6th Sense Analytics

Performance Metrics: Something to be Gamed? Part 2

This post is a continuation of my earlier post.

Quoting Austin

Joel quotes Robert Austin quite a bit in order to support his position that performance measurement is inherently bad. Austin is the author of the book Measuring and Managing Performance in Organizations. He is often referenced by those who are making this same argument � that performance measurement drives organizational dysfunction. (By way of full discloser, Dr. Austin is a member of the 6th Sense Technical Advisory Board). What everyone usually fails to mention is that Austin differentiates measurement in his book into two distinct parts: motivational and informational measurement. Motivational measurement is focused towards performance rewards, recognition, and controlling behavior. It�s clearly the type of measurement that Joel is opposed to. However, in his opposition, he includes informational measurement in the same category, and it�s not! Informational measurement or coordination measurement is focused towards understanding the performance parameters in a system without judging their implications on individual performance. Instead, you�re simply using them to adjust and fine-tune the overall performance of the team. While performance and informational are inextricably linked, it is possible to de-couple the two in practice and avoid much of the dysfunction that Austin reports on. It�s also important to amplify the value that measurement can have on the individual. In fact, in Austin�s book the following quotes by David Card and Tom DeMarco eloquently make the point of individuals finding value in personal measurement:

"My real goal is to get people to collect and use data themselves�the real goal is to get them to use data themselves practically�" - David Card ... "The individual doesn�t misuse metrics�I give you some way to assess your own ability and compare it to an average�averages across the board of the whole organization�and you find your are very weak in testing�your every inclination is to do something about it. I think a more important thing is to get the data to an individual who cares. People want to do a good job. If you know you�re not good at something, you want to get better at it, or not do it�" - Tom DeMarco

Both referenced from page #122, in Measuring and Managing Performance in Organizations.

Driving the Point Home � I Hope

I�d like to challenge anyone to cover their speedometer in their car and simply start driving�ignoring any metrics as to speed or its relevance to safely getting to your destination. Certainly we all know that having a measure corrupts our ability to be creative in our driving. It also leads to dysfunctions, like us driving slower than the speed limit or taking our eyes off the road. However, I for one can�t imagine driving a car without visibility into my speed or visibility in general. You see, good driving is about visibility and making continuous adjustments based on our measurements. I think good software development performance is very much the same. Let�s not overreact and turn off our measures. Instead, I�d rather have them and ensure that intelligently and appropriately apply them towards improvement and away from dysfunction.

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