Having a metrics mindset, choosing metrics for the right reasons, knowing how and when to use them, and some ideas for getting started

1. Angela Dugan
Solutions Director
3Cloud
Level: All are welcome!
Measuring Up!
How To Choose Agile Metrics Your Team Won't Hate
(using, talking about, etc.)
Sara Caldwell
Principal Solutions
Strategist
3Cloud

2. Passion Led Us
Here
Values Connection | Generosity
| Trust
Passion Helping humans be the
best they can be
Location Chicago
Quirks Obsessed with
Halloween, raises
chickens!
Email adugan@3CloudSolutio
ns.com
Twitter @OakParkGirl
Values Kindness |
Adaptability
Passion Helping organizations
solve complex
problems
Location St. Louis
Quirks Loves Old Rescued
Dogs, Jigsaw puzzles
Email scaldwell@3CloudSol
utions.com

3. Navigate to www.menti.com on
your favorite device
Enter the code you see on the top
of the screen when it is time

4. © 2022, 3Cloud, LLC., All Rights Reserved.
4
Metrics

6. Twitter: @OakParkGirl Email: Angela@PolarisSolutions.com

8. 8
No single metric is a flawless and unbiased representation of team
productivity, software quality, or delivered value.

9. Why are we here?

12. © 2022, 3Cloud, LLC., All Rights Reserved.
12
Metrics
Gone
Wrong

14. Regulators say that over a five-year
period some 2 million credit cards
and deposit account were opened
that may not have been authorized
by the bank’s customers. And
though no one knows for sure, it’s
almost certain that the accounts
had a big impact on customers’
credit scores.

18. © 2022, 3Cloud, LLC., All Rights Reserved.
18
Metrics
Mindset

19. The Hawthorne (Observer) Effect
Goodhart’s Law
Cognitive Neuroscience
Effects

20. The Hawthorne (Observer) Effect
That which is measured will improve…

21. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

22. 22
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

23. Consume by the
Team
Surrounded by
Conversation
You Get What You
Measure
4 Principles for Viewing Metrics
View Complimentary
Metrics

24. Choosing Team
Metrics
They should support the team in learning
how to execute better
They should help pinpoint bottlenecks
and weak points
They should provide near immediate
feedback that help in setting and
managing realistic expectations

25. © 2021, 3Cloud, LLC., All Rights Reserved.

26. © 2022, 3Cloud, LLC., All Rights Reserved.
26
Team
Metrics We
Love

27. Flow/Responsiveness
• Work in Progress (WIP)
Value
• HEART metrics
Quality
• Team Health
Things to Measure

28. Work in Progress
(WIP)
# of active items

29. High WIP
– What It
really
Costs
Lower WIP = Lower Lead Times
Lower Lead Times = Faster Delivery
Faster Delivery = Faster Feedback
Faster Feedback = Build Right Thing
Build Right Thing = Less Waste &
Risk

31. Stop Starting,
Start Finishing

32. 34
From Dandy People
WIP Gone Wrong
• Not respecting WIP limits
• Team doesn't swarm
• WIP limit is the only thing

33. (Business) Value
Tangible and measurable value
delivered to the customer
(whomever that happens to be)

34. There is no paint
by number
Business
Value
© 2022, 3Cloud, LLC., All Rights Reserved.
41
Business Value
Themes
Generate/Save
Money
Increase renewal
business
Improve Customer
Satisfaction
Maintains
Compliance
Identify Unit of
Measure
$$$ saved/earned
New Users
Renewals
Return rate
Site traffic
CSAT / NPS
Validate the
Hypothesis
Did we earn 20%
more?
Did we reach 10,000
users?
Did we maintain
CSAT > 4 stars?

35. Happiness
•How does the user feel about the product?
•Measures: surveys, rating, reviews, etc
H
Engagement
•How often do users return?
•Measures visits per user, session length, actions
E
Adoption
•Conversion from 1st time user to regular user
•Measures number of new and returning users
A
Retention
•Churn rate measure
•Measures return number and frequency
R
Task Success
•Can users achieve their goal or task quickly and easily?
•Measures completed tasks amount & time, error rates
T
HEART Metrics

36. 43
Business Value Gone
Wrong
• Identify Business Value in a silo
• Let “pet projects” or “the loudest voice” win
• Assign too granularly (story or task level)
• Don’t validate the value was experienced

37. Team Health
Motivated team members
deliver amazing things

38. Spotify Team
Health Check
• Team self-evaluation tool
• List of indicators based on the team’s
environment
• Triggers team discussions
• Helps focus improvement efforts
• Makes patterns visible across multiple teams
Team Health Check

39. Team Health Check
© 2021, 3Cloud, LLC., All Rights Reserved.
46

40. Team Health
Gone Wrong
• Surrounding Team Health
conversations about how
‘good’ a leader is, or how
‘bad’ a team is
• Talk about the person
voting, and not the problem
• Have incentives for “all
greens”
47

41. © 2022, 3Cloud, LLC., All Rights Reserved.
48
Inspect &
Adapt Your
Metrics

42. Retro Your Team
Metrics too!
Did you have the appropriate metrics for your audience?
Did your audience get value/learning from what they saw?
Did the metric tell you what you thought it would?
Did it help you measure outcomes? Or did it focus on outputs?
Did it foster the behaviors you were trying to encourage? Or
was it misleading, possibly causing unintended outcomes?
Did you have proper context, or were you looking at metrics in a
vacuum?
Is this metric appropriate for the current audience?

43. The question almost no
one asks
Should we even / still be collecting this
metric?

45. © 2022, 3Cloud, LLC., All Rights Reserved.
52
Closing

46. Consume by the
Team
Surrounded by
Conversation
You Get What You
Measure
4 Principles for Viewing Metrics
View Complimentary
Metrics

47. Sara and Angela wrote a (little) Book
of Agile Metrics!
The Little Book of Agile Metrics
In our FREE guide, learn how to use
Agile to transform the way your
teams work.
• Know what common metrics are
actually telling you
• Learn how to interpret the changes
and trends in your agile metrics
• Discover new metrics you did not
even know you needed to be
looking at!
OR reach out directly at adugan@3cloudsolutions.com or
scaldwell@3cloudsolutions.com

48. More great reads…
• Escape Velocity (via Lean Pub) by Doc Norton:
https://leanpub.com/escapevelocity
• Version One: State of Agile Report:
https://digital.ai/resource-center/
• Spotify Health Check
Model: https://engineering.atspotify.com/2014/09/squad-
health-check-model/
• Atlassian Health Monitor Model:
https://www.atlassian.com/team-playbook/health-monitor
• Scaled agile team and organizational metrics:
https://www.scaledagileframework.com/metrics/

49. Passion
Led Us
Here Email adugan@3CloudSolutions.com
Twitter @OakParkGirl
Email scaldwell@3CloudSolutions.com
Wanna talk Metrics some
more? Connect with us!

50. Please don’t forget to share
feedback with us about this
talk!

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