Switchblades and Status Reports
Metrics as a Weapon
On many of the Agile discussion boards, you’ll find passionate exchanges about Agile metrics. I think people often have a visceral reaction due to past punishments for missed milestones or processes which have not been followed.
Are metrics a weapon?
I believe in Agile metrics beyond velocity and burndown charts. Before answering the question, “which metrics are most valuable in an Agile world,” we should ask ourselves “what are we trying to accomplish?”
Decision-Making Frameworks
I am a big fan of what I call decision-making frameworks. They can act as a compass to make decisions which support our guiding principles and values.
My decision framework for metrics is simple. Agile metrics are:
- Actionable
How many PMOs produce voluminous reports which are never read? As strange as it may sound, I’ve seen bug reports circulate months after a product has been retired. - Timely
Metrics age faster than requirements… and faster than cheese in the summer sun. By the time they hit the inbox of a person who can take action, the problem may have already been fix. Or it may have gotten worse. - Easy to produce
The simpler the formulas, the easier they are to understand and act upon. They are also less likely to be misinterpreted. For those that require a conversation to be meaningful, be sure to add a comment box even if all it says is “see me for more info.” - Created with minimal effort
How many ScrumMasters have spent every Friday afternoon compiling the metrics for their status reports? Could their time be better spent removing the blocking issues which are dragging their metrics down? - Created with minimal handoffs
As we know from Lean, handoffs mean delays. Delays mean aging. Aging means that our ability to take corrective action deteriorates. - Created within the context of business drivers
I’ve worked with companies that must be Sarbanes-Oxley compliant or ISO certified. These are the realities. Our documentation, audits, and reports are as valuable as our primary Agile work product: a potentially shippable increment of software.
The Most Important Measurement
- Value delivery
In Agile, working software is the most import measure of success. Even if an increment of software can’t be shipped, we should at very least be delivering the highest value features as early as possible.
In a future blog entry, I will talk about applying Agile estimating techniques to business value at the feature level.
