You’ve settled on the key metrics to assess engineering team performance and satisfaction. Now, how do you ensure those metrics don’t become a source of stress or resentment?
Any time you set a target – be it deployment frequency or mean time to recover – the spectre of Goodhart’s Law looms, where metrics can become gameable, toxic, or prioritized beyond the health of the wider team or organization. Engineering leaders need to be vigilant to balance the value of ambitious targets against the risk of damaging team health.
This discussion explores tactics to choose and communicate metrics that balance high performance with a long term culture of continuous improvement.
Key takeaways:
- Choose metrics your engineers won’t hate
- Finding a balance between productivity and collaboration
- How to set goals and use metrics to motivate your team