Re:Why I Quit Google to Work for Myself
by mtlynch on Wednesday February 28, 2018 @01:23PM
(#16485309)
No, I found developer quality to be very high at Google throughout my time there.
I think the lack of tests was more symptomatic of bad incentives that good developers were forced to follow. Developers were rewarded for flashy things they could show promo committees, and rigorous tests or well-written documentation.
It was unusual to find code with no tests because a code reviewer will usually insist on at least some tests. But it was common to see complicated behavior with just a single test associated. Or a complicated interaction between components with no end-to-end tests.
There's not really a strict cultural expectation for documentation, so it's very easy to find code that's either not documented, documented inaccurately, or documented unhelpfully.
Re:Why I Quit Google to Work for Myself
by ironjunkie on Wednesday February 28, 2018 @08:29PM
(#16488951)
Did you really believe you were working with the best developers in the world though? Did you not realize this was all part of a marketing machine to make you feel good?
Interesting, thanks for the reply!
Re:Why I Quit Google to Work for Myself
by josefresco on Wednesday February 28, 2018 @12:04PM
(#16484501)
I too was also intrigued by the statement "best engineers in the world" and then subsequently reading that Google engineers suffer from the same BS as any average software company.
Has your opinion changed about this at all? I am not sure how indicative these descriptions are to overall quality at Google ... but if they are indicative I'd be furious at the situation as a Google employee, where my (otherwise very smart) fellow Googlers are delivering what sounds like very poor products.