Inspirational examples of where seemingly impossible measurements were resolved with surprisingly simple methods Identified metrics procedures: Procedures are put in place to measure some variables (e.g. about project progress or external factors) continually. Continues to boldly assert that any perception of “immeasurability” is based on certain popular misconceptions about measurement and measurement methods

How to Measure Anything in Cybersecurity Risk | Wiley How to Measure Anything in Cybersecurity Risk | Wiley

Wow, this is really exciting. I thought at first, "Man, quantifying my progress on math research sounds really difficult. I don't know how to make it more than a measure of how happy I feel about what I've done." What if you want to figure out the cause of something that has many possible causes? One method is to perform a controlled experiment, and compare the outcomes of a test group to a control group. Hubbard discusses this in his book (and yes, he’s a Bayesian, and a skeptic of p-value hypothesis testing). For this summary, I’ll instead mention another method for isolating causes: regression modeling. Hubbard explains:

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Each scientific discipline has its own specialized measurement methods. Hubbard’s book describes measurement methods that are often useful for reducing our uncertainty about the “softer” topics often encountered by decision-makers in business. The bottom line is simple: Measurement is a process, not an outcome. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just better than what you use now. Perfection, after all, is the perfect enemy of progress. Instead of being overwhelmed by the apparent uncertainty in such a problem, start to ask what things about it you do know.” If you can measure it, you can then tell yourself something you didn’t know before. Case in point: the Office of Naval Research and the United States Marine Corps wanted to forecast how much fuel would be needed in the field. There was a lot of uncertainty about how much would needed, though, especially considering fuel stores had to be planned 60 days in advance. The method they used to create these forecasts was based on previous experience, educated assumptions, and the reality that if they were short on fuel, lives could be lost. So, they had the habit of sending far more fuel to the front than they needed, which meant more fuel depots, more convoys, and more Marines in harm’s way.

How to Measure Anything in Cybersecurity Risk - Goodreads How to Measure Anything in Cybersecurity Risk - Goodreads

For me this opened whole new field to study. Antivirus tests compare their efficiency against known malware - 99.85, 99.90% etc., but how does this translate to actual situation - how secure is a company and how much safer each product makes it? Once managers figure out what they mean and why it matters, the issue in question starts to look a lot more measurable.”

In other words, the quantitative method you use to make measurements and decisions only has to beat the alternative. Any empirical method you incorporate into your process can improve it if it provides more practical and accurate insight than what you were doing before.