Foundations
What productivity means
Output divided by input. Everything difficult follows from both numbers being harder to establish than they look.
What Productivity Actually Means
A ratio of output to input. Both halves are routinely measured badly, and the confusion between related terms does most of the damage.
The Ratio, and Why Both Halves Are Wrong
A productivity figure is two measurements divided. Each is usually approximate, and dividing them presents the result as precise.
Output, Outcome and Activity
Three things that get called productivity. Knowing which one you are measuring determines what the figure can support.
Why Hours Are a Poor Denominator
Time present is the default input measure and it bears only a loose relationship to effort converted into output.
The Unit Problem in Knowledge Work
Productivity needs a comparable unit of output. Most professional work does not have one, and inventing one causes specific harm.
What You Are Really Being Asked
A request for productivity figures is usually a request for something else. Identifying which changes what you should produce.
Deciding What Not to Measure
Every measure costs something to collect and something more to live with. The decision to leave things unmeasured is a real one.