Effectiveness vs. Efficiency
I asked one candidate before what's the difference between effictiveness and efficiency. Take note this candidate has all the "SC" prefix on his certifications, he technically knows almost everything. But that is a clincher question and after throwing that question many times already, it is not surprising that 2 out of 10 will give an answer that makes sense. These few individuals, from the less obvious ways, knows the difference between doing things right and doing things quickly. Seldom these two mix, seldom you meet people who knows the difference.
You'll notice, only software marketing bullshit promotes efficiency. While the true successful ones really emphasize more on the how to be highly effective, one even came up with a 7-habits for it :)) Even some digital cameras measure pixels in "Million Effective Pixels" rather than "Million Efficient Pixels".
You'll notice, only software marketing bullshit promotes efficiency. While the true successful ones really emphasize more on the how to be highly effective, one even came up with a 7-habits for it :)) Even some digital cameras measure pixels in "Million Effective Pixels" rather than "Million Efficient Pixels".
Comments
Did you effectively attempt to determine whether he could create effective software?
One definition of efficiency is "The ratio of the effective or useful output to the total input in any system". In this definition "efficiency" is a measure of how much you waste, and a more efficient developer could be said to waste less time.
A common definition of the root of the word, "efficient", is: "Acting or producing effectively with a minimum of waste, expense, or unnecessary effort".
I'm afraid you're confusing efficiency with "fast". They are not the same. A quality response to your question is that you prefer an efficient developer to an effective one - because an efficient developer is by definition an effective one, but they're effective with a minimum of waste.
+1
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