Which statement is a common misunderstanding about key areas to improve responsiveness?

• A. Custom metrics like cycle time are irrelevant.
• B. Time to market is the only factor.
• C. Revenue per Employee will not help you understand key areas to improve responsiveness.
• D. Customer feedback is optional.

Answer: (C)

Focusing on how quickly you can adapt and deliver value requires metrics that expose the steps and feedback loops in the development process. Revenue per Employee is a high-level financial measure that can reflect overall performance, but it doesn’t reveal where bottlenecks or slow feedback are hindering responsiveness. In other words, you won’t get clear, actionable guidance on improving speed and adaptability from that metric alone. To improve responsiveness, you look at process-focused indicators like cycle time, lead time, WIP limits, throughput, and how quickly customer feedback is turned into backlog priority and delivered. The other statements misplace emphasis (time to market isn’t the only factor; customer feedback is essential; cycle time isn’t irrelevant), but the core misunderstanding is assuming a financial KPI will directly guide improvements in responsiveness.