Re:The McNamara fallacy: Measurement is not understanding
by Spooky23 on Tuesday February 01, 2022 @03:39PM
(#30168904)
It’s an expression of distrust.
If you ever work in government, procurement people think like that because their goal is objective competitive process that that meets the minimum standard to fulfill the purpose.
There’s a certain logic to it. You don’t want to see random government employees driving around in Teslas, so generally speaking they will be in nondescript 4-door sedans. Having a human say “no” makes them accountable, so a complex process will determine what kind of car you need.
Taken to extreme, it becomes a problem. Procurement officers get lazy and focus on their process instead of the needs of the customer. So they treat humans like Ford Tauruses and allow vendors who understand how to game the process walk out the door with millions.
If you ever work in government, procurement people think like that because their goal is objective competitive process that that meets the minimum standard to fulfill the purpose.
There’s a certain logic to it. You don’t want to see random government employees driving around in Teslas, so generally speaking they will be in nondescript 4-door sedans. Having a human say “no” makes them accountable, so a complex process will determine what kind of car you need.
Taken to extreme, it becomes a problem. Procurement officers get lazy and focus on their process instead of the needs of the customer. So they treat humans like Ford Tauruses and allow vendors who understand how to game the process walk out the door with millions.