Recently I was discussing measurements with a QA professional friend of mine and we got into the a discussion about metrics, or the measurement of something. Most companies today have begun measuring productivity of each BU (Business Unit) in terms of various metrics, but just like the ISO 9000 of old, just because you have a measurement does NOT mean you have customer satisfaction. Just because you have a process documented does not mean you have customer satisfaction. Just because you have a measurement does not mean you get customer satisfaction.
In most QA circles (such as American Society for Quality) there are two terms that are discussed: outcomes and output. Outputs are what you produce based on the defined process, outcomes are what you want, the goals that you define. However, if you define a metric of only what management wants and not what the customer wants or do not take into account what a customer wants you'll drive your customers away while patting yourself on the back as far as your metric goes.
In the past I worked for one company that made sure you did a certain percentage of transactions through BU "A" of the company because it affected the bottom line and payroll of each of the BUs when in reality the customers got better service in BU "A" because of the newer and faster machines. While the customer's wanted the faster service, the metric of management kept certain customer's waiting longer, thus making some of them go elsewhere.
On the other hand, when I was having a discussion with another computer user over the use of Windows, Mac, and Linux the one thing the person asked was "what about getting 24 hour support for Macs while I may not get any for Linux but where I can with Windows." The one part that most people don't understand from this person's or company's "metric" is that having 24/7 support for the product they buy can be had for probably a price and while it may indicate "high quality customer service," it may also be indicative of a poor product quality! With a high quality product you won't have to call anyone because there are no issues to resolve.
Or, you can also relate that a customer's view that "you're having more tech support calls" means that you're having a product quality but could really mean that you've sold more of your product.
The same goes for measuring an employees performance. Many a metric that has been established to measure a manager's performance actually hinders an employees chance for advancement. If a manager has a good employee who keeps a metric high and the employee wants to advance, the manager might dissuade the employee to stay just to keep their metric high while preventing the employee's real talent to shine in a promotion. The manager's manager might look at the "metric" and see that if it goes down that either the person was "promoted," a positive outcome, or "quit", a negative outcome, because of a failure of the employee to advance in the company.
Make sure that the metric you use is based on reality and customer feedback and not following "Enronish" expectations. For those that think that no one is watching them and can get away with doing bad things either to their customers or their employees or others, just remember that God is measuring your output as indicated by in 1 Corinthians 3:4-8.
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