Vicious Measurement

ACM's Queue magazine features a regular Q&A column by someone with the pseudonym Kode Vicious. This month he talks about measurement, in a humorous and short story entitled "Take a Freakin' Measurement". He makes the case that you should measure as much as it takes to reach your desired level of confidence, but that anything less isn't science. His style is different than mine, but I think the message is right on: measure what you need to know and do it well enough to suit the need.