I’ve been struggling for quite some time figuring out the “essence of” agile metrics. What are good ones versus bad ones? Are there related sets that are relevant and how many are needed? And how much change do we need to make from our traditional metrics thinking towards agile metrics?

One thing I have discovered is that metrics need to be “different” in an agile organization or culture. Traditional measures don’t seem to work within agile teams—as I’ve often seen them to cause dysfunction (more on that later).

Another thought I’ve had is whether they should represent a trailing indicator or a leading indicator? Meaning should we measure the processes (at the beginning or leading edge) or should we more so focus on the results & learning (at the end or from the trailing edge)? I’ll explore this more next.

Leading vs. Trailing Indicators

I think of measuring estimate accuracy (estimate + actual) as a leading indicator. Why is that since you measure actuals at the end of your work?