Outsourcing company: Usage of velocity for offers

Question

Currently I am working in an outsourcing company and our management has decided to use the following scheme for "Velocity of the developers":

Each developer has a velocity quotient:

• Senior Developer: Velocity: 1
• Developer: Velocity: 1.4-1.8
• Junior Developer: Velocity: 2.8-3.6

Let's say a task X is completed by a Senior Developer for 8 hours. This means:

Estimations:

• Senior Developer: 8 Hours
• Developer: 11.20 - 14.40 Hours
• Junior Developer: 22.40 - 28.80 Hours

This way it is easier to give time estimates to clients from business point of view. I personally disagree with any such appliances of "velocity" since not considering every project is unique but it poses as a threat to encourage people trying to write their code as fast as possible in order to achieve a "higher velocity" which inevitably leads to compromise with quality.

Can you guys share your opinion on this? Thank you in advance

Answer 1

Parametrics are used all the time to help estimate and choose planning values for project work. But those values are only as good as how they were established. If based on historical capture of a significant number of observations, then the validity is improved.

I have never seen parametrics applied to seniority of a practiitoner, however. This assumes that ALL practitioners advance in performance equally over some period of time and that ALL practitioners at a certain level will outperform ALL practitioners at a lower level ALL the time. This is not reality. And this is why experience is a poor predictor of future performance.

Parametrics established as you described removes both inter- and intra-performance variability and, as such, will introduce a ton of risk in the resulting planning values where your estimates just will not be credible.

Parametrics are great for estimation but, as you have them established here, I don't think will offer a ton of accuracy in your planning values.