The unintended consequences of metrics in technology evaluation

This paper describes science and technology (S&T) metrics, especially impact of metrics on strategic management. The main messages to be conveyed from this paper are: (1) metrics play many roles in supporting management of the S&T enterprise; (2) metrics can influence S&T development incentives; (3) incorrect selection and implementation of metrics can have negative unintended consequences on the research and research documentation generated and (4) before implementing metrics, an organization should identify and evaluate the intended and unintended consequences of the specific metrics’ implementation, and identify the impact of these consequences on the organization's core mission.