, 2009, 7:46:12 PM4/3/09
to Agile Developer Skills
Welcome!
We're here to begin to come up with an approach to improving developer
skills for Agile / Scrum / XP projects. The Scrum Alliance is thinking
of there being a new developer-focused certification (CSD?). I think
we all have a basic agreement that whatever we do should "have teeth",
and that developers and hiring managers alike should come to respect
the rating or ratings that might come about.
I'm not at all sure how we should proceed, but have these thoughts:
1. Get the Agile Alliance position, which Brian basically wrote,
posted here for reference.
2. Get Bob's notes to Jim, and to Jim and me, posted here. Bob, since
you write those, I guess you should put them up.
3. Brian said he'd provide something about how certifications work in
medical professions, as this is considered valuable and the
professionals themselves seem to value them as well.
4. Begin to express opinions and try to create some pages that serve
to identify where we agree, and where we don't.
5. Consider whether we should invite more people, and who. It would be
really nice to have a couple of women involved just to counter any
excess of testosterone.
6. Try to begin working in a sort of "Scrum" style, with stories,
iterations, and transparency at least to Jim Cundiff. (I've asked Chet
about inviting him here.)
Brian indicated that he won't get very engaged for a bit, until he
sorts out the book stuff he's working on. Chet and I have some travel
and courses hanging but are perhaps coming a bit free.
I'm sort of hatching some thoughts and might draft something stupid
just to have a place to edit and to learn the tool.
Welcome!
R
We're here to begin to come up with an approach to improving developer
skills for Agile / Scrum / XP projects. The Scrum Alliance is thinking
of there being a new developer-focused certification (CSD?). I think
we all have a basic agreement that whatever we do should "have teeth",
and that developers and hiring managers alike should come to respect
the rating or ratings that might come about.
I'm not at all sure how we should proceed, but have these thoughts:
1. Get the Agile Alliance position, which Brian basically wrote,
posted here for reference.
2. Get Bob's notes to Jim, and to Jim and me, posted here. Bob, since
you write those, I guess you should put them up.
3. Brian said he'd provide something about how certifications work in
medical professions, as this is considered valuable and the
professionals themselves seem to value them as well.
4. Begin to express opinions and try to create some pages that serve
to identify where we agree, and where we don't.
5. Consider whether we should invite more people, and who. It would be
really nice to have a couple of women involved just to counter any
excess of testosterone.
6. Try to begin working in a sort of "Scrum" style, with stories,
iterations, and transparency at least to Jim Cundiff. (I've asked Chet
about inviting him here.)
Brian indicated that he won't get very engaged for a bit, until he
sorts out the book stuff he's working on. Chet and I have some travel
and courses hanging but are perhaps coming a bit free.
I'm sort of hatching some thoughts and might draft something stupid
just to have a place to edit and to learn the tool.
Welcome!
R
Robert Martin
Apr 7, 2009, 12:49:56 PM4/7/09
to agile-devel...@googlegroups.com
On Apr 3, 2009, at 18:46 , Ron Jeffries wrote:
2. Get Bob's notes to Jim, and to Jim and me, posted here. Bob, since
you write those, I guess you should put them up.
Some random thoughts that have been percolating over the last few weeks. Think of this as brainstorming.
Developers respect substance over appearance. They are generally introverts who appreciate mathematical truths and avoid political machinations. They care less about who you are than about what you have done. No developer will respect a certificate unless that certificate is backed by something tangible, substantial, and verifiable. Attending a two-day course and passing the corresponding test isn't going to cut it. OTOH if the only way to get the certificate is to complete the 12 trials of hercules, then...maybe.
What works with developers? Look at stackoverflow.com. Developers are climbing all over each other to accumulate credibility points and badges. They earn these points and badges by demonstrating their competence to their peers. The only way you can get a high rating is to impress the readers of your answers. There is no secret cabal that awards the points, and there are no wink-wink handshakes behind the scenes. (That we know of). It's all based on merit.
So what could we offer? Whatever it might be, developers would have to accept it as proof of their competence, not proof of their attendance.
I've been thinking lately about a system of levels, and grades within those levels. By analogy, you can attain the level of a BS degree with a GPA of 3.1. Attaining a certain level is a qualitative statement of your knowledge and skill. The grade is the quantitative evaluation of how well you achieved the level.
Unlike college degrees, however, these should not be one-shot deals. You should be able to continuously increase your grade (and level) throughout your career.
Grades are some kind of accumulating points. You win these points through a series of accomplishments. Taking a tested course, submitting some code for evaluation, participating in an evaluation pairing session, or contributing to an open-source project might be among the kinds of accomplishments that earn you grade points.
You change levels by attaining a certain grade AND by doing something qualitatively different such as learning a new language, taking on a student or apprentice, leading a team, publishing a paper, getting a high DIGG score on a blog, etc.
----
Robert C. Martin (Uncle Bob) | email: uncl...@objectmentor.com
Object Mentor Inc. | blog: blog.objectmentor.com
The Agile Transition Experts | web: www.objectmentor.com
800-338-6716 | twitter: unclebobmartin
----
Robert C. Martin (Uncle Bob) | email: uncl...@objectmentor.com
Object Mentor Inc. | blog: blog.objectmentor.com
The Agile Transition Experts | web: www.objectmentor.com
800-338-6716 | twitter: unclebobmartin
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