Why Velocity Is the Most Dangerous Comfort Metric in Engineering
Core Thesis Velocity optimizes for output stability, not outcome stability. It hides structural fragility. The Comfort of a Stable Number Velocity gives teams psychological comfort. It appears stable. It appears measurable. It appears objective. But velocity only measures throughput.It says nothing about: A stable velocity curve can coexist with declining delivery reliability. The Structural Blind Spot Velocity averages noise.Execution fragility accumulates underneath: By the time velocity drops, the system has already destabilized. The Real Question Leaders Should Ask Instead of: “Did velocity increase?” Ask: “Is execution becoming more structurally stable?” These are not the same question. Closing Anchor These structural signals are some of the patterns examined through NuePrism — an execution verdict system under NueArcus focused on evaluating execution health beyond surface metrics.