> Software engineers are best analyzed on a bell curve and once identified according to such plotting relative to other developers the criteria becomes clear
Absolutely. Four out of six software engineers are average and interchangeable - they get tickets of average complexity done, and make mistakes, some of which are caught by other average programmers in code reviews.
One out of six engineers is junior, or is effectively junior, and is a drag on teams until they get up to speed. They can only do simple tickets, every pull request must be carefully monitored etc.
One of six engineers is one standard deviation above the rest. If a new system or module or library is to be built, the team defers to them for architecture. They notice subtle problems others miss. They are up to date on the stack and know what features and problems are coming down the road. They tend to do the needed work outside of what the standard ticket requires.
One feature I have noticed about engineers one or more deviations above the mean is their focus, when needed, on the build system. They work to make a simple, working, fast as possible build. If the build is breaking, or gets too complex, they will address the problem in the build system and then get back to work.
Absolutely. Four out of six software engineers are average and interchangeable - they get tickets of average complexity done, and make mistakes, some of which are caught by other average programmers in code reviews.
One out of six engineers is junior, or is effectively junior, and is a drag on teams until they get up to speed. They can only do simple tickets, every pull request must be carefully monitored etc.
One of six engineers is one standard deviation above the rest. If a new system or module or library is to be built, the team defers to them for architecture. They notice subtle problems others miss. They are up to date on the stack and know what features and problems are coming down the road. They tend to do the needed work outside of what the standard ticket requires.
One feature I have noticed about engineers one or more deviations above the mean is their focus, when needed, on the build system. They work to make a simple, working, fast as possible build. If the build is breaking, or gets too complex, they will address the problem in the build system and then get back to work.