Laws of Software Engineering · Saying
Saying
Vanity vs Actionable Metrics
A vanity metric makes you feel good. An actionable metric changes a decision.
How to use it. Before adding a metric, ask "what would I do differently if this number doubled? If it halved?". If the answer is "nothing", it is a vanity metric. Track it if it makes you happy, but do not pretend it informs the work.
How it gets misused. Used to dismiss any metric that is hard to act on. Some lagging indicators are how you keep score, and they are not vanity metrics. The test is intent as well as immediate use.
Related
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Pattern
Goodhart's Law
Once a measurement becomes a target, it stops being a useful measurement.
- Principle Leading and Lagging Indicators Leading indicators predict future outcomes. Lagging indicators measure past outcomes. Use both, for different purposes.
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Law
DORA / Accelerate Findings
Four numbers predict whether a software organisation is performing well: how often you ship, how long changes take, how often changes break things, and how fast you recover when they do.
Clusters
- The Lean Product cluster - How to build the right thing.
- The Measurement cluster - How to measure without breaking the things you measure.