Collective Wisdom from the Experts 111
project’s purpose or vision led to team members defining their own success
criteria and measuring themselves against their own respective, disconnected,
dysfunctional parameters. Incorrect measurement does more harm than good.
Good project managers ensure that everyone on the team really understands
what success means. They help build a common vision and shared under-
standing within the team. They encourage team collaboration by building
win-win situations, so that each team member has the same focus and is work-
ing toward the common goals. They help the team identify what really needs
to be measured. The secret sauce of successful projects is in using metrics as a
means to an end and not as a deliverable in their own right.
I find if I try to measure 10 different things at once, it gets very confusing and
distracting for the team. Limiting myself to measuring two or three param-
eters at a time, however, is very effective. These two to three parameters should
be unanimously decided by the team based on current issues hurting the team,
or on risks that the team feels will impact it in the near future.
Once the issue is resolved or the risk is mitigated, the team should remove the
old checks and replace them with new items added to its metrics. A team that
does not periodically change its metrics is symptomatic of a bigger problem.
Be sure that what you are measuring is of value, and know that it may change
during the project. You get what you measure, so be sure you are measuring
the right things.