Editing 2899: Goodhart's Law
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In this comic, [[White Hat]] suggests creating a meta-metric, "number-of-metrics-that-have-become-targets," and making it a target. | In this comic, [[White Hat]] suggests creating a meta-metric, "number-of-metrics-that-have-become-targets," and making it a target. | ||
− | First, | + | First, the comic introduces and defines {{w|Goodhart's Law}}, which is the observation that when a metric — a {{w|performance indicator|measure of performance}} — becomes a goal, efforts will be unhelpfully directed to improving that ''metric'' at the expense of systemic objectives. |
For example, imagine a scenario in which a car dealership is looking to grow profits, and its managers decide to focus on increasing a component metric of profit: how many cars it sells. So they offer a bonus to their salespeople to sell more cars. But then the salespeople offer deep discounts to rack up sales, rendering the car sales unprofitable. This example shows how a ''metric'' (cars sold) can become the ''target'', replacing the real target, profit growth, if individual incentives are not properly managed. | For example, imagine a scenario in which a car dealership is looking to grow profits, and its managers decide to focus on increasing a component metric of profit: how many cars it sells. So they offer a bonus to their salespeople to sell more cars. But then the salespeople offer deep discounts to rack up sales, rendering the car sales unprofitable. This example shows how a ''metric'' (cars sold) can become the ''target'', replacing the real target, profit growth, if individual incentives are not properly managed. | ||
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White Hat's suggestion could be a good or a bad idea. It all depends on how the bonus incentive is awarded: | White Hat's suggestion could be a good or a bad idea. It all depends on how the bonus incentive is awarded: | ||
− | * A ''' | + | * A '''good implementation''' would award bonuses only for finding metrics which truly aren't serving their purpose, so the organization's managers could fix the measurement issues, and then only if the effort in finding and removing them did not outweigh the benefit of removing them. If bonuses are awarded only for approved submissions and the identifications result in real improvements, the organization will benefit in each individual case. However, even a prima facie 'good' implementation could drive significant activity seeking out metrics that are eventually rejected as deserving a bonus, undermining the overall benefit. |
− | * A ''' | + | * A '''bad implementation''' would offer a bonus to every identification, regardless of quality. This would incentivize the identification of even quite useful metrics — and perhaps even the ''creation'' of new metrics-as-targets for the sole purpose of then removing them and collecting the bounty. |
− | The title text imagines this ''' | + | The title text imagines this '''bad implementation''', leading to the creation of a new metric (metric changes per hour) and the organization identifying — and ''replacing'' — hundreds of metrics per hour, crowding out actual focus on the organization's true goals. It's the ultimate example of "change for change's sake." |
Part of the joke is that White Hat's original suggestion — the new metric causing the issue and one that ''should'' be replaced — seems to be ironically surviving the replacement of hundreds of other metrics. | Part of the joke is that White Hat's original suggestion — the new metric causing the issue and one that ''should'' be replaced — seems to be ironically surviving the replacement of hundreds of other metrics. | ||
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This comic illustrates that the thoughtless combination of Goodhart's Law and poorly designed incentives can have ruinous results for an organization. | This comic illustrates that the thoughtless combination of Goodhart's Law and poorly designed incentives can have ruinous results for an organization. | ||
− | + | While there is a temptation to game any metric, measurement is the main objective way of describing the success of an activity and assessing the effect of changes. "Data-driven" or "evidence-based" approaches are used to drive measurable improvements in various areas of society. The proper usage of organizational metrics and incentives is the focus of {{w|managerial accounting}}, a field within organizational management. Discussions of Goodhart's Law have noted [https://commoncog.com/goodharts-law-not-useful/] that people may respond to a metric by either (1) improving the system, (2) distorting that system (examples below), or (3) distorting the data (e.g., governments publishing false or cherry-picked economic data). Channeling energy toward improvement requires an organization to make (1) more appealing (flexibility and culture) and the others less (transparency, culture, reduced pressure to meet unrealistic goals). Figuring out how to do that involves a slow and thoughtful process unlike White Hat's unilateral jump to a new metric. | |
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− | While there is a temptation to game any metric, measurement is the main objective way of describing the success of an activity and assessing the effect of changes. "Data-driven" or "evidence-based" approaches are used to drive measurable improvements in various areas of society. | ||
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− | Discussions of Goodhart's Law have noted [https://commoncog.com/goodharts-law-not-useful/] that people may respond to a metric by either (1) improving the system, (2) distorting that system (examples below), or (3) distorting the data (e.g., governments publishing false or cherry-picked economic data). Channeling energy toward improvement requires an organization to make (1) more appealing (flexibility and culture) and the others less (transparency, culture, reduced pressure to meet unrealistic goals). Figuring out how to do that involves a slow and thoughtful process unlike White Hat's | ||
===Additional examples of Goodhart's Law=== | ===Additional examples of Goodhart's Law=== | ||
− | * The classical example of Goodhart's Law is the {{w|Perverse_incentive#The_original_cobra_effect|Cobra Effect}}: anecdotally the British rule in India paid bounties for dead cobras as a pest control effort. | + | * The classical example of Goodhart's Law is the {{w|Perverse_incentive#The_original_cobra_effect|Cobra Effect}}: anecdotally the British rule in India paid bounties for dead cobras as a pest control effort. This worked at first, but soon people began breeding cobras for income. |
− | * | + | * A school's exam results may ''suggest'' how well the school works with its pupils, but may lead to rigidly "teaching to the exams" and lead to less enjoyment and ability of life-long learning, or even flexibility in non-academic activities. |
− | * A hospital measures inpatient ''Length of Stay'' because shorter stays save money and free up beds for | + | * A hospital measures inpatient ''Length of Stay'' because shorter stays save money and also free up beds for any admitted patients waiting in the ER. But if improperly incentivized, doctors may discharge inpatients too early, causing some to "bounce back" to the hospital as a costly readmission. |
− | * A call center measures the number of calls handled per hour | + | * A call center measures the number of calls handled per hour, but poorly decides to overly incentivize this metric to make the workers more productive; that leads workers to cut calls short, frustrating customers. |
* The hypothetical {{w|Instrumental convergence#Paperclip maximizer|Paperclip Maximizer}} concept demonstrates how having a seemingly benign metric as a goal might still result in almost unlimited adverse effects, if unchecked. | * The hypothetical {{w|Instrumental convergence#Paperclip maximizer|Paperclip Maximizer}} concept demonstrates how having a seemingly benign metric as a goal might still result in almost unlimited adverse effects, if unchecked. | ||