(By Info-Tech Analyst Ross Armstrong - Printed with permission from Processor magazine www.processor.com).
A colleague of mine said a few weeks ago that IT staffing ratios are, in and of themselves, virtually meaningless. After a spirited debate on the subject, I got to thinking about IT metrics in general. Then I started seriously researching them. What I found was a curious mix of revelation and tired old rhetoric: IT metrics are useful, practical, and increasingly meaningful in times of economic want and woe.
My Karma Ran Over Your Dogma
I often speak with clients about governance issues such as the measuring of IT performance. When it comes to metrics, IT managers usually fall into one of two camps: those who see the value of metrics and those who don't. The latter group equates the value of metrics with Bigfoot: Sure, they've heard about it, but who has ever seen it?