Joel Test for my current project

  • Do you use source control? – yes
  • Can you make a build in one step? – yes
  • Do you make daily builds? – yes
  • Do you have a bug database? – yes
  • Do you fix bugs before writing new code? – yes
  • Do you have an up-to-date schedule? – no
  • Do you have a spec? – no
  • Do programmers have quiet working conditions? – no
  • Do you use the best tools money can buy? – yes-ish
  • Do you have testers? – Not convinced ‘tester’ applies in the sense that is meant by the Joel Test, but we have a QA team; most test code is written by programmers though.
  • Do new candidates write code during their interview? – yes
  • Do you do hallway usability testing? – no, but we don’t create a UI.

Going over this, I do have a feeling that the Joel test is directed primarily at things that users see and touch; with that not being the case, the projects I work on lack some of what is deemed as important, specifically because “hallway usability testing” doesn’t seem to apply the same way and ‘testers’ can’t really help as much as I think might otherwise apply.

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