Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
The Metric Colors
Mark Mullaly is president of Interthink Consulting Incorporated, an organizational development and change firm specializing in the creation of effective organizational project management solutions. Since 1990, it has worked with companies throughout North America to develop, enhance and implement effective project management tools, processes, structures and capabilities. Mark was most recently co-lead investigator of the Value of Project Management research project sponsored by PMI. You can read more of his writing at markmullaly.com.
We live in a world that has become increasingly obsessed by metrics. The principles of measurability, efficiency, accountability and audtitability have become watchwords for our organizations, and they are becoming increasingly so for our projects as well. The ability to demonstrably measure results of projects has grown in importance and urgency. Based upon current observations of many organizations, the ability to do so has not necessarily kept pace.
Nowhere is this more the case than with overall project status reporting. The growing focus on portfolio and dashboard reporting has led to a preponderance of red/yellow/green indicators coloring status reports the world over. Originally they were designed to provide greater visibility and insight into project status, enabling “at a glance” views of current status. Instead, they have arguably become responsible for more roadblocks, delays, traffic jams and multi-car pileups than the real traffic lights they emulate.
In the real world, traffic lights shift from green to yellow and red once in a while. In projects, all roads are green until there is a sickening, final lurch to red--usually at a point far too late to avert disaster.
So how has this state of affairs come to pass? How have metrics of project performance become so disconnected from reality? And what can be done to avoid impending gridlock and provide a …
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