“Metrics” is a popular word these days. It seems that every project manager and everyone working on a project needs them, so what are they? Well, it turns out that “Metrics” are nothing more than “A theory or system of measurement” and isn’t that what we are supposed to have been doing on projects all along? How else can we know how we are doing, where we are at, and how we are going to get the rest of the way to where we want to be?

But today, that’s no longer sufficient – people want to know the results of those measurements post-project so they can determine how successful the project was. That’s a diplomatic way of expressing the thought “How good a job did you do on the project” and usually framed in terms of: “Was it on time and within budget?” With a little more forethought that might be extended to “And to specifications, requirements, (you name it), and customer satisfaction?” Never mind the problems, (er, risk events), you encountered, the questioner probably would not have done any better, because at this point they are asking the wrong questions!

What they should be asking is how successful is the product? And that can only be measured after the project is completed, perhaps long after, and typically measured by those who promoted the project in the first place. But the definition of “success” itself is a vague term, so let’s be more specific: “Did we obtain expected value or even best value?” That question should take you back to the justification in the project’s Business Case (your project does have a Business Case justification, doesn’t it?) and the Project Charter that shows how that justification is to be achieved.

Read more at MaxWideman.com.