Comments on: Why Your Metrics Suck http://hackerboss.com/why-your-metrics-suck/ Developing software and managing development teams. Sun, 08 Aug 2010 20:15:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v= hourly 1 By: Ville Laurikarihttp://hackerboss.com/why-your-metrics-suck/comment-page-1/#comment-1469 Ville Laurikari Sat, 22 May 2010 20:14:27 +0000 http://hackerboss.com/?p=902#comment-1469 @regulator, you hit on some key points: metrics are often extremely limited, useful only to a small group of people, and must be well understood by those people. And yes, they're better than nothing. @regulator, you hit on some key points: metrics are often extremely limited, useful only to a small group of people, and must be well understood by those people. And yes, they’re better than nothing.

]]> By: regulatorhttp://hackerboss.com/why-your-metrics-suck/comment-page-1/#comment-1435 regulator Fri, 14 May 2010 12:48:12 +0000 http://hackerboss.com/?p=902#comment-1435 Aw shucks, I like metrics, infact I love'em to death. E.g I started measuring how long it took our team to get a release into a customers production environment. Not that this was useful to anyone but me. But that's my point, metrics have a limited scope and limited relevance. But in that limited scope and limited relevance they are soberingly accurate with what's really going on in your world. It's a bit like someone elses self improvement program - like I really give a damn, I just want the job done yesterday. But if they can quantify their development improvements then they are miles ahead of those who just flap their lips.Metrics are better than nothing, but the metrics you get are often extremely limited in there scope and should be treated as such. Nonetheless, a well understood/designed system of metrics production and consumption is extremely valuable. Aw shucks, I like metrics, infact I love’em to death. E.g I started measuring how long it took our team to get a release into a customers production environment. Not that this was useful to anyone but me. But that’s my point, metrics have a limited scope and limited relevance. But in that limited scope and limited relevance they are soberingly accurate with what’s really going on in your world. It’s a bit like someone elses self improvement program – like I really give a damn, I just want the job done yesterday. But if they can quantify their development improvements then they are miles ahead of those who just flap their lips.

Metrics are better than nothing, but the metrics you get are often extremely limited in there scope and should be treated as such. Nonetheless, a well understood/designed system of metrics production and consumption is extremely valuable.

]]> By: getgambithttp://hackerboss.com/why-your-metrics-suck/comment-page-1/#comment-293 getgambit Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:20:32 +0000 http://hackerboss.com/?p=902#comment-293 <p>Are metrics “barely above useless”? @hashedbits thinks so: <a href="http://ow.ly/ozbE" rel="nofollow">http://ow.ly/ozbE</a></p> <p><i>This comment was originally posted on <a href="http://twitter.com/getgambit/statuses/3849881378" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></i></p> Are metrics “barely above useless”? @hashedbits thinks so: http://ow.ly/ozbE

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

]]> By: foulmouthboyhttp://hackerboss.com/why-your-metrics-suck/comment-page-1/#comment-292 foulmouthboy Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:20:23 +0000 http://hackerboss.com/?p=902#comment-292 <p>Simple metrics or complex metrics won’t get you anywhere unless you have the proper context around them. Why should I care about this metric? How did this metric get calculated? What am I supposed to do now?</p> <p><i>This comment was originally posted on <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=811528" rel="nofollow">Hacker News</a></i></p> Simple metrics or complex metrics won’t get you anywhere unless you have the proper context around them. Why should I care about this metric? How did this metric get calculated? What am I supposed to do now?

This comment was originally posted on Hacker News

]]> By: jsankeyhttp://hackerboss.com/why-your-metrics-suck/comment-page-1/#comment-290 jsankey Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:15:10 +0000 http://hackerboss.com/?p=902#comment-290 <p>I see your point: your complexity relates to the system being measured rather than the measurement. But I’m afraid I don’t have a single word that could make it clearer.</p> <p><i>This comment was originally posted on <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=811518" rel="nofollow">Hacker News</a></i></p> I see your point: your complexity relates to the system being measured rather than the measurement. But I’m afraid I don’t have a single word that could make it clearer.

This comment was originally posted on Hacker News

]]> By: metafunctorhttp://hackerboss.com/why-your-metrics-suck/comment-page-1/#comment-291 metafunctor Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:59:13 +0000 http://hackerboss.com/?p=902#comment-291 <p>By a "complex" metric, I didn’t mean that the metric is necessarily complex to compute or represent. Rather, the complexity of the metric is a measure of the breadth and complexity of the activities which have an effect on the result.Take operating profit, for example. It’s fairly straightforward to compute (not as simple in practice as one might imagine, though), and it’s just one number. Pretty much anything going on in the company has an effect on the bottom line, in one way or another. It’s the result of complex activity.</p> <p>Obviously, this was a poor choice of words. Any suggestions for a better word?</p> <p><i>This comment was originally posted on <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=811487" rel="nofollow">Hacker News</a></i></p> By a "complex" metric, I didn’t mean that the metric is necessarily complex to compute or represent. Rather, the complexity of the metric is a measure of the breadth and complexity of the activities which have an effect on the result.Take operating profit, for example. It’s fairly straightforward to compute (not as simple in practice as one might imagine, though), and it’s just one number. Pretty much anything going on in the company has an effect on the bottom line, in one way or another. It’s the result of complex activity.

