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I would like to get tips on how I could evaluate my manager or my boss without being unjust.

So, is this question on topic here?

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  • questions about questions are off-topic; you want meta.meta.programmers.stackexchange.com
    – Steven A. Lowe
    Mar 24, 2011 at 3:12

2 Answers 2

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I would say it's not, unless there's some specific aspect to it that's related to software development. Otherwise it's just a question about interpersonal relationships in an office settings.

CareerOverflow.com may be a better place for it.

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  • Yes, I work as a software developer and this question is totally related to software development. It's a situation I'm living now where I work.
    – Daniel Grillo
    Feb 16, 2011 at 16:36
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    @OEngenheiro You being a software developer doesn't necessarily make it a software development question. Would your question be any different if you were, say, an accountant?
    – Adam Lear StaffMod
    Feb 16, 2011 at 16:54
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    @oeng you need to make a case that this is a programming manager and evaluating a programming manager requires some domain specific expertise, such as...
    – Jeff Atwood
    Feb 16, 2011 at 17:55
  • and Jeff - Using this same logic, I would reject it as a project management question because it's not specifically about project management as it could be about any manager/exployee relationship.
    – jmort253
    Feb 17, 2011 at 4:30
  • @jmort253 I have a feeling there are details that we're not privy to, and those details could potentially sway the question into the "okay" category. Probably more so here than on Project Management, but I'm not familiar with PM's charter to say for sure.
    – Adam Lear StaffMod
    Feb 17, 2011 at 4:51
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As Anna says, by itself "How to evaluate your manager" is not a problem with any specific relation to programming (yes, programmers do it, but so does everyone).

It's "on-topicness" depends on how you qualify it.

You say your problem is how to evaluate your manager "without being unjust" — this doesn't sound like a problem that is unique to developers. However, I can imagine a few variations that would be on topic:

  • I'm being asked to evaluate my manager technically, but I am not quite sure what my manager's "technical" responsibilities are. How should I address this?
  • I'm being asked to evaluate my manager, but my manager is non-technical. His lack of understanding of our technical issues is a frequent source of conflict, but is it fair for me to expect anything more?
  • I'm submitting a review of my manager. My manager has moved on from coding to "managerial" issues, should my review be based only on our coding interactions, which are few these days, or should I also address her performance on larger business goals?

Think about what ways your question can be answered uniquely by programmers, and make sure to ask the question in a way that solicits those answers.

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  • +1 for giving examples as to how the question could be modified to fit the guidelines!
    – jmort253
    Feb 19, 2011 at 19:01

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