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Reluctance to participate in future improvement efforts. This consequence is often overlooked when dealing with metrics or any organizational improvement effort. When you misuse the power afforded to you, the simplest retort available is to resist future improvement efforts. Even when it was not intentional, it is hard to support another improvement effort or technique if the previous one was mishandled.

These unintended consequences don't have to happen—if you're careful and respect the power of metrics.

Recap

Metrics are a powerful tool—and like most powerful tools, they can do some serious damage. You have to take precautions, use the proper safety equipment, and finally you have to respect that power.

The rules of thumb are as follows:

Metrics can do more harm than good.

Metrics should never replace common sense or personal involvement.

Metrics are not facts, they are indicators.

What you say may not be what others hear.

Damage from misuse of metrics hurts everyone in the organization.

Constant diligence is required to ensure metrics are used properly.

We covered the following:

The Power of Metrics. Even innocent misuse of metrics can cause damage, such as low team morale. If word spreads through your organization about the misuse or abuse of metrics, irreparable damage will be done.

Misuse of Metrics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. These include: Sharing only part of the story

Not sharing the story at all

Sharing only the good metrics

Sharing only the bad metrics

Showing the raw data

Using metrics for a personal agenda

Using metrics to control people

Using metrics to make decisions

Using metrics to win an argument or sway opinion

The Art of the Unintended Consequence. The major types of consequences you can expect from misusing metrics, are as follows: Fear of metrics and their abuse

Uncertainty of what to do or what will be done

Doubt of the validity of the metrics

Anger over misuse and abuse

Mistrust of those reporting, analyzing, and reporting the metrics

Avoidance of activities, which could positively or negatively affect a metric

Conclusion

Respecting the power of metrics essentially means being cautious and a little fearful of the harm that can be caused by metrics. This fear shouldn't paralyze you; it should instead energize you to handle the metrics with care. Put on your safety gear, take precautions, and ensure that others are kept out of harm's way.

Avoiding the Research Trap

Let's start with my take on research. By research I don't mean the focused, directed investigation I suggest you do to determine root needs. Nor do I mean the further investigation we perform once we've identified anomalies in our data. I also don't mean the deeper dive you should perform when finding the data, measures, information, standards, or benchmarks for the specific metrics you've designed.

By research, I am referring to the non-directed exploration of information.

This type of research can be broken into many different categories. They include scientific and historical methods; qualitative and quantitative views; exploratory, constructive, and empirical research; primary and secondary research; and many others. All of these types of research have the following commonalities:

High expense

Long length of time to conduct

Considerable effort to conduct

Unknown applicability

The government and other research supporters find it useful to fund research in many areas, expecting that a certain percentage of the analysis garnered will result in breakthroughs. Many times resulting innovations or insights are made in areas totally unrelated from the original intent. Velcro and microwave ovens are examples. Many of our new technologies resulted from military research that ended up in uses other than combat-related activities. Research is an excellent means to give us new ways to see old problems and sometimes research uncovers new problems which would have gone