Does anyone know of current methods to record developer time with some kind of analysis either post hoc review or concurrent notetaking to show where time is being spent?
In the Personal Software Process (PSP) the first stage is to record one’s work and learn to distinguish between time spent writing working software, injecting bugs, and removing them. Ultimately the aim is to work better with fewer defects therefore improving productivity.
This is something I’ve only ever seen as a project, whether for research or as part of a process improvement initiative. Nonetheless it has always been a surprise to the developer to see how much time they spend fixing stuff and how useful it is to be able to say “if we were told that first it would have saved time” or “I see you’re doing it that way .. do it this way, it’s faster and less error prone”. Second-person review only works in a mature environment of course, otherwise it becomes a blame game.
Patrick O'Beirne @ sysmod 