Be careful what you measure

Quality-assurance audits are a bit like visits to the dentist; you know you need them, and that they will do you good, but that doesn't make the day itself any more fun. A recent audit I was involved in brought with it the usual flurry of activity to close off outstanding actions and generate the relevant reports.

Almost everyone, from health services to primary schools, seems to be singing the metrics mantra these days. It seems logical enough; we need to measure performance and then we can see how well things are going and, if necessary, try to fix any problems. Certainly, objective measurements are useful but, unfortunately, all too often metrics tend to reflect what is easy to measure rather than what is a good indicator of performance.

The IT business is, of course, a great place to collect numbers. Almost every device on a network can churn out statistics at will. But relating these to your business is not always as easy as it seems.

You must be a registered member to access this content.
Please Sign in below or Register now.
NOTE: This Feature is more than 7 days old.
Please login to view the rest of this article

Login above or Register now and get unlimited access.

Already subscribed but have forgotten your login? Recover your password your here.


Why sign up?
  • Unlimited access to SC Magazine content as well as access to to our global resources from SC Magazine US and UK editions.
  • Full use of over 11,000 articles database covering breaking news, video interviews, case studies, research, product reviews and exclusive features with fast and intuitive filtering of results.
  • Personalised "Recommended for you" filters to ensure you have the most relevant content at your finger tips.
  • Daily security bulletin direct to your inbox covering the latest security news from Australia/NZ and around the world.

Register now, its free! We'll never sell your details to third parties and it helps SC Magazine to keep serving you quality stories.
Sign up to receive SC Magazine email newsletters
   FOLLOW US...
Most Read