Quote Originally Posted by Ken White View Post
A Reuter's OpEd titled "Quantifying the damage of the rush to quantify" highlights the perils of metrics -- vitally important in many cases -- misapplied. The author, David Callahan, emphasizes the propensity for misuse and for cheating that the unending quest for numbers and 'empirical data' creates. As he writes:Many things require metrics, many more can usefully adopt some metrics -- however, a great many things do not lend themselves to applied metrics. As Callahan notes, misuse can drive fudging, outright cheating and some very flawed perceptions. Warfare, particularly in the realm of tactical and operational training, performance and assessment is one place where, in US practice, 'metrics' are overly and wrongly applied. Significantly so...
I have specific experience of this insanity.

When I returned to South Africa after Rhodesia I found the metric nonsense was firmly entrenched (seemingly through Gen Malan who had become contaminated through contact with the US military - staff course and what have you).

The insanity went something like this...

A company of National Servicemen (conscripts) trains for the first year of their service before being to deployed to SWA (South West Africa) for 'border' duty.

On arrival in the operational area they have to pass through a 'training base'. First the whole company is given written exam which relates heavily to operational area SOPS and enemy related info (of which they have hitherto received no training or information). Statistics are produced.

At the end of the week of 'training' (carried out by 'instructors' in their second year of service with little or no operational service) they are retested and guess what?

The improvement is dramatic ... (surprise suprise) ... something like a 30% improvement in the standard! Oh what a wonderful training team they are.

Sound familiar?