202309011342 Measure output instead of activity

It's always better to measure the output of a worker or team than it is to measure their activity. The economic value added can be enormous for things that are traditionally viewed as waste. For instance, testing software may not increase value in certain ways, but the reliability and costs for failures factor in. We can see then that testing does add direct economic value.

In another light, as a leader it's important to keep this in mind for knowledge workers. Scrutinizing hours worked or other activities adds obstacles (when really 202106241548 Leaders work to remove obstacles) to employees days, making it harder for them to feel safe and become top performers (202112180933 Psychological safety is the top indicator for group performance) After all, 202110212227 Moderate procrastination facilitates creativity and 202211030958 Creative accomplishments happen over time.

This idea is discussed in a slightly different way at length in 202206171206 Delivery Performance vs Value Delivery.