>> At this point, I have to wonder - why am I filling this form out again?
>> What "goals" or "achievements" can I invent to put in these boxes? How
>> can I pretend these are related to the company mission?
>
> In IT, pretty much everything you do relates to the company mission.  IT
> enables companies to achieve their mission in an efficient manner
> (ideally).  So every system you manage, implement, update, or fix
> directly affects the bottom line.

At my last place, I was pretty much a necessary but useless overhead - 
like paying for water and electricity. Doesn't add any value to the 
business, but you can't operate without it.

>> My new employer - heh, "new". I've been there over a year! Oh yes, which
>> is why I apparently need to fill out an appraisal form. Any ideas for
>> creative ways to say "last year I wrote code, this year I will write
>> code"? ;-)
>
> Write more than "I wrote code."  Write about what the code does, what
> it's used for, and what it's a part of.

Code is basically the company's product. We have a room full of people 
who write code all day. If I hadn't been there... they would have one 
fewer staff, so it would have taken a few percent longer to write the 
code that got written this year.

> For goals, look forward at what
> the company's doing, where it's headed, and how the code you've already
> written is helping them meet their goals, and then extrapolate how your
> existing code might evolve - things you want to implement that you didn't
> get to, that sort of thing.  Goals and objectives are set in concert with
> your manager, so if you have a goal, objective, or desire that doesn't
> fit, your manager should help you align your goals to the organizational
> goals.

*mumble something about the company not actually having any defined 
direction*

Interesting suggestions...

Thing is, if I say "I wrote some code", that's too short. And if I 
describe everything I implemented - even just the noteworthy stuff - 
that's *way* too long.

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