Avinash Kaushik is een web-metrieken-specialist die op zijn site Occam's Razor zeer zinvolle dingen zegt over metrieken. In het onderstaande fragment introduceert hij een 'Three Layers of So What'-test voor web metrics, maar de test lijkt mij toepasbaar voor alle metrieken (objectief meetbare grootheden voor het meten van (tussen)resultaten, BS):

Like good little Reporting Squirrels we collect and stack metrics as if preparing for an imminent ice age. Rather than being a blessing that stack becomes a burden because we live in times of bright lovely spring and nothing succeeds like being agile and nimble about what we collect, what we give up, and what we deliberately choose to ignore.

The key to true glory is making the right choices.

In this case its making right choices about the web metrics we knight and sent to the battle to come back with insights for our beloved corporation to monetize.

A very simple test can allow you to figure out if the metric you are dutifully reporting (or absolutely in love with) is gold or mud.
It is called the Three Layers of So What test. It was a part of my first book, Web Analytics: An Hour A Day.

What's this lovely test?

Simple really (occam's razor!):

Ask every web metric you report the question "so what" three times.

Each question provides an answer that in turn raises another question (a "so what" again). If at the third "so what" you don't get a recommendation for an action you should take, you have the wrong metric. Kill it.

Bron: Kill Useless Web Metrics: Apply The "Three Layers Of So What" Test