| >"1. This assumes that that a someone can/will usually accurately scope 4 stories, with proper requirements, and clear peer review standards. In practice, this can be hard to do and inconsistent." I highly suggest you focus on this rather than "are they doing the work?". Having accurate estimates and proper scoping of stories is vital to predicting releases and maintaining a road map. If you feel your org is lacking in this, I would focus on this first. As engineers, we need to scope multiple things into the story. Development, Testing, Deployment needs, Documentation. It's not just a "ticket" to do "x". Story points are complexity metrics. Not man hours. Don't feel like you need to complete Y story points to be effective. Story points are relative. Which brings me to your second point. >"2. If someone falls behind on their assigned story quota, how would a manager know whether that is because the story didn't meet the criteria in item 1, or because the person isn't putting in sufficient effort because of OE or other commitments?" Quota is why you fail. There isn't a quota. There isn't a set number of stories a person should do. Only what they are capable of. Also, one 8 point story is probably worth more business value than eight 1 point stories. Not always, but usually. You can measure an individual's contribution to velocity, you can measure an individual's number of stories completed. However, neither of these are metrics of whether that individual is providing business value. To measure whether an engineer is pulling their weight, talk to the other members of the team about work deliverables. You'll know pretty soon whether or not that individual is supporting the team (and thus may have lower story point totals) or is just absent from the discussions. You can NOT justify firing someone simply because they have another job, so long as it doesn't interfere with their duties or is during the same hours if hourly. At least not in the USA. There is no law against moonlighting so long as there isn't a conflict of interest. I mean, you can exercise at-will employment and just fire them because you feel like it, but your reputation will tank. I know employers want to trap their employees into working just 1 job, 1 career, for 50 years, with no strings attached, and no pension to offer, but the reality is many of us have to work two or more jobs because we can't afford our mortgage or need to pay off those predatory student loans we were promised would be eliminated but weren't. So here's my take. If you suspect someone is working more than one job, be an adult and have a 1:1 and ask them about it. Ask them what you can do for them to have them commit to only working for you. If you are offended that they dare work two jobs when you believe the company is providing more than enough, I bet you don't have a 7% mortgage. Instead of leading with the stick, try the carrot. Empathy will go a long way. |