CIO Wisdom: Best Practices from Silicon Valley's Leading IT Experts

Chapter 15. The Metrics of IT: Management by Measurement

by Shel Waggener and Steve Zoppi

Underscored by the common adage “If you can't measure it, you can't manage it,” the importance of the three Ms (metrics, monitoring, and measuring) is greater today than ever. Management by gut feeling may still be as prominent as management by exception or management by objective, but the dynamics and complexities of today's fast-paced global environment present a special set of circumstances—circumstances that do not always lend themselves to traditional method.

The days of managing by gut feeling are not completely gone, but today this approach must be supplemented by other methods and real, quantifiable measurements. No CIO will last long if ...