Comments on: A Simple Measurement http://cwd.dhemery.com/2003/12/a_simple_measurement/ Dale Emery on Leadership Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:15:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Brad Appleton http://cwd.dhemery.com/2003/12/a_simple_measurement/#comment-105 Brad Appleton Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000 http://cwd.dhemery.com/2003/12/02/a_simple_measurement/#comment-105 I cant help but think of Integral Calculus. Where the most accurate result (for computing the area or volume or surface area of all sort of interesting shapes/solids) if really an approximation that starts with something simple like your string example, and then makes the increments (e.g. number and lengths of string used to sum up the approximate total) smaller and smaller, and takes the mathematical limit as the delta (increment) approaches zero in size to get the most accurate result. So something like area under a curve is approximated by taking perfect rectangles that fill in the curve (more or less) and uses those rectangles (whose area is EASY to compute - simply height*width) as a first approximation, and then keeps using more and more rectangles of smaller and smaller width to progressively approach a more accurate value. Maybe there should be some more calculus in project planning books :-) I cant help but think of Integral Calculus. Where the most accurate result (for computing the area or volume or surface area of all sort of interesting shapes/solids) if really an approximation that starts with something simple like your string example, and then makes the increments (e.g. number and lengths of string used to sum up the approximate total) smaller and smaller, and takes the mathematical limit as the delta (increment) approaches zero in size to get the most accurate result.

So something like area under a curve is approximated by taking perfect rectangles that fill in the curve (more or less) and uses those rectangles (whose area is EASY to compute - simply height*width) as a first approximation, and then keeps using more and more rectangles of smaller and smaller width to progressively approach a more accurate value.

Maybe there should be some more calculus in project planning books :-)

]]> By: Kelly Anderson http://cwd.dhemery.com/2003/12/a_simple_measurement/#comment-106 Kelly Anderson Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000 http://cwd.dhemery.com/2003/12/02/a_simple_measurement/#comment-106 According to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, whatever you seek to measure changes what you are measuring. When you measure people's performance by a metric, you change their performance as they optimize for that metric. Inevitably, you decrease overall efficiency by increasing efficiency measured by one metric. There's a good paper on this topic (and many others) in "The Best Software Writing I: Selected and Introduced by Joel Spolsky" (Paperback) by Joel Spolsky ISBN: 1590595009 -Kelly According to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, whatever you seek to measure changes what you are measuring. When you measure people’s performance by a metric, you change their performance as they optimize for that metric. Inevitably, you decrease overall efficiency by increasing efficiency measured by one metric.

There’s a good paper on this topic (and many others) in “The Best Software Writing I: Selected and Introduced by Joel Spolsky” (Paperback)
by Joel Spolsky ISBN: 1590595009

-Kelly

]]> By: Kelly Anderson http://cwd.dhemery.com/2003/12/a_simple_measurement/#comment-107 Kelly Anderson Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000 http://cwd.dhemery.com/2003/12/02/a_simple_measurement/#comment-107 Ah, and don't forget this gem: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_principle Ah, and don’t forget this gem:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_principle

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