Obviously, this was a poor choice of words. Any suggestions for a better word?

This comment was originally posted on Hacker News

]]> By: jsankeyhttp://hackerboss.com/why-your-metrics-suck/comment-page-1/#comment-288 jsankey Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:34:48 +0000 http://hackerboss.com/?p=902#comment-288 <p>Metrics suck because they are indirect measurements, so by optimising the metric you may not be optimising what you intend. There’s no reason why a more complex metric will necessarily be more directly aligned with a goal. This thinking suggests that by adding more complexity your metrics become more aligned, but it seems these patches could also take you further and further from anything real.</p> <p><i>This comment was originally posted on <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=811439" rel="nofollow">Hacker News</a></i></p> Metrics suck because they are indirect measurements, so by optimising the metric you may not be optimising what you intend. There’s no reason why a more complex metric will necessarily be more directly aligned with a goal. This thinking suggests that by adding more complexity your metrics become more aligned, but it seems these patches could also take you further and further from anything real.

This comment was originally posted on Hacker News

]]> By: acgourleyhttp://hackerboss.com/why-your-metrics-suck/comment-page-1/#comment-289 acgourley Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:20:17 +0000 http://hackerboss.com/?p=902#comment-289 <p>I don’t agree – usually the simple metrics are not actionable because they are in the vein of "uniques per month" which is not something you can direct act on.Specific metrics (breakdown down uniques by cohort, behavior, etc) are actionable, but end up being complex to describe and collect.</p> <p><i>This comment was originally posted on <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=811406" rel="nofollow">Hacker News</a></i></p> I don’t agree – usually the simple metrics are not actionable because they are in the vein of "uniques per month" which is not something you can direct act on.Specific metrics (breakdown down uniques by cohort, behavior, etc) are actionable, but end up being complex to describe and collect.

This comment was originally posted on Hacker News

]]> By: 360 Angles » Hashed Bits Says Your Metrics Suckhttp://hackerboss.com/why-your-metrics-suck/comment-page-1/#comment-285 360 Angles » Hashed Bits Says Your Metrics Suck Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:46:30 +0000 http://hackerboss.com/?p=902#comment-285 [...] you can max­i­mize on the ex­cite­ment of the fast ini­tial progress with a new metric.  Our com­pi­la­tion warning chart is no longer useful to us, for ex­ample.  It has lost it’s mojo.  So, it makes sense to change [...] [...] you can max­i­mize on the ex­cite­ment of the fast ini­tial progress with a new metric.  Our com­pi­la­tion warning chart is no longer useful to us, for ex­ample.  It has lost it’s mojo.  So, it makes sense to change [...]

]]> By: jsm386http://hackerboss.com/why-your-metrics-suck/comment-page-1/#comment-280 jsm386 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:15:21 +0000 http://hackerboss.com/?p=902#comment-280 <p>The argument is an interesting one–the more complex the metric, the harder it is to act on it–but the author provides no reason for this other than his graphs, which are representations of…nothing? Simply drawing a line to represent his thesis doesn’t mean his thesis is based on data; it just means he knows how to graphically represent his thesis.</p> <p><i>This comment was originally posted on <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=811152" rel="nofollow">Hacker News</a></i></p> The argument is an interesting one–the more complex the metric, the harder it is to act on it–but the author provides no reason for this other than his graphs, which are representations of…nothing? Simply drawing a line to represent his thesis doesn’t mean his thesis is based on data; it just means he knows how to graphically represent his thesis.

This comment was originally posted on Hacker News

]]> By: rwolfhttp://hackerboss.com/why-your-metrics-suck/comment-page-1/#comment-281 rwolf Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:04:48 +0000 http://hackerboss.com/?p=902#comment-281 <p>Multiplying some random functions together caused me to twitch, but I like the "metric of the month". Having got to the end, I think the hand-wavium was an okay way to relate your idea.</p> <p><i>This comment was originally posted on <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=811129" rel="nofollow">Hacker News</a></i></p> Multiplying some random functions together caused me to twitch, but I like the "metric of the month". Having got to the end, I think the hand-wavium was an okay way to relate your idea.

This comment was originally posted on Hacker News

]]> By: metafunctorhttp://hackerboss.com/why-your-metrics-suck/comment-page-1/#comment-283 metafunctor Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:50:20 +0000 http://hackerboss.com/?p=902#comment-283 <p>LOL :) I wasn’t trying to make it science-y, although now that I look at it it sure comes off like pseudoscience. The graphs just struck me as a good way to explain what I had in mind…</p> <p><i>This comment was originally posted on <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=811106" rel="nofollow">Hacker News</a></i></p> LOL :) I wasn’t trying to make it science-y, although now that I look at it it sure comes off like pseudoscience. The graphs just struck me as a good way to explain what I had in mind…

This comment was originally posted on Hacker News

]]> By: mildweedhttp://hackerboss.com/why-your-metrics-suck/comment-page-1/#comment-282 mildweed Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:39:48 +0000 http://hackerboss.com/?p=902#comment-282 <p>Because they’re pseudoscience? No, wait, that’s this article.</p> <p><i>This comment was originally posted on <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=811081" rel="nofollow">Hacker News</a></i></p> Because they’re pseudoscience? No, wait, that’s this article.

This comment was originally posted on Hacker News

]]>