The Metrics of Feeling Good
In case you missed it, Friday was SysAdmin Day. What do you mean you've never heard of SysAdmin Day and don't know who your sysadmin is? Sysadmins are the talented souls inside every organization that silently, invisibly and diligently keep the networks, servers and PCs blinking, humming and processing. Some say sysadmins are like a good surgeon. They're not: a good sysadmin is more important than any surgeon. So Sysadmins get an official day of recognition.
What about application developers? They, after all, are the wheels that keep mighty application development and maintenance rolling. Just like Sysadmins, developers also go pretty unrecognized inside most organizations - unless, of course, the organization in question is like Microsoft and revolves around software. Often, the only time you know application developers even exist, is when the new software is late or has bugs. Boy, you sure know the developers' names then.
Of course, it takes more than a special day each year to recognize your teams' progress and achievements to the extent that it makes a tangible difference. What it really takes is great software and really good metrics, the kind that can record progress, identify weaknesses, and assess the impact of changes in management tactics and the provision of resources. Software and metrics help you to not only reward team members and recognize their achievements on a daily basis, but to do so in a way that directly benefits your organization.
Developers who get the material resources they require, the right training, or who simply get to keep management out of their hair are more likely to build the software that management asked for, and deliver it on time and on budget. Everyone likes to feel appreciated. Sometimes, you just don't need a special day each year to do it.
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