Metrics for Management

We were recently asked by management to produce an interactive metric. This metric should somehow measure the performance of the machine as the user perceives it, or the interactive response time of a machine. The metric could then be used to identify unusual behavior, or machines with potential performance problems in our network. This paper describes firstly how we set about trying to pin down such an intangible quality of the system and how we produced graphs that satisfied management requirements. We also discuss how further use can be made of the metric results to provide data for dealing with user reported interactive response problems. Finally, we relate why this metric is not the tool for analyzing system performance that it may superficially appear to be.