SurlyDoug.com Those easily offended beware!
I'm _trying_ to give a damn!
Life is sexually transmitted … and fatal.
Wednesday, 14 December 2011

Feedback Loops
OK, folks, this is really, and by this, I mean really simple. So simple, the guys on the “short bus” get it:

If you measure for something, you will get it!
I make this statement particularly with regards to metric systems used to judge the efficacy of business processes, the “productivity” of knowledge workers, and similar situations.

Net-net, when you create a metrics system for a process, you are creating a feedback loop. Just like the feedback loops in physical circuits, the procedural feedback loop you create with metrics will amplify some signals and dampen others. The metrics you choose will determine which signals get amplified and which get dampened.

So choose your metrics carefully. A finely tuned feedback system will optimize the metrics incorporated into the system. You better be sure that your metrics identify the process elements that are really relevant to your business.


STFU
All text, layout, and photographs within this site are copyright © 2000-2011, SurlyDoug.com, unless otherwise specified, and all rights are reserved. The non-photographic graphics on this site, however, have been collected from a variety of sources, and they remain the property of those sources, and all rights are reserved to those owners.