> The other problem with checklists is that they only work well if you have quantifiable metrics for being a senior developer.
Checklists can combine qualitative and quantitative data in this scenario too: when judging the experience of a developer, you can incorporate how many times someone has displayed a quality in your checklist.
Once you get a good feel for what qualities you’re looking for, you can measure how many times someone displays those qualities. When you’re hiring, you’re depending on the interviewee to show they’ve demonstrated those qualities; when someone’s been at your company for a while, you might depend on their team members to confirm whether they’re showing the qualities you’re looking for.
I think the article is right in saying that it’s mostly subjective, but that doesn’t mean you can’t break up those subjective feelings into smaller parts to judge them better.
Checklists can combine qualitative and quantitative data in this scenario too: when judging the experience of a developer, you can incorporate how many times someone has displayed a quality in your checklist.
I really like Matt Briggs’ take on senior developers: http://mattbriggs.net/blog/2015/06/01/the-role-of-a-senior-d...
Once you get a good feel for what qualities you’re looking for, you can measure how many times someone displays those qualities. When you’re hiring, you’re depending on the interviewee to show they’ve demonstrated those qualities; when someone’s been at your company for a while, you might depend on their team members to confirm whether they’re showing the qualities you’re looking for.
I think the article is right in saying that it’s mostly subjective, but that doesn’t mean you can’t break up those subjective feelings into smaller parts to judge them better.