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It is generally accepted that setting measurable objectives for software developers doesn't work , as too much focus on the objectives can lead to behaviour counter to the organisational goals (so-called "measurement dysfunction").
However, in my company, we are required to set objectives for all staff, and are encouraged by Human Resources to make them SMART. In the past, my fellow first-level managers (team leads) and I have tried a number of approaches:
- Set measurable objectives that are additional to the normal job, like "Do training on technology X", "Create documentation for piece of code Y that no-one understands" and so on. When it comes to the annual performance evaluation, rate developers not on the written objectives, but rather on my opinion of the unmeasurable value of their normal work, since that is actually what the company cares about.
- Set very specific objectives like "days' work done as recorded by the task management system", "number of bugs introduced", "number of production issued caused". This led to inflated estimates and incorrect classification of bugs, in order to achieve better "scores". Interestingly, even those developers scoring highly on this system didn't like it, as the intrinsic trust within the team was damaged and they didn't always feel they deserved their high position.
- Set vague objectives that are variants on "Do your normal job well". When it comes to the annual evaluation, their rating do