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measurement distortion

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    Incentive Design Entry #0377

    The reason a bonus for lines of code produces long code

    Measure what you want and you will get exactly that — the metric, not the quality the metric was supposed to represent.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0377

    Reward defines the output. The metric does not fail because people cheat; it fails because people succeed at optimising exactly what was measured.

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    Progress Systems Entry #0640

    Why counting the days changes the behaviour being counted

    Putting a running tally on an activity does not just measure it — it alters it, raising the cost of stopping and often draining the original enjoyment.

    Master
    The hidden part #0640

    A tally is never a neutral witness. Count an activity and you change it — raising the price of quitting and draining the joy that began it.

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