[colug-432] Computer Programmer Productivity Ratio

[Jon Miller]

jep200404 at columbus.rr.com writes:

> A recent talk with someone revealed that they were incredulous 
> about there being an order of magnitude difference in 
> productivity between good and mediocre programmers. 
>
> A simple web search led to interesting content about the issue. 
> After sending it privately, I realized it deserved broader 
> exposure and discussion. 
>
>     https://duckduckgo.com/html/?q=10%3A1+productivity+ratio+computer+programmers
>
> How do you improve your ability? 

Practice, practice, practice. As they say, "Practice makes perfect", right?

I was going to make a comment about using Emacs and while admittedly it would
have been just a joke, there is something to be said about improving your
productivity with your editor (vim friends included). And then generalizing
that thought beyond just your editor to algorithms, coding styles, experience
of common pitfalls, etc, etc... it all boils down to spending time in your
craft and simply getting better at it.

But if you *really* want to become an expert in a field, it requires
deliberate, focused practice. This is what differentiates the top athletes
from others that merely "put in the hours" in practice. Forget now where I
saw that but it resonated with me. (Here is one example post[1] but easy
enough to Google for others)

So, I'll rephrase my quipped answer to be: Deliberate Practice

[1]: http://expertenough.com/1423/deliberate-practice

-- 
Jon Miller