Enemies of Metrics
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The document discusses the importance and challenges of using metrics within teams, emphasizing that metrics should be purposeful and focused on team goals. It categorizes different types of stakeholders with varying attitudes towards metrics and provides strategies for effectively utilizing and managing them. The text advocates for a simplified approach to measurements, suggesting that teams should prioritize relevant metrics and adapt them as objectives evolve.
Enemies of Metrics
- 1. The Dark Side of Metrics Which Side Are You On? Start
- 2. Does your Team have any Metrics? Yes No Back
- 3. Yes, we use Metrics. Good. Measurements can help a team achieve their goals, test experiments, indicate if there is a problem, mitigate risks, and keep pain point discussions about the issues rather than about people. NextBack
- 4. No, we donât use Metrics. You should. Measurements can help a team achieve their goals, test experiments, indicate if there is a problem, mitigate risks, and keep pain point discussions about the issue rather than about people. NextBack
- 5. Does your Team have a lot of Metrics? Yes No Back
- 6. No, we have just the important ones. Good. Measuring whatâs important to your team keeps them focused. Remember to get rid of metrics that arenât specifically helping you achieve your objectives. âSimplify â the art of maximizing work not done â is essential.â NextBack
- 7. Yes, we measure everything. ⢠Making every metric a top priority, also makes them your bottom priority. ⢠Donât hold onto metrics because you are already capturing the data. You are spending a lot of time gathering and discussing information that may or may not provide a benefit later. ⢠Only measure what matters to your team and change this as your teamâs priorities change. NextBack
- 8. Does your Team spend a lot of time planning and discussing your Metrics? Yes No Back
- 9. No, we donât spend a lot of time planning and discussing metrics. Good. Plan one or two metrics up front and make adjustments based upon the events that occur during your project. NextBack
- 10. Yes, we spend a lot of time planning and discussing metrics. Planning is based upon assumptions. For the same reason we donât waterfall our projects, we shouldnât waterfall our metrics. Plan one or two metrics up front and make adjustments based upon the events that occur during your project. NextBack
- 11. Is it clear what you are trying to achieve with your data collection? Yes No Back
- 12. Yes, we have clear goals. When everyone understands and agrees on the goals of the metrics, the team is more likely to see the value of the metrics and they would be less likely to âbeatâ the metric. NextBack
- 13. No, we have no clue why we are measuring. When metrics donât have clear goals, they could be used in ways they werenât designed. They could cause people to: ⢠Make bad decisions. ⢠Use them against people. ⢠Change their behavior to beat the metrics. NextBack
- 14. Yeah, but how do I use Metrics for good, Master Yoda? Teach you, I will. NextBack
- 15. Training ⢠Less is more. This makes them easier to collect and more likely to be correct. Let pain points drive new metrics and get rid of them when it seems the pain is no longer felt. ⢠Generalize. If you donât have a specific goal or theory you are trying to test, take a couple of general metrics that would be leading indicators of something going wrong (e.g. throughput and/or happiness). ⢠Metrics are about trends so their collection doesnât have to be perfect. ⢠When metrics start to go in the wrong direction, assess first. It is ok to wait to do something. ⢠Use them to Experiment. We believe thatâŚwill result in...we will know we have succeeded when... ⢠Goal/Question/Metric: What are you trying to achieve? What questions help you understand if youâve met your goal? Then, determine the metrics that help you answer your questions. NextBack
- 16. Select an Enemy to learn how to defeat them! Dictator: Someone who requires specific metrics and may not have a reason other than this information is nice-to-have. Controller: Usually someone outside the team, like a manager, customer, or member of leadership, who requests specific metrics. Financier: Perfectionists who care about numbers and think metrics can tell you everything about a project. Saboteur: These are people who think metrics are a waste of time and will find any excuse not to collect them. Soldier: Someone who uses metrics for process improvement. They have good intentions, but are overly enthusiastic. Enforcer: Someone who uses metrics to ensure team members are doing their jobs. They may even measure people directly. Back End
- 17. Dictator ⢠Dictators fail to recognize the cost of their demands. They tend to require metrics based upon theory and not the reality of the project. The team is less likely to participate and metric quality decreases across the board. ⢠Get this person to be team player by having them explain what each metric tells them and why it is important. If it is not a pain point of the team, then consider getting rid of the metric. Ensure they understand the cost/benefit relationship of their demands. Then, agree upon a set of metrics and on exactly how the metrics will be used, including what they can be used for. Back
- 18. Enforcer ⢠Enforcers use metrics as a stick. They think they are keeping the team on track, but the team will figure out a way to game the system. ⢠Understand why they feel the need to measure the team as opposed to the process or product. Usually, their concern is related to a pain point and there is a better metric to gather that would help fix the root of the problem. Back
- 19. Controller ⢠Controllers use metrics to feel like they know whatâs happening in the project. This may cause the team to tell them what they want to hear which builds distrust. ⢠Try to get this person more involved in the team. Establish expectations. Create shorter feedback loops and transparency. Try to get them to share their overall strategy and concerns. That way, the team can keep them informed of anything that may jeopardize these. Back
- 20. Soldier ⢠Soldiers believe that every pain point indicates a problem that needs to be fixed. Their solution is to add a metric. ⢠Help them understand that every issue does not need to be addressed immediately and certainly every issues does not need a metric. Use baseline metrics, which are leading indicators of project health (like throughput and/or happiness). The team should decide whether or not to act on the metric â by waiting for more data, doing research about the issue, or by actively changing something. Back
- 21. Financier ⢠They like numbers because they seem concrete and numbers can be compared to one another. ⢠Metrics are all about the trends and not the raw numbers. They tell you something might be heading in the wrong direction, but they wonât tell you why there is an issue or what the issue is. Back
- 22. Saboteur ⢠The saboteur has seen the dark side of metrics and doesnât see their benefit. ⢠Build their trust. Start small. Use the Goal/Question/Metric paradigm. Understand what goals you are trying to achieve. Think about questions that help you understand if youâve met your goal. Then, determine metrics that help you answer those questions. This will build trust that metrics can help the team. Back
- 23. Back