Measurement's in Software Project

Most of the times in my job, when am asked about status, I always wonder what do they do with 'just' numbers ?

Subjectivity of measurement is the more common discussion among engineers and testers, but in practice, this is often much easier to manage than the challenges of construct validity and side-effects.

Measurement can be useful if you understand:

* what you are trying to measure (the attribute being measured)

* why you are trying to measure it

* how your measurement relates back to the attribute you are trying to measure (construct validity)

* how the act of measurement and the interpretations of the measurements will affect the measured attribute and the other behaviors in the organization being measured (side effects of measurement), and

* how reliable the measurement is

then you might do more good than harm by using the measurement.

Question: How often do you see these questions discussed in discussions of measurement?