# When Metrics Are Creating Theatre Use this when the numbers look official but the conversation around them feels performative. Metrics become theatre when they are used to prove control instead of improve understanding. ## Field signals - The dashboard is discussed more than the work system. - Teams optimise the visible number while hidden quality or risk worsens. - People debate definitions after the metric is already being used. - Leaders compare unlike teams or systems. - The metric has become a target, ranking, or pressure device. - Nobody can explain what behaviour the metric is shaping. ## First lens Start with [[Metrics Shape Behaviour]]. Then use [[Good Metrics Need a Learning System]] to ask whether the metric has a review rhythm, shared interpretation, and safe correction path. ## First tool Run [[Metric Learning Review]]. Look for the difference between: - what the metric says - what people believe it means - what behaviour it creates - what the system actually needs to learn ## Then decide Use [[Flow Metric Definition Check]] when terms like lead time, throughput, value, or waiting time are being used loosely. Use [[Outcome Metric Selection Canvas]] when activity and outcome are being mixed. Use [[Balanced Outcomes Reduce Metric Distortion]] when one metric is dominating judgement. ## Watch out for Do not remove metrics because they are imperfect. Improve the learning system around them. ## Go deeper - [[Adaptive Strategy and Metric Hygiene Map]] - [[Flow Metrics Need Shared Definitions]] - Value Needs Evidence - [[Flow Metrics Need Shared Definitions]] - [[Measure Outcomes Not Activity]]