What gets measured, gets managed?
I had an appointment at a visa application center for an upcoming travel this week.
Most consulates have outsourced the processes around document verification and bio-metrics capture.
The process as I understood was as follows -
Earliest entry 15 minutes before scheduled appointment time.
Appointment barcode scanning at the entrance and noting the time of entry on appointment letter print-out.
Security check
Passport and other document verification.
Token issue for document submission.
2nd document verification, a quick interview, address update for return of stamped passport, and payments if any.
Photograph, bio-metrics capture and submission of passport.
Exit
It was chaotic at the center as I entered at quarter past 12. Step #4 was already running about 30 minutes late, and we were guided to waiting area until our appointment time (12:30 pm) was called out. I could already see Muda (waste), Mura (non-uniformity), and Muri (over-burden) in the whole process at the center.
Step #4 finally happened around 1:10 pm. Ideally, the token as part of step #5 should have been issued at the same time, but we were again asked to wait. I had to go to the document verification counter again, as I noticed people who’d come after me getting tokens.
Step #6 was running 45 minutes to 1 hour late. Not all counters were occupied. As my token # was called out, I went for Step #6 to get the documents reviewed and make payments if any.
At this moment, the person at the counter asked me to go back to the entrance area and get my appointment letter barcode re-scanned. I had noticed some other visitors were also asked to do the same. I just followed instructions, got the barcode re-scanned, and voila, my entry time at the center now was 2:15 pm, 2 hours after I had actually come in.
I completed the bio-metrics process as part of Step #7 and exited the center at 2:30 pm.
As I was traveling back home, I wondered about reason for re-scanning the appointment barcode. My hypothesis was the center was measured against a certain Service Level Agreement (SLA) for turn-around time.
Turn-around time = Time at #Step 7 - Time at #Step2.
Re-scanning of my time of entry meant updated turn-around time for processing of my application was less than 15 minutes in their IT systems, which as you know by now, was far from the reality.
I have always wondered if ‘What gets measured, gets managed’, statement attributed to management guru Peter Drucker, is coming from knowing how things actually work in most organizations.
Potential improvements in the process at this visa document processing center were easily identifiable, and with some effort, the center could have actually met their turn-around time SLA. But, they likely chose an easier option to manage the SLA measurement.
So, what is the reality of various metrics and OKRs (Objectives & Key Results) that are used across organizations?
Here are some views from industry experts -
“People with targets and jobs dependent upon meeting them will probably meet the targets, even if they have to destroy the enterprise to do it.”
- W Edwards Deming
So, what should we do? Here are some things that come to my mind -
Leaders across organizations, must get in trenches with their teams, to get deeper understanding of way of working and processes, and identify continuous improvement opportunities.
Kaizen has a word for it - Gemjitsu or Genjitsu in Japanese, and it means “the real facts” (現物) - the invisible fact.
When it comes to deciding what to measure, observe the ‘flow’ in your process.
Build knowledge and experience to be able to identify vanity metrics, and avoid measuring progress against them. As Julian Shapiro says,
“Vanity metrics are:
Intermediary goals that occur before the fulfilling goals that matter.
Easier to accomplish than our true goals.
Frequently encouraged by society (everyone posting on social media about the number of books they’ve read gets many likes, reinforcing the optics that propel vanity metrics).”
Incentives drive individual and team behaviors. Be thoughtful while setting incentives for your teams.
I am yet to see a really good example of OKR (Objectives & Key Results) usage that turned around a group or organization’s performance, but a key aspect behind any successful project is energy in the team, ownership, and culture.
Always prioritize culture in your teams and groups. Setting right culture cannot be delegated. Teams imitate and follow leaders.
"Healthy culture heals broken process" - Henrik Kniberg
Lastly, an anecdote that I always like to refer, is metrics are like the dashboard in your car. Spend too much time looking at them, and you will likely have dangerous consequences.
Instead, use them like streetlights, as Kent Beck says -
What are some ‘managed’ metrics and OKRs you have come across?