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Ok, we have a jar where each developer has to put 1$ when they make a mistake. Like breaking a build or deleting some database. At the end of the year we take this money and go out eat.

Has anyone ever developed a system for handlig something like this? Like who did what and when? Top 5 mistakes each month? things like that

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playing the blame game makes the project fail – ratchet freak Jan 29 at 15:10
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Yes, just what the world needs. More excuses for finger-pointing. I've not met a mistake yet that was the fault of only one person. – pdr Jan 29 at 15:10
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As it stands, the Has anyone ever developed a system for handlig something like this? Like who did what and when? 5 mistakes each month? things like that is a polling question which is a poor fit for the stack exchange Q&A format. Please look at the FAQ on the types of questions to ask and the types not to ask. – MichaelT Jan 29 at 15:16
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Hello and welcome! As others have already mentioned, open ended questions like this one don't really work with the Q&A format of the site. Furthermore, the core question isn't unique to programming or programmers, which is a requirement for all questions here. Please read our FAQ thoroughly for more details. – Yannis Rizos♦ Jan 29 at 15:23
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closed as not constructive by thorsten müller, pdr, GlenH7, Yannis Rizos♦ Jan 29 at 15:20

As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or specific expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, see the FAQ for guidance.

1 Answer

up vote 4 down vote

Be very careful doing this.

Some people may find having to pay $1 very upsetting.

Some mistakes will have contributing factors (such as horrendous code written by someone else around the person's edit) making the system not exactly fair.

Also it may discourage productive behaviours like refactoring for fear of breaking things.

The success of such a policy depends on the culture of the team. Sometimes it will be fine, but it can have a negative impact as well. IMHO team members should never be afraid of breaking things. If you're moving fast and doing things, you WILL break stuff once in a while.

That being said, we used to shoot people relentlessly with nerf guns when they broke the build.

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+1 for "we used to shoot people relentlessly with nerf guns when they broke the build" – Austin Henley Jan 29 at 15:18
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Shooting people with nerf guns is a manual process that doesn't scale well... unless it is integrated into the build server – MichaelT Jan 29 at 15:21
@MichaelT: That is the most awesome thing I've ever seen; only problem is that it isn't self-reloading. – John Bode Jan 29 at 18:11
@JohnBode The guy who fixes the build should reload it. – MrFox Jan 29 at 18:31

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