:) That's one way. The other way is to remove the overhead and determine at a basic level what the company's goals are and how you are going to gather and use

:) That's one way. The other way is to remove the overhead and determine at a basic level what the company's goals are and how you are going to gather and use metrics simply to determine how well those goals are being met. Outsource it or use existing resources, but get it done. The problem is how to determine metrics for things not easily quantified, but usually "software development" is not the company goal- rather it is "making the customer happy" and "making money". But, the goals can't be that generic. And, it has to be a low-overhead feedback loop, where progress must be seen quickly, otherwise it is not practical. The KISS principle also applies. Too much process is bad. But this is just a lot of talk. You should just do something simple to measure productivity and then keep iterating until you have something great. That is how great companies are born, whether they know it or not.