RESIDUAL RISK.CC
MUSIC / SATIRE / FAMILIAR PROBLEMSRISK: STILL PRESENT
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The dashboard is green. Please stop asking questions.

ASSURANCE / RR–003 / 2 MIN READ / SATIRE

The dashboard was green right up until the incident. After a brief adjustment to the reporting window, it was green again.

Every metric had an owner. Every owner had a target. Every target had a reason it did not quite include the system currently on fire.

What gets measured gets a color

The patching chart excluded unsupported systems. The asset inventory excluded things not yet inventoried. The backup report counted completed jobs. Nobody had asked a backup to become a working system recently, but the completion rate was excellent.

These are not necessarily bad metrics. They are incomplete answers being asked to impersonate a complete picture.

A little useful discomfort

Try adding the denominator, the exclusions, and the date of the last real test. A slightly less reassuring chart can make a much more useful conversation.

The dashboard team has agreed to consider an amber category. It is currently marked green.

Back to the field notes ↗