Exploring Our Love-Hate Relationship with Metrics

Businesses rely on data to make decisions, and metrics allow them to roll up data into bite-sized morsels for managerial consumption. But while metrics can help leaders make good business decisions, sometimes the numbers are “massaged” in a way that doesn’t realistically portray what’s happening. Ultimately, there’s validity on both sides of the debate: Sometimes metrics imply something totally different from reality, but other times, they provide valuable insights that can guide efforts with better questions and decisions about how projects or teams should proceed. Shaun Bradshaw—aka the Minister of Metrics—will discuss various aspects of metrics, particularly how they relate to product quality. We'll explore the dysfunctions arising from “objective” metrics, as well as what makes metrics useful and how they can be used for good. You’ll walk away with a better sense of how to use metrics in a way that minimizes potential dysfunctions and truly reaps the benefits of the data available.