Alan Cooper on the “10x” Programmer
Here are some indicators I&#x27;ve seen from 10x and 100x:<p>The 10x person fits very well in their organization. They are admired by upper-management for their ability to quickly comprehend, estimate, and deliver solutions to problems. They mentor everyone that asks or needs help. They provide 95% test coverage on all code. They show up for work well dressed, clean-cut, and on-time every day. Their code isn&#x27;t &#x27;brilliant&#x27; because they understand it must be maintained by the whole team. Their code reads well across difference experience levels but also includes clever tricks. They have an absolutely rock-solid understanding of the operating environment, platform, and modules. They don&#x27;t document their code. They are the smartest person you know.<p>The 100x person seems to fit very well into the organization at first, and appears to be a 10x. They take on several seemingly-impossible tasks up front and eat it for breakfast. They automate large portions of the business and their own processes. They provide 99% test coverage on all code. They create production-quality docs after their public interface solidifies. They know security and implement it correctly. They spend months to years on self-driven projects to master different categories and build their tech-tree. They have invented tech and patented it. They bump into the intentional barriers of the organization. They break through and create a billion-dollar product, or they are removed from the organization. They are the smartest person you know and without explanation they appear to be insane.<p>It really seems 10x is a stigmatized term. It used to mean a developer that could produce 10x lines of code, but at this point I&#x27;ve taken it to mean a single developer that can leverage technology, their department, and organization to manifest a 10x positive impact compared to someone just cashing their check delivering story points. I don&#x27;t think this term really fits for someone on the spectrum wreaking havoc in their organization.