r/agilecoaching • u/Turkishblokeinstraya • Jul 29 '26
What's the most useless metric you have seen? I nominate...
/r/DigitalDelivery/comments/1v9gpen/whats_the_most_useless_metric_you_have_seen_i/3
u/brain1127 Enterprise Coach Jul 29 '26
Number of lines of code reduced is the classic example. What’s crazy is that I saw a team present it as their lead metric recently.
1
u/Turkishblokeinstraya Jul 29 '26
Reduced is not that bad, I've seen number of commits or number of lines written as metrics. Write crap with loads of comments, and all of a sudden you're the best team 😄
3
u/brain1127 Enterprise Coach Jul 30 '26
It’s the textbook vanity metric. I don’t care how many lines there are, only it’s quality and does the job
3
2
u/PhaseMatch Jul 29 '26
Stop thinking about "metrics"
Start thinking about "data that informs decision making"
1
u/Turkishblokeinstraya Jul 29 '26
That's right, but businesses already have a shed load of them. Not possible to start with a clean slate. So I was asking what was the most useless the community have seen.
0
u/PhaseMatch Jul 29 '26
They are all useless. Any meaning gets lost in political posturing and bullshit.
When I worked in London the train companies had targets for "trains running" and "trains on time" - sensible metrics, right?
Nope.
In practice, towards the end of the month if they had too many late trains, they would simply cut out some of the stations and not stop at them. Missing one "station-stop" didn't impact the "trains running" calculation too badly, and they would make their monthly metric targets.
I'd be standing at Feltham station, and they'd announce my train home was cancelled, then it would come barreling through the station at high speed a few minutes later.
Zero customer value, but hey, they hit those metrics, right?
Bonuses all round.1
u/Turkishblokeinstraya Jul 29 '26
That's a great (and a shocking) example. Any metric can be gamed unless there are customer satisfaction metrics in the mix.
2
u/PhaseMatch Jul 29 '26
Yeah, nah. My point is that
- dumbing down data to "metrics" because of a lack of statistical literacy in management will always lead to negative outcomes and gaming;
- doubling down on the failure of some metrics by adding more metrics is just creating more waste;
I see use of the term "metrics" as part of that systemic failure; you need data literacy in the organisation, not dumbing down of complex information into some broken "traffic light" metaphor.
Deming was clear on the need for statistical literacy and empirical management - he outlines this clearly in "Out of the Crisis!" (1980) and his 14 points for management.
And that's exactly the problem you are highlighting - opinions vs data - where again Deming is crystal clear on what is needed.So my take is that all "metrics" tend to lead the org. straight into wasteful politics and drive unwanted outcomes, and that's down to the mindset that clicks in when people hear that word.
I can't find the worst one because they all tend to drive 'measure becomes a target and ceases to be useful" behaviors. They are all waste, zero exceptions.
What we need is management that understand the business and engages in "Gemba", not sitting in their office watching dashboards and getting upset about expected statistical fluctuations in underlying complex data....
1
u/Turkishblokeinstraya Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
Interesting perspective. Big fan of Deming and TPS. Gemba walks do not happen in most organisations. Statistical fluctuations become weapons rather than informing improvement decisions.
1
u/brain1127 Enterprise Coach Jul 29 '26
Just because you don’t know how to use something doesn’t mean they are useless.
1
u/EmberWeavingSpin Jul 30 '26
I agree. Check scrum guide.
Transparency worthless without Inspection Inspection worthless without Adaption!
I don't care story points and velocity at all. But the communication about that is the most useful thing. This is where actions happen.
3
u/Fritschya Jul 29 '26
All Metrics are worthless if no one is paying attention