Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: 8d13fc86b9eb123031eef94b7a6f66ad888c8832110a1e60712d69d05e648a47

# Metrics Audit Against the Twelve Rules

Working in trios, participants audit a real team metric against the Twelve Rules for Metrics from Management 3.0. Groups classify their measure as actionable or vanity and propose one concrete adjustment.

**Time:** 35 minutes. UWT suggested duration based on the Management 3.0 Metrics module discussion prompts and Twelve Rules checklist.
**People:** 3 to 24. Trios or quartets, followed by timed whole-room share-outs

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Test an existing team metric against twelve published criteria to identify unintended behavioral incentives and refine measurement design.
**Use it when:** Use during quarterly planning, agile retrospectives, or goal-setting reviews when a team suspects their metrics drive gaming or provide little operational insight.
**Skip it when:** Skip when a team does not yet track work outcomes or when company metrics are strictly legally mandated with zero local discretion.

## Materials and tools

- One printed Twelve Rules Reference Sheet per participant
- One blank Metric Audit Worksheet per group of 3
- Pens or pencils
- Countdown timer visible to all

## Before participants arrive

1. Print copies of the Twelve Rules Reference Sheet and Metric Audit Worksheet.
2. Arrange tables and chairs for groups of 3 to 4 participants.
3. Write the three core module discussion questions on a central board.

## Say this to open

Welcome. Measurement shapes how we behave. Eric Ries wrote that vanity metrics make us feel good but do not show us what to do next. Today we will audit our current metrics using twelve rules from Management 3.0. Each group will select one real metric, test it against these criteria, and decide whether it guides real decisions or just creates busywork.

## How to run it

### 1. Select target metric (5 minutes)

Explain the activity goal and direct participants into trios. Each trio selects one specific metric currently used in their work, such as sprint velocity, daily closed tickets, or customer response time. One person volunteers as scribe. Groups write their chosen metric and its stated purpose at the top of their Metric Audit Worksheet. If a group cannot agree on a metric, assign them 'number of completed tasks per week'.

### 2. Audit against the twelve rules (15 minutes)

Trios evaluate their selected metric against each item on the Twelve Rules Reference Sheet. For each rule, the group marks whether the metric complies, violates, or partly matches the rule. Groups record specific risks, such as whether people game the number to receive bonuses or whether the metric is disconnected from a clear purpose. Complete at least six rules before time expires.

### 3. Draft metric adjustments (8 minutes)

Each trio determines whether their metric is an actionable metric that guides decisions or a vanity metric that only looks busy. Based on their findings, the group drafts one practical adjustment. For example, they might replace a precise quota with an imprecise directional trend, decouple it from performance bonuses, or pair it with a countervailing quality metric. Write the final proposal on the worksheet.

### 4. Share and debrief (7 minutes)

Call the room together. Invite two or three trios to share their original metric, one significant flaw they identified, and their proposed adjustment within 90 seconds each. Conclude with a brief plenary debrief using the provided questions. Collect worksheets from groups that choose to submit them.


## Debrief questions

- Which of the twelve rules was violated most frequently across our groups?
- How does tying a metric directly to individual rewards change everyday behavior?
- What is one concrete change you will make to how your team reviews numbers next week?

**Finished output:** Completed Metric Audit Worksheets containing rule-by-rule assessments and specific proposals to improve or retire analyzed metrics.

## Remote

Run in video breakout rooms of 3 participants. Provide the Twelve Rules and audit grid on a shared digital whiteboard or online spreadsheet. Each breakout room completes one board. In plenary, ask designated group spokespersons to unmute or post summaries in the chat.

## Hybrid

Pair in-person participants with local peers and remote participants with digital peers in dedicated video breakout rooms. Provide all participants access to the digital version of the reference sheet and audit template. Conduct whole-room sharing by alternating between an in-person trio and a remote trio.

## Access and participation choices

- Provide large-print copies of the Twelve Rules Reference Sheet.
- Allow participants to choose a neutral or past metric rather than an active high-stakes team target.
- Permit passing on public speaking during the final plenary debrief by submitting written worksheets instead.

## If the session gets stuck

**A group claims their chosen metric complies with all twelve rules perfectly.**

Ask how observers might influence the count or whether the target has ever incentivized quick work over quality, referencing Rule 5 and Rule 6.

**Participants become defensive because leadership mandates the metric under review.**

Remind the room that the audit analyzes systemic effects rather than personal intent. Focus on how the team can interpret or supplement the required metric locally.


## Terms used here

- Vanity Metric: A measurement that looks positive or shows high activity but offers no actionable guidance for operational decisions.
- Actionable Metric: A measurement directly linked to repeatable experiments and decisions that inform future actions.
- Imprecise Target: A directional benchmark that avoids rigid numerical gaming while guiding continuous improvement.

## Participant material: Twelve Rules Reference Sheet

1. Measure for a purpose: The metric is a means to an end, not the goal itself.
2. Shrink the unknown: Use proxies and indices to understand complex, indirect qualities.
3. Seek to improve: Track what enables better work, not just what looks good.
4. Delight all stakeholders: Measure from multiple perspectives; avoid optimizing for only one group.
5. Distrust all numbers: Observers introduce bias; maintain healthy skepticism.
6. Set imprecise targets: Use directional, challenging targets to prevent people from gaming a fixed quota.
7. Own your metrics: Teams should manage and be accountable for their own metrics.
8. Don't connect metrics to rewards: Tying numbers to bonuses blinds people to actual outcomes.
9. Promote values and transparency: Shared values and open numbers reduce cheating.
10. Visualize and humanize: Make metrics clear, engaging, and readable for everyone.
11. Measure early and often: Capture data frequently so emerging risks stay manageable.
12. Try something else: Rotate or replace metrics periodically to gain fresh perspectives.

## Participant material: Metric Audit Worksheet

Group Members:
Metric Being Audited:
Stated Purpose of Metric:

Audit Checklist (Evaluate against the 12 Rules):
- Rule 1 (Purpose): [Pass / Risk / Fail] Notes:
- Rule 3 (Seek to Improve): [Pass / Risk / Fail] Notes:
- Rule 4 (Multiple Stakeholders): [Pass / Risk / Fail] Notes:
- Rule 5 (Distrust Numbers): [Pass / Risk / Fail] Notes:
- Rule 6 (Imprecise Targets): [Pass / Risk / Fail] Notes:
- Rule 8 (Decoupled from Rewards): [Pass / Risk / Fail] Notes:
- Rule 9 (Transparency): [Pass / Risk / Fail] Notes:
- Other Rules evaluated:

Classification: [ ] Actionable Metric   [ ] Vanity Metric

Proposed Change: Describe one adjustment to how this metric is defined, tracked, or used to avoid perverse incentives.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Management 3.0 training materials for the Metrics & OKRs module, which presents the 12 Rules for Metrics.

Retained the Twelve Rules for Metrics and discussion themes from the Management 3.0 Metrics & OKRs module documentation. UWT structured the unstructured workshop module into a 35-minute peer audit protocol, created the worksheet templates, and added explicit timing, remote facilitation mechanics, and debrief prompts.

[Management 3.0](https://management30.com/practice/metrics-ecosystem/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/employee-team-goals-metrics-okrs-management-3-0/