"metrics shape behaviour"

"There is a Zen story about a man riding a horse galloping frantically down a path. His friend, who's sitting by the side of the road, calls out, "Where are you going?" The man replies, "I don't know. Ask the horse!"
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we must take care when we use metrics. Metrics can be like the horse in the Zen story. Once we decide on them, they have a habit of setting the agenda. As the adage goes, what gets measured gets managed.
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My point is: metrics shape behaviour.
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"What we gather our information about, and how we describe success, affects what we strive for."
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Which brings me to my second point: all metrics leave something out. Often, they leave out the most important things.
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It is useful, therefore, to have missions to balance our metrics. If I were to suggest one mission, it might be: every tool should nourish the things upon which it depends.~
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It's difficult to build cyclical tools because the alternative is so tempting. Cyclical tools appear to be lower-power, slower-growing, and more expensive than extractive tools. But you can't measure the impact of tools on their own. You must measure them by the ecosystems that they co-create."

Trechos retirados de "Sep Kamvar: 'We need more nourishing metrics than downloads'"