When a measure becomes a target…
…it stops being a good measure. People optimise the number, and the thing it was meant to represent quietly suffers.
How It Shows Up
Tickets closed
Tickets get closed before problems are solved.
Velocity
Story points quietly inflate.
Calls made
More calls, lower quality.
AI acceptance rate
People approve outputs without checking them.
Source: Patterns via PubMed Central ↗
Measure the goal, not the game.