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Measure What Matters

Two desktop monitors sit side by side in a futuristic office. The left screen displays a dashboard titled “Vanity Metrics” with charts, a pie graph, and a login count of 1,205. The right screen shows a dashboard titled “Meaningful Metrics” highlighting time saved (80) and client value (94%). The environment features glowing teal accents and a sleek, high-tech workspace. The BlindSpot logo appears in the top right corner.
“What we measure affects what we do. If we have the wrong metrics, we will strive for the wrong things.” – Joseph Stiglitz

Legal tech is full of metrics. Clicks, logins, system usage stats, user activity graphs — all easy to track, easy to present, and often, easy to misunderstand.


Because here’s the truth:


You get what you measure.


And if you’re measuring the wrong things, you’re likely chasing the wrong outcomes.


Chapter 17 of Beyond the Features dives into this challenge — helping firms refocus their attention on the metrics that actually reflect value, not just movement.


More Than Clicks and Logins

It’s easy to get caught up in usage metrics: how many people logged in this week, how many contracts were uploaded, how many times a new workflow was triggered.


These numbers are tempting because they’re available, trackable, and visually satisfying. But too often, they tell us very little about actual impact.


A tool that’s used often isn’t necessarily a tool that’s adding value. A workflow that’s triggered regularly isn’t necessarily one that’s saving time or reducing risk. If we’re not careful, we end up measuring activity instead of outcomes — and mistaking noise for progress.


The Power (and Risk) of Metrics

As Joseph Stiglitz puts it, what we measure affects what we do.

Metrics don’t just reflect performance — they shape it.


When legal teams are rewarded for response times rather than resolution quality, behaviour shifts accordingly. When tech adoption is judged by login frequency rather than task efficiency, people game the metric instead of improving the process.


The danger is subtle but serious:

If your dashboards are filled with vanity metrics, your people will start optimising for what looks good – not what delivers real value.


But when your KPIs are aligned with client service, risk management, time recovery, or matter efficiency? That’s when behaviour starts aligning with outcomes that truly matter.


What Should You Be Measuring?

There’s no universal answer. The right metrics depend on your firm’s goals, workflows, and client expectations. But here are a few to consider:


  • Time saved: Are processes faster, smoother, and less dependent on manual effort?

  • Risk reduced: Is your tech catching issues earlier or flagging gaps before they escalate?

  • Client value: Is turnaround time improving? Are you offering more transparency or better communication?

  • Matter efficiency: Are handovers tighter? Is collaboration clearer? Are rework rates going down?

  • Cost to serve: Has technology reduced the internal cost of delivering consistent, quality legal work?


These metrics are often harder to track — but they’re far more meaningful.


From Reporting to Responsibility

One of the core messages of Chapter 17 is this:

Legal tech is supposed to help you work smarter — but you’ll never know if it is unless you’re measuring the right things.

Measuring for the sake of it doesn’t help. But measuring with intention, and tying those insights back to your strategy, helps drive accountability, improvement, and long-term success.


That’s why every implementation needs to begin with a conversation about value. Not features. Not integration. But value.


Defining Success on Your Own Terms

One of the most important things I do with clients is help them define what success actually looks like – and then build metrics that reflect that definition into their roadmap from day one.


Not what a vendor thinks you should track. Not what makes for a flashy PowerPoint slide. But what actually matters for your people, your clients, and your business goals.


Need help measuring what matters?

If you’re ready to get clearer on what value really looks like – and how to track it meaningfully – let’s talk.


You can book a free 30-minute discovery consultation via the button below.

Let’s talk through your plans for AI, analytics, or legal transformation – and make sure your next legal tech project succeeds everywhere it matters, from boardroom ambition to daily workflow reality.



A digital poster featuring a quote from Joseph Stiglitz: “What we measure affects what we do. If we have the wrong metrics, we will strive for the wrong things.” The text is in white on a black background, with green quotation marks and the author’s name in green at the bottom right. On the left side, there are stylised grey skyscrapers overlaid with green icons representing analytics, including a magnifying glass, bar chart, and speedometer. The BlindSpot logo appears at the bottom.

Get the Book

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If the topic covered in this blog post resonated with you…

You’ll find even more insight, structure, and practical guidance in Beyond the Features – a straight-talking resource designed to help law firms make smarter technology decisions, drive meaningful change, and avoid the common traps of transformation.


The book builds on ideas like those discussed here, offering frameworks, reflections, and actionable advice drawn from real-world experience.


Prefer digital? Get an instant download PDF version of the book on my website


Prefer print? The book is also available in paperback on Amazon.




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